When to go to the vet for a cold?

We just adopted a 4 month-old kitten from the animal shelter & when we brought her home, she was sneezing & kind of huffing (blowing stuff out of her nose.) Her nose was pretty clean though & the fluid from her nose was clear. The vet didn't think it was a URI & only heard noise in her trachea & not her lungs & didn't prescribe anything, just said to watch her. A week later now, she hardly ever sneezes anymore but still huffs & now has dried crusts/boogers that a dark color at the base of her nose. Should I take her back to the vet or is coming towards the end of her cold? She gets spayed the end of next week & I assume it would be bad if she was still fighting this while recuperating from that. Her energy level is still extremely high & she's eating & drinking regularly. Advice?

Could you have a second vet check her out? My vet told me that if my kittens were only sneezing and didn't have other symptoms it was most likely viral. But if they had mucous from the eyes or nose it was a URI and needed antibiotics.

hmm, I suppose I could see what another vet at the clinic says... I think I may just see about getting her some antibiotics. That's a good tip about the viral vs. URI thing, thanks!

I went through this exact thing with our new shelter kitty last week - my vet said to just keep an eye on her, but then I felt she was getting worse. Call your vet - I did, and they told me to just stop by and pick up some antibiotics to be on the safe side. Hope your kitty feels better soon!

See, I just don't know if what's happening is her getting worse, or better... Physically, she's fine, it's just this nose stuff, so it's hard to tell. Getting antibiotics from my vet would probably would involve me getting a visit & then the meds, which financially, I want to wait till I'm fairly sure I need to. My friend said that when her cat was getting over an infection that her nasal discharge was colored (& bloody, but Melly's is not) so maybe this is the end of her infection.

Your kitty may just be getting over her cold. When I said my kitty got "worse", I meant my kitty was also developing a cough and runny eyes. If it's just a bit of a stuffy nose, and she's acting like her usual self otherwise, I don't think I'd worry too much.

I would wait to get Melly spayed until you're absolutely sure her upper respiratory issues are resolved. You don't want her getting anesthesia if her breathing is in any way compromised.

With bacterial infections you'll see a colored discharge - usually green or yellow. Antibiotics can help that. They're ineffective though with viral infections which usually are marked by clear discharge.

Hope Melly will soon be well enough to get spayed. Congratulations on adopting your new baby from the shelter - you did a wonderful thing!!!

Dear George:

Better always to err on the side of caution. I'd take her in. And if possible, I'd let another doctor have a look at her. If that's not possible, then another visit to the doc who saw her first would have to do. GOOD LUCK. URI's are not something to play around with. Better safe than sorry!

A good majority of cats that come from a shelter have some sort of minor colds. I have found that the main thing they need is fresh air and to be out of the stressful dirty shelter environment and their colds usually get better. If the sneezing is gone sounds like she is much better. I would at least call the vet who is spaying her and make sure he is aware that she was just seen and she is still huffing a bit because many vets won't spay a sick cat. Just ask if you could give her something to speed up recovery to be sure she is ready for her spay.

I took Melly to the vet today & she said the crust on her nose was probably just dirt and that there is no more noise in her airway! She said to be worried about Green or Yellow discharge that drips below their nose, so I'm glad I have a better idea of what to look for now. Melly's discharge just kind of crusted at the base. So I suppose that's good news.

Sounds good! Both of my cats came from a shelter and had mild sneezing and slight watery eyes but my vet did not give them antibiotics since it was not severe and their colds went away on their own. When you see the green mucousy stuf is when they probably need antibiotics.

That's GREAT news!!! What a relief that must be to you. Here's to Melly!