URI problems..will she ever feel better?

eagleeye

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My kitty Lusa is between 5 and 6 months old. When I found her, she was about 4-6 weeks old and suffering from an URI. I feed her premium wet cat food and supplement with Viralys. She is UTD on her vaccinations.

She seems to go through these relapses of eye goop/sneezing/coughing.

The vet examined her about about 3 weeks ago and didn't hear anything in her lungs that would indicate asthma, thank goodness. She did change Lusa's eye ointment to another kind with a different antibiotic. We used that for 2 weeks and it seem to help.

Most recently, Lusa stayed with our pet sitter (a vet tech) while my husband and I were on vacation. She was OK when we picked her up from the sitter's, but now (5 days later) she's sneezing again and coughing.
I'm concerned that she's having an environmental allergy to something in my home.

For those of you with URI experience, do you know if allergies aggravated your cat's condition? Is there anything in addition to lysine that I could give her to help? Thanks!
 

yayi

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I am not a vet or a vet tech but I understand that URI being viral in nature can occur often in a cat's lifetime.
It could be that your cat is more susceptible. BTW, do you regularly handle other cats other than yours? URI is so contagious that it can be transmitted even by people's clothes and hands that have been exposed to "silent carriers".
 

kittenkiya

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I know in my cat's cases, one cat, KittenKiya, always sneezes during the fall/winter and Pete always sneezes during the spring. I guess they must be allergic to whatever it is that is blooming here.

However, they do NOT get runny eyes nor do they cough. I hate to say it but it might be good to just check with the vet.

She could be stressed, she could be allergic to something (as you mentioned) or being in a strange place, she could have picked up an upper respiratory infection. You did say that you sitter was a vet tech? Is she working in a vet's office?

I would just call and check, just to be on the safe side.


Soft tissue headbuts and allergy nose spray licks from KittenKiya's Clan.
 
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eagleeye

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Thanks, Yayi.

I was hoping there'd be something to get her over the hump, so to speak, to build her immune system. Vitamins, another supplement, anything...

No, I don't come into regular contact with other people's cats - most of my friends and neighbors are catless. I never thought of the virus actually being on me or my clothing
Thank you for the warning because I'm not one to pass up petting a cat if given the chance.
 
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eagleeye

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Originally Posted by KittenKiya

I know in my cat's cases, one cat, KittenKiya, always sneezes during the fall/winter and Pete always sneezes during the spring. I guess they must be allergic to whatever it is that is blooming here.

However, they do NOT get runny eyes nor do they cough. I hate to say it but it might be good to just check with the vet.

She could be stressed, she could be allergic to something (as you mentioned) or being in a strange place, she could have picked up an upper respiratory infection. You did say that you sitter was a vet tech? Is she working in a vet's office?

I would just call and check, just to be on the safe side.


Soft tissue headbuts and allergy nose spray licks from KittenKiya's Clan.
Thanks for your reply, KittenKiya. Yes, her sitter works at the vet's office. I suppose it is a possibility that she picked up something, but the symptoms are the same as before. I agree that a call to the vet or a visit is in order, though.
 

stephanietx

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Stress will aggravate an URI, so if your kitty is prone to respiratory issues, the change in routine may have been enough to trigger an episode.

She may have some airborne allergies, so if your weather has changed recently, that could've triggered something. I know both of my kitties sneeze, rub their eyes & ears more, and have a little bit of runny eyes when the seasons change from winter to spring and summer to fall. Sometimes just having the windows open in the evening is enough to make my Hannah's eyes water! Also, if there's not enough humidity in the house, Hannah starts rubbing her eyes & ears.

First, check with your vet to rule out any kind of URI, then proceed from there.

Stephanie
 
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