Worried/any advice appreciated

silpheed

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I have a 5 year old neutered indoor male cat that has had no health problems ever until now.

Four months ago we took in a male kitten from outside. The older cat had no contact with this kitten until we had it tested for feline leukemia (negative) and gave it its vaccinations.

The kitten is active and healthy but has had a persistent sneeze and recurring watery eyes/nose. It has been to the vet twice and has nose and eye drops (neomycin) that will clear up the symptoms, but they tend to return.

Now my older cat has developed sneezing followed by runny nose and lethargy. He obviously doesn't feel good. Took him to vet who gave a shot (antibiotic/anti-inflammatory) and now he's on oral antibiotic. He is eating/drinking/litter box and has improved a little but still seems lethargic/won't play/not himself. He had no fever and the vet didn't seem too concerned.

The kitten was diagnosed with sinusitis/allergies. My question is, did my older cat contract something from the kitten and if so what is most likely? The older cat had his vaccinations when he was younger but there was a definite gap in his shots when he was the only pet...

My older cat is a very special friend and I am very concerned about his health deteriorating, he's only 5.
 

gothicangel69

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When I took in my cat (he was a tiny kitten at that time), he had runny eyes and sneezing. When I took him to the vet, he said something about a herpes virus. Said its contagious, but that its not too big of a deal. You just have to watch the symptoms to make sure they don't get out of hand, and let it run its course. He said they can get over the initial flare up, but they will continue to have flare-ups. After a while, the flare-ups will get less frequent and less intense until they barely ever have them anymore. Zorro seemed better when I got another cat, but as soon as I brought her home, both of them flared up again and I had to go through the whole process again (since she had it too)
Zorro hasn't had a flare-up in 6 months now. All i get is an occasional sneeze or two.
Not sure if thats what your kitties have, but it sure sounds like it. That could also be why the vet is not that concerned.
 

yosemite

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I personally would get a second opinion to ensure neither has an upper respiratory infection. It may just be me, but I find a lot of doctors (and maybe vets too) are too quick to put everything down as "allergies".
 

jean44

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I'm sorry to hear that both of your kitties are not feeling well. Hugs and positive, healing thoughts to all of you.


Yes, it is possible that your older cat contracted an infection from the kitten. The infection could be passed by discharges from the kitten's nose or eyes. There are several upper respiratory infections that can be passed from cat to cat in this way. Did your vet indicate that the older cat had a URI and, If so, which disease? Here are links to discussions about some of the URIs.

http://www.cat-world.com.au/Chlamydophila.htm

http://www.cat-world.com.au/FelineHerpes.htm
http://www.cat-world.com.au/FelineHerpes.htm

I'm obviously not a vet and can't suggest which, if any, of these infections your kitty may have. At least this will give you some idea what symptoms to look for.

Did the vet tell you why the kitten's symptoms return after treatment? If it is allergies has the vet helped you try to determine what he is allergic to?

I'm sorry if this message is rambling.
I'm writing as thoughts occur to me.

Good luck to you and both of your kitties. Keep us posted about how they are doing.
 
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