URI or Allergies?

carolina

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How do we know when our kitties have an URI or an allergy? what are the most common symptoms of each?
 

white cat lover

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URI will present typically with sneezing/snotty nose/lethargy/runny eyes.

Allergies, however, can present with a bunch of other symptoms.

Can I ask which feline we are talking about & what makes you wonder URI or allergies?
 
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carolina

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

URI will present typically with sneezing/snotty nose/lethargy/runny eyes.

Allergies, however, can present with a bunch of other symptoms.

Can I ask which feline we are talking about & what makes you wonder URI or allergies?
It's Bugsy, of course... my lemon kitty
... I relapsed smoking yesterday, and he started sneezing all of the sudden... No discharge, normal breathing, eating and drinking normally, no runny eyes. He is sneezing quite a bit though... I am not sure if he is lethargic, because he is a lethargic cat by nature
.
I am going to smoke on the window now, with the fan blowing out; and he does have a vet visit on Saturday to get the health certificate for our move to California...
What do you think?
 

white cat lover

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I'm thinking it's probably just the smoke. But definitely ask your vet at the exam.

Lemon kitty.
He's a white cat with blue eyes - that's always a bad sign. (I'll take him
)
 
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carolina

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Ok - I am pretty sure it is URI now... He is sneezing a lot, and his eye started running now... His nose discharge is completely clear, just like water...
He is eating and drinking normally, but I think he is a little quieter than usual. I am taking him to the vet on Saturday, and going to put him on a steamy bathroom for a bit... Anything else I should do? What do I watch for, and when do I worry? If he needs to take antibiotics, is there an injection I can give him? He will not take a pill at all...
 

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many antibiotics are avail in pill , liquid and some in shots .. shots should be done only by a VET or VET TECH .... exception to that would be some of our feral and rescue experts
 
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carolina

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Originally Posted by sharky

many antibiotics are avail in pill , liquid and some in shots .. shots should be done only by a VET or VET TECH .... exception to that would be some of our feral and rescue experts
Oh good - if my vet tells me he needs antibiotics I will tell her to give a shot instead of pills... Is it only once, several shots?
 

laureen227

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besides the URI or allergy question [or smoke irritation] there's also feline herpes. Pixel, my herpes cat, sneezes quite a bit [compared to the others] but rarely has nasal discharge. she does get goopy/runny eyes, w/the accompanying tear stains, but that's usually it unless she's having a flare-up. then she'll get little sores on her face.
 
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carolina

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Originally Posted by laureen227

besides the URI or allergy question [or smoke irritation] there's also feline herpes. Pixel, my herpes cat, sneezes quite a bit [compared to the others] but rarely has nasal discharge. she does get goopy/runny eyes, w/the accompanying tear stains, but that's usually it unless she's having a flare-up. then she'll get little sores on her face.
This started all of the sudden, and since there was the stress of moving homes and all, I am pretty sure it is an URI - he is a bit lethargic as well - I can tell he doesn't feel good... I know he has a discharge because I can hear a sound of liquid when he is breathing, as though he was stuffed up. His nose is running a bit too... But all clear liquid discharge.
 

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I tell the difference because the allergy sneezies go away in a day or so. The URI sneezies stick around for awhile. Also with allergies, they continue to eat, drink, play, potty normally. With URI, they eat less, don't play, and tend to go into hiding.

Stress is the number one cause of an outbreak of herpes. It most often presents itself as an URI and comes on suddenly, so don't rule out herpes, but it's most likely "just" an URI. I'd begin to suspect herpes if Bugsy starts having repeated URIs or URIs that don't seem to go away.

Ask for the pill treats. They're the easy-peasy way to give antibiotics!!
 

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Originally Posted by laureen227

besides the URI or allergy question [or smoke irritation] there's also feline herpes. Pixel, my herpes cat, sneezes quite a bit [compared to the others] but rarely has nasal discharge. she does get goopy/runny eyes, w/the accompanying tear stains, but that's usually it unless she's having a flare-up. then she'll get little sores on her face.
Are there any other symptoms with the herpes? I'm curious because my kitty has been sneezing ALOT since the last time we went to the vet.... some discharge that is clear for the most part but occassionaly he sneezes out green boogers. He's also got some 'sores' on his back. (talked about them here: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...ighlight=sores )

Sorry for the hijack
 

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I'd consider starting him on lysine for the time being - just to help boost his immune system.

The vet here gives Convenia shots - it's an anti-biotic injection good for 2 weeks. I'm not that familiar with it, or any other anti-biotic injection for that matter - I just have used them, but never looked into it much.
 
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carolina

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Originally Posted by stephanietx

Ask for the pill treats. They're the easy-peasy way to give antibiotics!!
His is an impossible kid for pilling - nothing works, pill pocket and treats included.
 
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carolina

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Ok, the poor kid is not doing well... He is eating, drinking, and using the box normally, but he is still sneezing a lot, his eyes are red and swollen, and his left eye is running. He is also walking slowly, not playing, and lethargic. He is acting pretty much like we do when we have a very bad cold...
Again, I have a vet appointment on Saturday... What do I need to watch for, to know if I need to take him in sooner?
Also, how do I protect Lucky? Even though they have separate bowls, they still eat from each others', and drink from the same water fountain... I am assuming it is too late at this point, but I want to do my best to protect her... Is Lysine good to improving the immune system regardless of being herpes?
Thanks!
 

laureen227

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yes - the lysine is an immune system 'booster', so to speak. even if it doesn't help prevent Lucky from catching Bugsy's cold, it certainly won't hurt either of them. mine all get it - either in their water, or their wet food.
 

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Originally Posted by carolinalima

Ok, the poor kid is not doing well... He is eating, drinking, and using the box normally, but he is still sneezing a lot, his eyes are red and swollen, and his left eye is running. He is also walking slowly, not playing, and lethargic. He is acting pretty much like we do when we have a very bad cold...
Again, I have a vet appointment on Saturday... What do I need to watch for, to know if I need to take him in sooner?
Also, how do I protect Lucky? Even though they have separate bowls, they still eat from each others', and drink from the same water fountain... I am assuming it is too late at this point, but I want to do my best to protect her... Is Lysine good to improving the immune system regardless of being herpes?
Thanks!
I don't think you can protect Lucky really. But if she's healthy, she'll have a good immune system and be able to protect herself


Watch for wheezing and coughing. Your appt. is tommorrow so hopefully he stays at this point till then...but if he starts wheezing, I would take him in immediately
 
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carolina

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Bugsy is doing much better today
- Thank goodness! He is still sneezing a lot, but got his energy back, and is once again playing and walking around the house. His eyes are a bit red, but not swollen and running much less than yesterday. He is eating/drinking and using the box normally.
 

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With pill treats, the treat is the medicine! They come in little individually wrapped foil pop-out packets and you just feed it to them like a treat. I always tear the treat in half so they get 2 "treats". They just don't know that their treat is really medicine!

The pill treat isn't a treat that you put a pill in. The medicine is made to resemble a soft chew treat.
 
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carolina

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Originally Posted by stephanietx

With pill treats, the treat is the medicine! They come in little individually wrapped foil pop-out packets and you just feed it to them like a treat. I always tear the treat in half so they get 2 "treats". They just don't know that their treat is really medicine!

The pill treat isn't a treat that you put a pill in. The medicine is made to resemble a soft chew treat.
Oh, that's awesome!
I will talk to my vet, and see if he needs antibiotics... If he does, I will test this treat in the vets office, so if he doesn't eat, he can get an injection... He is doing much better though, so maybe he won't need it

Thanks bunches!
 
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