Cat Flu or Just A Cold? Please Help!

Hi all,

I am worried about one of my cats, Polly. She's about 4 years old.

Last week we had to take her to the vets a couple of times as she was not putting any weight onto her rear left leg. Currently she is on some oral anti-inflammatory medication for this - Metacam/Meloxicam.

The problem is that since yesterday she seems to have developed a cold virus - runny nose, sneezing. She's sleeping a lot but she is eating OK (as long as we take her to the food as otherwise she can't be bothered going to it herself).

I am wondering if she could have caught this from being at the vets last week with her leg problem. I am not too sure as I don't know how feline viruses spread, but if the vet had treated another cat with the virus and had got some of the germs on his clothes, then could they have been transferred when he was treating Polly?

I am worried as I know that I need to watch out for the symptoms getting worse and I need to make sure that she's still eating and drinking so that she doesn't get dehydrated.

Should I take her back to the vet or will this go away on it's own, like a human cold does?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Jayne X

Hi Jayne,

It is very common for cats to come down with upper respiratory infections after a vet visit. Mine came back with one several months ago and although I just took her back in this weekend for a quick check of her bloodwork (no actual appointment), she seems to be coming down with another one. The most important thing you can do is offer supportive care (hand-feed food/water if they won't eat, give them some steam to help them breathe) but mostly you just have to wait it out. It took about 10 days for my cat to get over her last one. If the cat gets pretty bad, you should call your vet as most will put them on an antibiotic to help with any secondary infections that come with it. You can also try supplementing the cat with l-lysine to assist as most URI's in cats are caused by a form of herpes virus. I think 500mg is the max daily dose and I gave my cat 250mg twice a day while she had the URI.

On a second note, please look further into the metacam your vet prescribed. Metacam is NOT FDA approved for use in cats and even warns that it can cause kidney failure in them. I sadly know this from first-hand experience so I wanted to give you a heads up as I wish I had had at the time. There is even an entire website dedicated to educating others called metacamkills.com. Don't panic or anything, but please educate yourself on it and see if you can get your kitty on something else.

I hope your baby starts feeling better soon!

Kelli

Has the vet taken x-rays or anything? He just put her straight on Metacam? The first thing I would do, if that was my cat, is to stop that medication immediately. That is a medication that has killed a lot of cats... Does your cat have a proper diagnosis? Metacam has been related to numerous cases of kidney failure - I would urge you to go back to your vet and discuss another pain medication, and also a proper anti-inflammatory, if that is the case.

Sorry if this scares you, but it is serious... Here is a link with more information.

Now to the cold - yes, cats ca catch a cold URI (upper respiratory infection), in the majority of cases it is related to the feline herpes virus. It is estimated that over 75% of the cats have herpes, but not all of them develop the symptoms. In cats, the symptoms are usually of a cold, plus runny eyes...
Stress contribute greatly to flare ups, so yes, the trip to the vet, and the stress of daily medication can very well put a kitty into a flare.

A great thing for a kitty on a flare is Lysine, since you are in the UK, you get it in a health store (make sure it is pure L-Lysine), or from your vet. Lysine stops the Herpes virus on its tracks, and also increases the immune system.

All my cats take 500mg/day, and if there is a flare up, 1g/day. You can mix it on the water (if you buy 100% pure L-Lysine), or on the wet food, if you buy the one from the vet.

For now there is no need to hurry her to the vet, as long as she is eating, drinking and using the box. Check her snot and make sure it is clear - if green or yellow, that can be a sign of a secondary infection, in which case you will have to take her to the vet.

Steam baths are great to make her breath better - go to the bathroom with her, run the hot water, let it fill with steam, and stay there a while...
If you have a vaporizer, that is great too.

Good Luck!

Originally Posted by tamgirl99

Hi Jayne,

It is very common for cats to come down with upper respiratory infections after a vet visit. Mine came back with one several months ago and although I just took her back in this weekend for a quick check of her bloodwork (no actual appointment), she seems to be coming down with another one.

The most important thing you can do is offer supportive care (hand-feed food/water if they won't eat, give them some steam to help them breathe) but mostly you just have to wait it out. It took about 10 days for my cat to get over her last one. If the cat gets pretty bad, you should call your vet as most will put them on an antibiotic to help with any secondary infections that come with it. You can also try supplementing the cat with l-lysine to assist as most URI's in cats are caused by a form of herpes virus. I think 500mg is the max daily dose and I gave my cat 250mg twice a day while she had the URI.

On a second note, please look further into the metacam your vet prescribed. Metacam is NOT FDA approved for use in cats and even warns that it can cause kidney failure in them. I sadly know this from first-hand experience so I wanted to give you a heads up as I wish I had had at the time. There is even an entire website dedicated to educating others called metacamkills.com. Don't panic or anything, but please educate yourself on it and see if you can get your kitty on something else.

I hope your baby starts feeling better soon!

Kelli

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Thanks for the tips about looking after Polly with her cold. I'm making sure she eats and drinks and her appetite seems OK at the moment.

Also, thanks for the warning about Metacam. I have just looked it up on Google. You said it's not authorised by the FDA - is that just in the United States as I'm in the UK so I don't know if there's a similar governing body over here.

I checked with my husband and he said the vet didn't weight Polly or do blood tests before he prescribed it. Her dosage is the 3KG mark on the pipette, once daily in her food. I don't know how many MLs that is? This is confusing and very worrying.

She's due to go back to the vets in a couple of weeks with her leg problem to see how she's doing.

From what I have read about Metacam, it seems that most problems occur from overdosing. That's so sad.

So as well as worrying about the cold I need to decide if I should stop giving her the Metacam

^ I think that it is approved for cat use in the UK. It has it's place, but needs to be use sparingly. Talk to your vet, make your concerns known. Don't attempt to treat your cat with anything without talking to your vet first - no advice found here is meant to replace vet care, ever.

Make sure to keep an eye on her hyrdation, and as gross as this may sound, the color of her snot. Yellow or green nasal discharge is a sign of bacterial infection, and warrants antibiotics. As long as she's eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping all well, then I wouldn't be too concerned.

Metacam... now that is a very tricky subject. From the research I've done, as well as personal experience, metcam can cause renal failure if given during periods of low blood pressure. The kidneys then cannot process the meloxicam properly, thus creating kidney failure. If given during surgery or while under sedation/anesthesia, this is where the main problems have been seen. Giving metacam to an awake kitty is a different story.
Don't get me wrong, I've seen plenty of cats, even 3-4 month old kittens, for renal failure from receiving metacam injections, and I don't particuarily like the stuff anymore, however, the injections were given pre-op on sedated cats. In my experience, giving metacam orally has not caused renal insufficiency.

Good luck!

Okie

Thanks everyone.

Glad I mentioned the Metacam. I think I am going to stop giving it to her and go back to the vets tomorrow to say that I am concerned about the medication and he can check out her cold too.

Polly has just eaten again though, again, I had to take the food to her, but I'm not bothered as long as she's eating. Now I am expecting my other cat to come down with the cold too - I am feeding them in separate bowls etc but I bet that won't be enough to stop Thomas from getting it.

Jayne.

Originally Posted by rowdyangel

Thanks for the tips about looking after Polly with her cold. I'm making sure she eats and drinks and her appetite seems OK at the moment.

Also, thanks for the warning about Metacam. I have just looked it up on Google. You said it's not authorised by the FDA - is that just in the United States as I'm in the UK so I don't know if there's a similar governing body over here.

I checked with my husband and he said the vet didn't weight Polly or do blood tests before he prescribed it. Her dosage is the 3KG mark on the pipette, once daily in her food. I don't know how many MLs that is? This is confusing and very worrying.

She's due to go back to the vets in a couple of weeks with her leg problem to see how she's doing.

From what I have read about Metacam, it seems that most problems occur from overdosing. That's so sad.

So as well as worrying about the cold I need to decide if I should stop giving her the Metacam

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There are alternatives you can discuss with your vet for Metacam... You can get a different pain killer and a different anti-inflammatory.
IMO You shouldn't stop the medication on your own, but call your vet to replace it for something else, so your girl is not in pain, is being treated, and most of all, is safe.

You guys on this forum are great! Thanks again for all the advice - all duly noted.

I think that Polly might be getting a little better as she has just chased Thomas up the stairs - lol!

I want to share pics of them with you. My babies.

Polly


Thomas

Awww, they are beautiful!

Many times, stress can trigger an upper respiratory infection. For most cats, a trip to the vet is a very stressful experience, so it's not surprising Polly's come down with an URI. Also, the pain medication will make her sleepier than normal and may even cause her appetite to be off. Like Carolina mentioned, though, steaming her in the bathroom will help with the congestion. Also, if feeding her canned food, warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave or in a warm water bath (heat up the water, then place the bowl in the water to warm) will enhance the aroma of the food and entice her to eat.

I would second (or third) the opinion to discontinue using Metacam for the many side-effects, mainly the damage it can do to a cat's kidneys. There are many effective and much safer pain medications that can be used instead.

Hi all,

I just wanted to let you know that Polly's cold went within 4 days and now she seems fine. No more sneezing or runny nose or sleeping all day. She's back to her old self.

We also stopped giving her the Metacam and her leg seems to be fine. Obviously if she starts having problems with it again then we will take her back to the vets and ask for some other anti-inflammatory medication.

Thanks for all your help and advice. Thank goodness it was just a cold of some sort and nothing more serious.

Jayne XX

Thanks for the update. Its good to know that's she's doing better all around. As mentioned, stress can cause virus flare up so that's something you may want to look out for in the future with her.

Polly's leg is bad again

She's booked in at the vets for an x-ray next Thursday. I spoke to the vet about the Metacam while we were there and she said that in the UK it is the only licensed anti-inflammatory medication for cats. She said that for now we should start giving it to her again until she goes for her x-ray but the dosage has been reduced to 2.5.

Will be glad when she's had x-ray then we will know. Apparently though, Polly is older than we originally thought. When we got her from the RSPCA they said she was bout 2 years old and we've had her for 2 years now. However, the vet said that by looking at her teeth and eyes she is older than 4.

XX

It can be hard to tell on age. I can usually guess up to a year and a half fairly well, and tell if they're an older cat - though not how much older.

This is terrible that she took a bad turn. Make sure they keep an eye on her kidneys and make sure she's eating and drinks well.

Sorry to hear her leg is hurting her again. Hopefully, her doctor(s) can find out what's wrong with her and get her better!

Aging a pet is difficult. When they are young (usually up to a year old), you can tell fairly well judging by the development of permanent teeth and the uprooting of deciduous (baby) teeth. After that, you just have to judge by the tartar on the teeth, the aging of the eyes, the overall appearance, which can be swayed by pets who have had dentals or poor dental diets, pets who have chronic allergies and it affects their eyes, or pets who are in poor health or better than normal health. So, when a cat is aged with out knowing the actual birthday or if you've had her since she was at or less than a year old, it's really just a guess-timate, judged by the average cat.