Possible cat cold?

I'm worried about my cat, Samson... he's almost 4yrs old and usually really healthy. I think he may have a cold and I'm also worried about feline bronchitis... My biggest concern about what's going on is that we adopted another cat from a shelter, Macy, a couple weeks ago, though I took her for her wellness check and she was fine on Wednesday. A couple days ago Samson's meow started getting a little croaky but he seemed fine. Yesterday it was really bad and he was coughing and would act like he was chewing on something or like something was stuck to the roof of his mouth. I'm assuming he may have coughed up some mucus? His breathing was also a little wheezy and loud and his nose was dry and warm. He wasn't really eating or drinking much. Today he seems pretty much fine, he gobbled up the treats I gave him and his nose is wet and cold again. I'm still concerned though because he's usually a pretty verbal cat and he's not really meowing anymore, he tried to when I was giving him the treats but nothing came out. I'm just not sure if it's a virus that's running it's course or if I should take him to the vet.

Hi Kitkat. Welcome to TCS. I'm sorry your kitty isn't feeling well. It's very common for shelter cats to have URI's so maybe one came in with your new kitty even though she isn't showing symptoms and your other cat is. If he is croaky, coughing, wheezing and not eating as much I would call the vet. Is there any nasal discharge? The virus itself can't be cured but it sounds like he may have a secondary bacterial infection and that can be cured with antibiotics. If he's not feeling better today I would take him to the vet because you don't want to wait until he stops eating. Then it becomes much more serious.

In some cases L-lysine can be very helpful to reduce symptoms and prevent new URI's. It's available in powder to mix with food, cat treats, gel pumps, etc. Available at pharmacies, vets's office, health food stores, amazon.com or cat treats with lysine at some pet stores. You can give them both 500mg a day.

Hope he's feeling better soon.