cat cold?

Hi guys,

My cat Marley has been sneezing on and off for a while now with some discharge from eyes, appetite, drinking of water is all normal. I had googled the cause of this and some reviews said that its a type of herpes virus that cats get, and really nothing anyone can do about this.  I however wanted to know if any other moms and dads have ever had this happen to their cat? and if so what was done about it? and is there is any long-term issues I should be worried about?

Thanks guys

You're right, it's likely an upper respiratory infection (URI). These are often caused by the feline herpes viruses, although there are a couple other ones out there. A vet could test for exactly what it is, but that usually doesn't help with treatment so it's not necessary. If it's the herpes virus, from time to time, especially when the cat is stressed, the symptoms will flare up again throughout the cat's life. The symptoms should subside within a couple weeks. If it gets bad or your cat has had other illnesses lately or has a weakened immune system, you should take your cat to the vet and they might prescribe some antibiotics to prevent a secondary infection. Sometimes cats with the virus lose some of their sense of smell during a flare up, like us with a cold, so they don't have as much of an appetite and an appetite stimulant from the vet may be needed as well, so that's something else to monitor in the future. Otherwise, in healthy cats, it's not something to be too worried about. You can just gently wipe away any discharge to make him more comfortable. A humidifier might also help.

While supplementing with L-Lysine was thought to be a good way to reduce symptoms, evidence (or rather lack of it) has shown that's probably not effective and may not be a good idea. You can read about it in this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/309898/supplementing-with-lysine-not-recommended-for-herpes-kitties

It does seem like a lot of people on this site have had good results using lactoferrin, though: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/267703/stubborn-herpes-infection-add-lactoferrin-in-addition-to-lysine

I hope Marley feels better soon!

This sounds like a URI. It is great that Marley's appetite is still normal. You could try the steam room treatment. Run the shower as hot as possible to steam up the bathroom and sit in the steamy bathroom with Marley for 15-20 minutes 2-3 times a day.

Keep an eye on the symptoms if the sneezing gets worse or the eye discharge is not clear then please follow up with your vet. If there are any appetite changes please take Marley to the vet. Some URI's can involve eye infections which require eye ointment from the vet. Also some URI's require antibiotics if the sneezing gets worse, you notice any coughing or breathing sounds off please get Marley to vet.

Sorry for the book I have dealt with URI's and am giving you the advice I got from the vet.

Hi guys,

Thanks so much for the info. I actually just spoke to Marleys vet yesterday and she said a "cat cold" is common occurance, similar to what Catlover73 was saying, if his eye discharge is yellow or green then that is a cause for concern.  Other than that im happy to report that he has very little clear eye discharge and seems to have decreased his sneezing. 

I'll be keeping an eye out,

Thanks again,

Furmama