Cat cold question

Good evening..

I have 4 kitties in my family.

One was having bladder issues so I took her to my vet. About a week after that she began showing signs of a cold - constant sneezing, runny eyes etc.

I took her back to the vet and when I said something about her picking up the cold there, she said the stress of the bladder infection and visit caused it. That most cats have herpes virus and The stress activates it.

Now 2 of the other 3 cats are sick.

Is it true that a contagious viral cold can be caused by stress in cats? If it is activated by stress, is it contagious to other cats?

I am pretty upset thinking that the vet didn't clean between animals properly...

While vets do their best, if a cold virus is going through the air or on the chair in the vet's office, it's so easy for your cat to get infected. So it could be a regular cold, or it could be feline herpes virus.

Many cats do have feline herpes. It's very easy to catch in the shelter. My cat came from a foster home after being rescued from animal control as he was about to be put to sleep. Needless to say he was in bad shape and his bad upper respiratory infection was likely from the herpes virus. As far as my vet explained, your cat has to be displaying symptoms like a runny nose and sneezing to give it to other cats. They're not contagious when they appear perfectly healthy. And generally then the other cat has to be somewhat susceptible or have their own immune system slightly compromised. That's why they pick it up easily in the shelter, since it's full of sick and stressed out cats. Some cats are also exposed and never get it because they have stronger immunity.

Thank you for your response. Now all 4 of my babies are sick. It breaks my heart.

Try to help 1 and get them all sick.