Annabelle's Eye Problem

Annabelle has clamydia (sp?) Does anyone know how this happens in a cat? I know it's not sexually transmitted like in humans, so I was wondering how she got it. Her eye flares up from time to time and we have medication that we use for it when it does. Just curious to know how this happened.

Where did you get Annabelle? Ziv was recently diagnosed with chlamydia, too. We got him from a shelter in January.

I did a bit of digging around on the 'net, and apparently, chlamydia is one of the major causes of Upper Respiratory Infections in cats. So, it's passed just like a URI--cats together in a shelter, cattery, or household can get it through normal interactions. So far, neither Eva nor Chesty has shown any signs, but the specialist said it's probable that they will get it, eventually, so I'm keeping an eye on them.

The specialist said that it's possible to get rid of chlamydia, if you treat it systemically. In other words, you can't just treat the eye flare-up, you have to give strong internal antibiotics. Ziv is currently in the middle of his three-week course of Zithromycin. He's also taking Lysine just in case it turns out he has herpes instead of/in addition to the chlamydia. The antibiotics are pricey (around $120? from CVS--you have to get them at a human pharmacy)--but Ziv was pretty miserable before, and he's been SO much better lately. His eye is tearing much less, and it doesn't look pink anymore. He also just seems generally happier, more cuddly, etc.

So, if you got Annabelle from a shelter, or if she regularly interacts with other cats--outdoors or something--that's how she got it. If I were you, though, I would try to get Zithromycin for her. I'd imagine that, unchecked, chlamydia could really wreak havoc on her immune system, and also could infect your other cats. We had to take Ziv to a specialist (an opthalmologist) to get the diagnosis (our regular vet had no idea what was wrong), and he's the one who prescribed the treatment. Good luck!

Thanks for the info. We got her from a shelter also. So far none of our other cats have contracted it either. My mom likes to tease that she's been out messing around every time it acts up. Our vet didn't have too much info on it either. It's pretty rare that it acts up, but it's good to know we can do something about it. Thanks again.

You're welcome! It's funny, my regular vet, who I like, had pretty much NO IDEA what it could be--whereas, when I took Ziv to the specialist, he knew pretty much right away what it was. He's not 100% sure that it's chlamydia and not herpes, but the herpes test is expensive, so he recommended this course of treatment, first (the Zithromycin for the chlamydia and the Lysine for herpes). We're going back in about two weeks to have Ziv checked again. He looks so much better--I'm just really hoping that it does turn out to be chlamydia, because from what I understand, you can't get rid of herpes.

Anyway, if you want, I'll let you know what happens when we go back to the specialist on May 5.

That would be great if you could let me know. My husband and I are thinking the Zythromycin sounds like a plan. Hopefully we'll be able to find a specialist in our area that can examine her and give us a better idea of what she has.