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- Jan 24, 2012
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I've got 4 cats, 3 of whom probably have one of the kitty cold viruses (herpes or calici) latent in their systems. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out when a vet visit is necessary but am wanting to make sure I'm working on good assumptions. (Our newest, Lucy, has a cold right now and I'm struggling with whether to take her in.) All the cats get lysine and a healthy diet (some raw and some grain free canned.)
Here's my thinking (correct me if I'm wrong)....
* Cat colds are viruses and will often resolve without a vet visit.
* Vets prescribe antibiotics for a cat cold to ward off secondary bacterial infections (or treat those that have already developed.)
* A vet visit is needed if the symptoms are especially severe or long lasting (I've read a normal cold can take 3 weeks to pass.)
* I work under the assumption that if the symptoms are mild and the cat is eating and playing okay, then I hold off on a vet visit. In the case of a personality change (Leo hid under the bed during one cold) we visit the vet.
Are these assumptions correct? Lucy has her second cold since she we adopted her (she's 6 yrs old and been with us two months.) She is eating fine and playful, just little bits of clear nasal discharge....lasting for a week now. BUT, she has had a slight cough. That worries me a bit more. It looked like a hairball cough and someone did vomit a hairball (not a frequent thing with my cats...guessing it was Lucy.) Hairball would make sense since Lucy just started grooming herself more (recovering from dental surgery for a mouth infection) and has been shedding a bunch lately (on a healthier diet, go figure.)
Anyways, even after the hairball was vomited, I've seen the cough a few more times over the course of a week. I know coughs can be serious. But she seems to feel well and I sort of dread having the vet prescribe antibiotics again. (She has been on 4 different antibiotics in the last few months...some for a URI and some related to the dental surgery. And she is getting a probiotic now.) Of course, if she needs antibiotics I'd want her to have them.
I'd love any advice on whether it's time to head for the vet. Thanks.
Here's my thinking (correct me if I'm wrong)....
* Cat colds are viruses and will often resolve without a vet visit.
* Vets prescribe antibiotics for a cat cold to ward off secondary bacterial infections (or treat those that have already developed.)
* A vet visit is needed if the symptoms are especially severe or long lasting (I've read a normal cold can take 3 weeks to pass.)
* I work under the assumption that if the symptoms are mild and the cat is eating and playing okay, then I hold off on a vet visit. In the case of a personality change (Leo hid under the bed during one cold) we visit the vet.
Are these assumptions correct? Lucy has her second cold since she we adopted her (she's 6 yrs old and been with us two months.) She is eating fine and playful, just little bits of clear nasal discharge....lasting for a week now. BUT, she has had a slight cough. That worries me a bit more. It looked like a hairball cough and someone did vomit a hairball (not a frequent thing with my cats...guessing it was Lucy.) Hairball would make sense since Lucy just started grooming herself more (recovering from dental surgery for a mouth infection) and has been shedding a bunch lately (on a healthier diet, go figure.)
Anyways, even after the hairball was vomited, I've seen the cough a few more times over the course of a week. I know coughs can be serious. But she seems to feel well and I sort of dread having the vet prescribe antibiotics again. (She has been on 4 different antibiotics in the last few months...some for a URI and some related to the dental surgery. And she is getting a probiotic now.) Of course, if she needs antibiotics I'd want her to have them.
I'd love any advice on whether it's time to head for the vet. Thanks.