Cat Has Chronic Upper Respiratory Infection

Both human head colds and feline uris can be caused by a number of different things various bacteria or viruses and the symptoms and severity vary.

Cat has chronic upper respiratory infection.

Feline upper respiratory illness uri affects a cat s mouth nasal passages upper airway and possibly the eyes. In some but not all of these carriers the chronic viral infection damages the protective mucous membranes and allows bacteria to invade the damaged tissues and causes persistent clinical signs. These upper respiratory viruses tend to persist in some cats known as carrier cats for weeks months or even years. A cat that is a carrier of an upper respiratory virus may always be infective to other cats see question how long does a typical upper respiratory infection last.

Gently clean any discharge from its eyes and nose. Bordetella and chlamydia are bacteria that can cause. Chylamydiosis in cats refers to a bacteria based chronic respiratory infection. A cat that has an acute upper respiratory infection will be infective to other cats during the incubation period and for up to 3 weeks after developing symptoms.

In young cats the initial cause is often simply a viral or bacterial agent. X research source it is usually caused by one or more infectious agents. Animals that have developed this infection will often exhibit traditional signs of an upper respiratory infection such as watery eyes runny nose and sneezing. Some of the other common symptoms may include a discharge from the nose or eyes sniffling a fever often evident by a lack of appetite a hoarse meow or no voice at all and ulcers in the mouth or on the nose.

However diagnosis of a chronic bacterial or viral uri in an older cat by no means tells the whole story. An upper respiratory infection uri can be compared to a cold a person might get. If breathing is a problem your vet may suggest putting your cat in a bathroom with a steamy shower running. Learn more about the causes and treatment of the condition below.

In the vast majority of cases disease results from infection with feline calicivirus fcv or feline herpes virus fhv or fhv 1. A sneezing cat or a coughing cat can signal an upper respiratory infection. The syndrome refers to chronic disease affecting the nose nasal cavities or the nasopharynx the air passage immediately behind the nose. Clinical signs include sneezing nasal discharge.

A cat with an upper respiratory infection loses some sense of smell so you may need to tempt your cat with an extra smelly treat like fish. Cat flu or upper respiratory infection uri is a very common disease that can vary considerably in severity and on occasions can even be life threatening.