Upper Respiratory Infections

Hi Mike,

A year ago I got two kittens from a shelter, brother and sister from the
same litter. One looked healthy and the other looked pretty sickly. The
"sickly" one had an Upper Respiratory Infection - the poor little thing was
so sick he hardly moved at his first vet visit. He had a fever and was put
on antibiotics immediately. He never had any joint swelling, but I noticed
he would keep getting these recurrent eye problems (where one eye was
constantly half closed or squinting). It turns out he was exposed to the
Feline Herpes Virus (which many, many cats are) which is NOT transferrable
to humans and does not affect the lifespan of a cat if treated.
Occasionally when he gets stressed (rides in the car, etc.) his symptoms
will flare up, which almost always affect his eyes. Then he gets secondary
infections in the eye and must have an eye ointment administered.

When I first got the diagnosis I pictured a lifetime of misery for this poor
kitten (and for me!). But as I said in another post, he is now almost 14
pounds and very healthy aside from this chronic condition. I'm not sure if
your cat has the Feline Herpes - it's something you should ask your vet. My
vet diagnosed it based on symptoms. For me it has been totally manageable.

I have 4 cats and obviously all of them have been exposed. Only the one cat
ever shows symptoms. I had a 5th, older cat last year who was in the final
stages of kidney disease, whose immune system was so compromised she picked
up the Feline Herpes and had eye problems. Most normal cats can "fight off"
the disease and don't become symptomatic. This is just my experience of
what has happened. My cat has never had the Upper Respiratory Infection in
the way he had it at the beginning - it has only ever been minor eye
irritations. It is not uncommon for cats in shelters to have these kind of
infections - if I were you I'd get him home asap!

Meghan

"Mike Harris" wrote in message
...
Hi. *waves, takes cautious step into the cyberspace of the newsgroup*

I'm writing because I was wondering if people could share their
experiences with their cats having gone through upper respiratory
infections, hopefully with an emphasis on positive experiences.

I adopted a little gray domestic shorthair tabby named Charlie from our
local anti-cruelty shelter on Nov. 10. He started sneezing the day I
brought him home, got very snotted up within a day or two, and stopped
eating shortly thereafter, even despite me bringing him into the steamy
bathroom to get the phlegm loosened, and nuking some wet food to make
the smell really strong.

I unfortunately had to bring him back to the shelter so they could watch
over him and forcefeed him for a bit, and give him some meds and other
stuff.

We had thought he was out of the woods, but then, after he had been at
the shelter a week, he then developed some swelling of his joints, which
appears to be a semi-rare symptom of this upper respiratory infection.

The vet informs me that the upper respiratory symptoms have pretty much
disappeared by now, and that the joint swelling has gone down
considerably: his left paw is still a little swollen and tender, but his
right one's fine. I hope to bring him home sometime very soon.

I'm wondering: what were your cat's experiences with upper respiratory
infections? Anyone get the joint swelling, too? Did your cat come out
the other end okay?

I'm also wondering about recurrences. I've heard that stressors can
cause the upper respiratory infection to return. The stressors I can
anticipate in Charlie's future are, for example, travel to my parents'
home next holiday (a 5-hour trip over subway, train and car, but he'll
be next to me in his carrier), or, say, his vaccinations. Or let's say
he needs an operation sometime in his future. If your cat had an upper
respiratory infection, did the URI ever come back, and if so, under what
circumstances? Was it a severe, longlasting outbreak, or was it just a
momentary bout of sniffles again?

I'm curious both for Charlie's future health and also for a financial
standpoint ... had the anti-cruelty shelter not been handling this free
(since it happened so closely after his adoption), his hospitalization
might have run well over a thousand dollars by now, for all I know ...
I'm just wondering if future hospitalizations might be in the works, or
if I'm just overreacting like any new cat owner might. Just trying to
make sure I have a good sense of future responsibilities.

Thanks in advance for your input and shared stories.

Mike

No, it hasn't. However my Minoo has an eye the tears when under stress like
being put in a carrier in the car. So if she goes to the vet she has a teary
eye.

Also, the sneezing can continue for a week or two after the rest of the
symptoms are gone.

--
Joe
http://www.jwpitt.com/cats.htm
Cat Rescue http://www.animalrescuefoundation.com
God created the cat so man could have the pleasure of petting the tiger


"Mike Harris" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Joe Pitt" wrote:

One of my own had a URI and the joint pain. My vet gave me pills to help
with the pain. That was about a year ago when he was a little kitten and
he
is fine now.

Thanks. I'm glad to hear that. I've heard that because URIs are based
on the feline herpes virus and the feline calcivirus, which I guess
don't leave the body (is that correct?), that the symptoms can "recur"
in times of physical or emotional stress for the cat, such as travel,
vaccines, etc. Has that happened for your kit?

The normal treatment is an antibiotic for the infection and possibly
interferon to help thier immune system. The vet can also give you an
appetite enhancer. Cats won't eat if they can't smell the food so you
can
try the real smelly canned food also.

The upper respiratory infection symptoms have pretty much disappeared,
and thankfully, he's been eating for a while; we're just waiting for the
joint swelling to go down before he comes back home.

If you have the time why don't you volunteer at the shelter.

It's certainly a thought. I will give it some serious consideration.

Mike

No, it hasn't. However my Minoo has an eye the tears when under stress like
being put in a carrier in the car. So if she goes to the vet she has a teary
eye.

Also, the sneezing can continue for a week or two after the rest of the
symptoms are gone.

--
Joe
http://www.jwpitt.com/cats.htm
Cat Rescue http://www.animalrescuefoundation.com
God created the cat so man could have the pleasure of petting the tiger


"Mike Harris" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Joe Pitt" wrote:

One of my own had a URI and the joint pain. My vet gave me pills to help
with the pain. That was about a year ago when he was a little kitten and
he
is fine now.

Thanks. I'm glad to hear that. I've heard that because URIs are based
on the feline herpes virus and the feline calcivirus, which I guess
don't leave the body (is that correct?), that the symptoms can "recur"
in times of physical or emotional stress for the cat, such as travel,
vaccines, etc. Has that happened for your kit?

The normal treatment is an antibiotic for the infection and possibly
interferon to help thier immune system. The vet can also give you an
appetite enhancer. Cats won't eat if they can't smell the food so you
can
try the real smelly canned food also.

The upper respiratory infection symptoms have pretty much disappeared,
and thankfully, he's been eating for a while; we're just waiting for the
joint swelling to go down before he comes back home.

If you have the time why don't you volunteer at the shelter.

It's certainly a thought. I will give it some serious consideration.

Mike

"Mike Harris" wrote in message
...
Hi. *waves, takes cautious step into the cyberspace of the
newsgroup*

Hi!

I'm writing because I was wondering if people could share their
experiences with their cats having gone through upper respiratory
infections, hopefully with an emphasis on positive experiences.

I adopted a little gray domestic shorthair tabby named Charlie from
our
local anti-cruelty shelter on Nov. 10. He started sneezing the day
I
brought him home, got very snotted up within a day or two, and
stopped
eating shortly thereafter, even despite me bringing him into the
steamy
bathroom to get the phlegm loosened, and nuking some wet food to
make
the smell really strong.

The only thing I have to offer is that my shelter sent Cheeks home
with a packet of powdered L-Lysine, an amino acid you can get in
health food stores, and told me to mix half a teaspoon in her food
until it was gone. (About a week's supply, I think I recall.) The
staff person said that many strays have rhinovirus, which can stay in
remission but emerges in times of stress. The lysine helps keep it in
check.

"Mike Harris" wrote in message
...
Hi. *waves, takes cautious step into the cyberspace of the
newsgroup*

Hi!

I'm writing because I was wondering if people could share their
experiences with their cats having gone through upper respiratory
infections, hopefully with an emphasis on positive experiences.

I adopted a little gray domestic shorthair tabby named Charlie from
our
local anti-cruelty shelter on Nov. 10. He started sneezing the day
I
brought him home, got very snotted up within a day or two, and
stopped
eating shortly thereafter, even despite me bringing him into the
steamy
bathroom to get the phlegm loosened, and nuking some wet food to
make
the smell really strong.

The only thing I have to offer is that my shelter sent Cheeks home
with a packet of powdered L-Lysine, an amino acid you can get in
health food stores, and told me to mix half a teaspoon in her food
until it was gone. (About a week's supply, I think I recall.) The
staff person said that many strays have rhinovirus, which can stay in
remission but emerges in times of stress. The lysine helps keep it in
check.

In article ,
enlightened us with...
Hi. *waves, takes cautious step into the cyberspace of the newsgroup*


Hi!

I'm writing because I was wondering if people could share their
experiences with their cats having gone through upper respiratory
infections, hopefully with an emphasis on positive experiences.

snip

My Rowan got rather badly ill twice. The first time I almost lost her.
The second, I cought it quick and she recovered quickly. It's been about
a year now and she's doing great.

I'm wondering: what were your cat's experiences with upper respiratory
infections? Anyone get the joint swelling, too? Did your cat come out
the other end okay?


No swelling. We aren't sure what strain she had and the vet even thought
it was FIP for awhile. Rowan recovered though, so the vet knows thinks
it wasn't FIP, since cats don't recover from that. Best guess is
rhinotracheitis (herpes).

I'm also wondering about recurrences. I've heard that stressors can
cause the upper respiratory infection to return.

Yes, they can.
I had three cats, all of whom had to have been exposed to the virus,
since they all lived together. Two recovered on their own in days. Rowan
stayed sick and got sicker. Antibiotics, fluids, supplements, and me
nursing her for two weeks finally kicked it. It came back 6 months
later, just before last Christmas. We got that licked pretty quick that
time, but she still needed some antibiotics and appetite stimulant.
She's been fine since. *knock on wood*
She does still tend to get dehydrated and I have to keep an eye on that.
So far she's done way better than the vet thought she would.

So, IME, some cats never get sick again and do great and some cats have
it recurrent on and off for the rest of their lives. If you catch it
fast, you won't have to have a hospital stay. We didn't. I nursed her
and did fluids and stuff at home. She hates the vet anyway, so it's more
stressful for her to be there than at home.

--
--
~kaeli~
Every calendar's days are numbered.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

In article ,
enlightened us with...
Hi. *waves, takes cautious step into the cyberspace of the newsgroup*


Hi!

I'm writing because I was wondering if people could share their
experiences with their cats having gone through upper respiratory
infections, hopefully with an emphasis on positive experiences.

snip

My Rowan got rather badly ill twice. The first time I almost lost her.
The second, I cought it quick and she recovered quickly. It's been about
a year now and she's doing great.

I'm wondering: what were your cat's experiences with upper respiratory
infections? Anyone get the joint swelling, too? Did your cat come out
the other end okay?


No swelling. We aren't sure what strain she had and the vet even thought
it was FIP for awhile. Rowan recovered though, so the vet knows thinks
it wasn't FIP, since cats don't recover from that. Best guess is
rhinotracheitis (herpes).

I'm also wondering about recurrences. I've heard that stressors can
cause the upper respiratory infection to return.

Yes, they can.
I had three cats, all of whom had to have been exposed to the virus,
since they all lived together. Two recovered on their own in days. Rowan
stayed sick and got sicker. Antibiotics, fluids, supplements, and me
nursing her for two weeks finally kicked it. It came back 6 months
later, just before last Christmas. We got that licked pretty quick that
time, but she still needed some antibiotics and appetite stimulant.
She's been fine since. *knock on wood*
She does still tend to get dehydrated and I have to keep an eye on that.
So far she's done way better than the vet thought she would.

So, IME, some cats never get sick again and do great and some cats have
it recurrent on and off for the rest of their lives. If you catch it
fast, you won't have to have a hospital stay. We didn't. I nursed her
and did fluids and stuff at home. She hates the vet anyway, so it's more
stressful for her to be there than at home.

--
--
~kaeli~
Every calendar's days are numbered.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

"kaeli" wrote in message
...
In article ,
enlightened us with...
Hi. *waves, takes cautious step into the cyberspace of the
newsgroup*


Hi!

I'm writing because I was wondering if people could share their
experiences with their cats having gone through upper respiratory
infections, hopefully with an emphasis on positive experiences.

snip

My Rowan got rather badly ill twice. The first time I almost lost
her.
The second, I cought it quick and she recovered quickly. It's been
about
a year now and she's doing great.

I'm wondering: what were your cat's experiences with upper
respiratory
infections? Anyone get the joint swelling, too? Did your cat
come out
the other end okay?


No swelling. We aren't sure what strain she had and the vet even
thought
it was FIP for awhile. Rowan recovered though, so the vet knows
thinks
it wasn't FIP, since cats don't recover from that. Best guess is
rhinotracheitis (herpes).

This is what I meant, not rhinitis. Thanks, kaeli.

"kaeli" wrote in message
...
In article ,
enlightened us with...
Hi. *waves, takes cautious step into the cyberspace of the
newsgroup*


Hi!

I'm writing because I was wondering if people could share their
experiences with their cats having gone through upper respiratory
infections, hopefully with an emphasis on positive experiences.

snip

My Rowan got rather badly ill twice. The first time I almost lost
her.
The second, I cought it quick and she recovered quickly. It's been
about
a year now and she's doing great.

I'm wondering: what were your cat's experiences with upper
respiratory
infections? Anyone get the joint swelling, too? Did your cat
come out
the other end okay?


No swelling. We aren't sure what strain she had and the vet even
thought
it was FIP for awhile. Rowan recovered though, so the vet knows
thinks
it wasn't FIP, since cats don't recover from that. Best guess is
rhinotracheitis (herpes).

This is what I meant, not rhinitis. Thanks, kaeli.

It's very common for cats to have developed a URI at a shelter.

One of my cats developed a couple of "kitty colds" - URIs - during her
lifetime here, at home. (How, I don't know, & she didn't give it to the
other cat, either.) Both times, she acted exactly as a person who had a
lousy cold would act: lethargic & wanting to sleep a lot, was stuffed up -
yet also had a drippy nose, & sneezed. Appetite dwindled & I
syringe/force-fed her water every couple of hours & wet food (Hill's a/d)
every few hours. She vegged out, feeling icky, for about a week, & then got
better.

The swollen, tender joints part I can't answer. It's, for some reason,
ringing a faint bell in the back of my head, but I can't put my finger on
*why*. I can't even think if it has to do w/ felines or humans. If I
miraculously come up w/ what I'm trying to remember, I'll tack on another
post...

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

"Mike Harris" wrote in message
...
Hi. *waves, takes cautious step into the cyberspace of the newsgroup*

I'm writing because I was wondering if people could share their
experiences with their cats having gone through upper respiratory
infections, hopefully with an emphasis on positive experiences.

I adopted a little gray domestic shorthair tabby named Charlie from our
local anti-cruelty shelter on Nov. 10. He started sneezing the day I
brought him home, got very snotted up within a day or two, and stopped
eating shortly thereafter, even despite me bringing him into the steamy
bathroom to get the phlegm loosened, and nuking some wet food to make
the smell really strong.

I unfortunately had to bring him back to the shelter so they could watch
over him and forcefeed him for a bit, and give him some meds and other
stuff.

We had thought he was out of the woods, but then, after he had been at
the shelter a week, he then developed some swelling of his joints, which
appears to be a semi-rare symptom of this upper respiratory infection.

The vet informs me that the upper respiratory symptoms have pretty much
disappeared by now, and that the joint swelling has gone down
considerably: his left paw is still a little swollen and tender, but his
right one's fine. I hope to bring him home sometime very soon.

I'm wondering: what were your cat's experiences with upper respiratory
infections? Anyone get the joint swelling, too? Did your cat come out
the other end okay?

I'm also wondering about recurrences. I've heard that stressors can
cause the upper respiratory infection to return. The stressors I can
anticipate in Charlie's future are, for example, travel to my parents'
home next holiday (a 5-hour trip over subway, train and car, but he'll
be next to me in his carrier), or, say, his vaccinations. Or let's say
he needs an operation sometime in his future. If your cat had an upper
respiratory infection, did the URI ever come back, and if so, under what
circumstances? Was it a severe, longlasting outbreak, or was it just a
momentary bout of sniffles again?

I'm curious both for Charlie's future health and also for a financial
standpoint ... had the anti-cruelty shelter not been handling this free
(since it happened so closely after his adoption), his hospitalization
might have run well over a thousand dollars by now, for all I know ...
I'm just wondering if future hospitalizations might be in the works, or
if I'm just overreacting like any new cat owner might. Just trying to
make sure I have a good sense of future responsibilities.

Thanks in advance for your input and shared stories.

Mike