It is important to remember, however, that just like our flu vaccine, no vaccine provides perfect protection, but vaccination will help to decrease the severity of an infection during an outbreak. Therefore all cats, including strictly indoor cats, should be vaccinated. As stated above, the viruses that cause these colds linger in our environment. The best way to help prevent URD outbreaks is to have your cat vaccinated. ![]() In these cases, a cure is almost impossible and management of clinical symptoms is important. Some cats that are chronically infected may show recurrent eye infection, cloudy nasal discharge, chronic sneezing, or nose ulcers. Although treatment of clinical symptoms is possible, a cure is often difficult as these viruses can cause lifelong, asymptomatic, infection. Sneezing is often the last symptom to resolve. With appropriate treatment, we should begin to see improvement of clinical symptoms within 24 to 48hrs. They target the viruses directly so there is hope that the primary cause for the URD will be eliminated. Systemic anti-virals: The recent research is showing promising results in fighting viruses with systemic anti-virus medications.To reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance and the creation of superbugs in our environment, it is important to finish all the medication. ![]() Systemic antibiotics: Due to concerns over more severe, systemic bacterial infection, we are sending your cat home on oral antibiotics.Antibiotic eye/nose drops: The medication in this eye/nose drop is an antibiotic, designed to control the secondary bacterial infection present in your cat’s upper respiratory passages.Remember that this drop needs to be kept refrigerated. Anti-viral eye/nose drops: The medication in this eye/nose drop is targeted against viruses.Veterinary approved L-lysine supplements are guaranteed to be of high quality and flavored to be tasty for your cat. For some cats, long-term to lifelong therapy may be required. Because these viruses have a slow lifecycle, it is important to continue with the lysine therapy for at least 30 days. If we can slow down how fast the viruses multiply, then it gives your cat’s immune system a chance to overcome the infection. Lysine is an important therapy because it targets the viruses to slow down their replication. L-lysine supplement: This is an amino acid supplement that gives high doses of lysine to your cat.Nasal secretions should be softened with water and removed. Anorexia is very common and is the most serious common complication of URD. If changes are noted, it is important to contact the clinic as soon as possible as changes to the treatment plan may be required. Monitoring at home: This includes checking activity levels and appetite.When deciding on a treatment plan, our goal is to treat appropriately for the symptoms your cat is presenting and may include the following: Viruses are a challenge to treat because they will not respond to antibiotic therapy. The only way to determine the exact cause of a URD is to take a sample (usually nasal, throat or eye discharge) and run several laboratory tests such as culture, if bacteria are suspected, or other tests (such as PCR) to identify viruses.Īs said before, URDs are most often caused by viruses. ![]() In hospital, we diagnose URD based on clinical symptoms. If we pet a stray cat, or visit a friend’s cat that is ill, we can put our own cats at risk! Any areas where lots of cats are together, and in high-stress situations, such as groomers, cat shows, pet stores, boarding facilities, and animal shelters are prime areas to pick-up a cold because the sneeze of one cat, several cages down, can infect your cat. The viruses that cause upper respiratory infections are casual contact viruses that can survive in the environment for long periods of time, and thereby spread by direct or indirect contact. As colds are a systemic infection, your cat may be lethargic, dull, and show decrease appetite. In severe infections, the lower respiratory tract can become involved leading to pneumonia. If the infection becomes chronic, then symptoms can include a dry or ulcerated nose and chronic, brown eye or nose discharge. Other symptoms include eye and nose discharge (clear in the case of viral infection and cloudy yellow or green if bacteria are also involved). Depending on how severe your cat’s infection is, it may be the only clinical symptom. The universal symptom of URD is sneezing. Bacteria take advantage of a busy immune system to create a secondary infection. In some cases, your cat’s viral infection is made worse by bacteria. Rarely, bacteria such as Chlamydia, Bordetella can cause these symptoms. The underlying cause of these cat colds are usually viruses (a cat-specific herpesvirus and feline calicivirus being most common). Feline upper respiratory disease (abbreviated URD) is a general term used to describe the sneezing, runny eyes, runny nose cat cold symptoms.
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