Tag Archives: flu

Cats, Diseases of cats, Internal Diseases of Cats

Snotty-nosed cats

Snotty-nosed and snuffly cats are difficult to live with. Their owners put up with sneezes and snot all over the house, as well as snuffles and grumbles all day and half the night.

The causes of sinusitis and rhinosinusitis are also difficult for vets to diagnose accurately and even more difficult to treat effectively.

Inflammation and infection spread rapidly from cats’ throats to adjacent structures, such as the middle ear, frontal sinuses, nose and tympanic bullae. These cavities are difficult to reach with medical or surgical treatments.

Feline mucus is also thicker than human mucus and medication has a hard time penetrating the mucus to get to the offending microbes.

Feline Herpesvirus is the most common initiating cause of chronic rhinitis and rhinosinusitis. It causes chronic airway inflammation and swelling, destroys the normal lining of the nasal cavity and upsets the normal mucus layers. The nasal cavity cannot remove foreign particles or the abnormal mucus and the sinuses become blocked. Bacteria leap in and set up infections making the situation even worse.

Drugs to reduce the mucus and the swelling in the sinuses help a bit. We treat the bacterial infection with antibiotics but are still left with Herpesvirus and all the damage it does. Herpesvirus sinusitis soon flares up into full blown bacterial sinusitis again. Some cats respond well to antiviral drugs but others keep getting intermittent sinusitis.

Nastier causes of similar signs are Cryptococcosis, a fungal disease, and cancer, commonly lymphoma, adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. These are difficult to distinguish on X-ray but CT or MRI are very helpful, if they are available. A biopsy clears up any doubts. A blood test is available for Cryptococcosis.

Bad teeth and infected tooth roots sometimes make cats snuffly. A dental inspection and X-ray under general anaesthetic allow targeted and successful treatment.

Occasionally a cat breathes in a grass seed or other foreign body. Usually nasal discharge is from one side only and there is some bleeding.

 

Caring for your Cat, Caring for your Dog, Cats, Dogs, general

Boarding your pet

Holiday plans are not complete without accommodation arrangements for your pets, too. Many holiday accommodations are now pet friendly but most people have to leave their pets behind. Ideally, they should stay in their own home and yard with a friend, relative or house-sitter looking after them.

Many pets spend happy holidays at boarding facilities and even look forward to their own break from home routines. If possible visit the cattery or kennels beforehand, inspect the accommodation and meet the staff.

All commercial boarding establishments are licensed by the local authority but standards vary. Seek out recommendations from friends, neighbours or your veterinary surgeon. Some people like to trial board their dogs for a weekend or a few days and see how they settle.

Check that your pets’ vaccinations are up-to-date well before the holiday. Kennels insist upon current cover for distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and kennel cough for dogs and enteritis, calicivirus and herpesvirus for cats.

A single intra-nasal kennel cough immunization at least 72 hours before boarding covers dogs previously unvaccinated for kennel cough for 12 months. Other vaccinations take at least ten days to take effect.

Cats, Diseases of cats, Internal Diseases of Cats

Herpesvirus for cats…

Yes – cats have their own herpesvirus, just as irritating as the human variety, and liable to flare up with stress just like it does in human sufferers. However cat herpesvirus mostly affects the eyes and respiratory system.
The great majority of cats suffer their first bout with herpesvirus when they are kittens. They get watery eyes, sneeze, snuffle, go off their food for a day or two and look very sad and fluey. Antibiotics to prevent secondary infections and good nursing pull nearly all of them through.
Although most infected cats then become carriers very few have any further trouble with the virus themselves.
A few poor cats go on to develop flu-like signs or various eye diseases whenever they are stressed.
Some just get watery eyes. Painful ulcers on the cornea, the window of the eye, and on the conjunctiva, make other cats very miserable. Occasionally a part of the cornea dies and turns black, or the eye perforates.
Any eye problem is an emergency. If your cat has watery or pussy eyes, is squeezing his eyelids closed, or the eye looks blue, red or black bring him straight in to the surgery.