Upper Respiratory Tract Infection Cat

Upper respiratory tract infection in cats.

Upper respiratory tract infection cat.

These infections usually respond well to treatment though some cats can become quite ill with severe cases occasionally becoming pneumonia. Healthy cats can become infected through direct or indirect contact. A sneezing cat or a coughing cat can signal an upper respiratory infection. Upper respiratory infections are very common in cats especially kittens and shelter cats.

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. In the vast majority of cases disease results from infection with feline calicivirus fcv or feline herpes virus fhv or fhv 1. Respiratory infections are too common in kittens as is the case with urinary tract infections. However cats kept in crowded quarters are at a high risk of infection as bacteria travels easily from direct or indirect contact.

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. Gently clean any discharge from its eyes and nose. More information about the most common infectious agents that cause an upper respiratory infection in cats can be found in separate handouts in this series of client education materials.