Cat Flu????

[terrijane]

I bought my kitten 7 weeks ago and within 24 hours she started sneezing and had nasal discharge. She has been vaccinated against everything except leukaemia. I took her to the vets and was told she probably contracted cat flu but as she's vaccinated it is a mild form and was given antibiotics to prevent any another infection. However 7 weeks on she is still sneezing, but is playing, eating, pooing and urinating normally, as she has all the way through this. I have never had cat flu in any of my cats before ( I used to breed and show - not MC) so am at a loss to explain this. We did buy her to show and eventually breed from, but I'm now having to reconsider all of this. Also we lost our other cat at 16 last week due to kidney failure and old age. Kitty Cleo was just settling with her and is now looking lost without her. But in view of everything should I get another? She seems to be quite a timid cat and probably would benefit from more feline company.

I would be interested in all your thoughts on this one. Many thanks.

[wendy67]

The kitten would of contracted it from its mother, and will always be a 'carrier' of it, even though its been vacinated against it. I brought a kitten with running eyes and discharge from the nose over 13 years ago, and even though she was vacinated each year, she still on occasions sneezed and had runny eye etc. My vet told me it was passed to her via the mother, and will always be a carrier. I found out a few months after buying her that all her brothers & sisters had died from cat flu! but Chloe lived for over 10 years with no issues.
I would get another!. ive got a 18 year old and she has always been used to other cat company. She was lost when she lost her sister many years ago and we have had many other cats over the years and she has adapted straight away.

Sorry to hear the loss of your cat, its very sad no matter what age they are, they are still part of your family

[jckkerrison]

Sounds stupid I know but if she is still sneezing could it be that she is actually allergic to something in your house especially if there were no signs until you brought her in...? There are certain products we have found through work that seem to cause animals problems & one of them is a fairly new floor cleaner.
Have you spoken to the breeder to see how the other kittens are ?
So sad about your other cat especially as the two were so obviously getting on together,yep agree with wendy67 go for it get her a playmate....x

[candes]

Still sneezing? Wouldn't even be concerned. So did the vet say if it is herpes? Over 70% of cats have dormant herpes virus. A stress in life will bring it out. When Sasha lost all her siblings, she showed her first signs of it. I already knew I had herpes in my house, so it was no big deal to me. Kittens are slow to get over things. So she is my last out of 4 cats to be totally better. (Yes all 4 had an outbreak. Even when cats get along, there is still the stress of adapting to a newcomer.) As cats grow older their immune function improves and if they get a rare outbreak, it resolves fast and with few symptoms. My Sasha still has a very mildly runny nose and sneezing. She is happy, healthy, and eating well. So it is just a waiting game at this point. Oh and don't forget the lysine.

Multi cat households are prone to herpes outbreaks. The more you have, the greater the risk. Also, first exposure often happens in the show hall. So if your cats have never shown signs of herpes, you may want to consider if it is worth showing. Especially if it is just something you want to do rarely when the show is in town.

If your cat has herpes already, and is not showing any signs, I say go for the show business. But as a general rule I feel that no one (besides judges etc..) should be handling yours or anyones cats. Nor should they come in contact with each other.

[terrijane]

I have started her on Lysine after reading reports about its value with herpes. I have considered if she could be allergic to something in the house, but it would take a while to find out what it is.

Would another breeder let me have a kitten knowing that I may have FHV in the house? Its such a shame that we lost Bonnie, at the moment Cleo is sleeping in all Bonnie's beds, so she is obviously missing her.
I have read loads on this and will now have her neutered, as it will be passed onto any kittens she has. When she 1st came down with it I got in touch with her breeder, she said that none of the others showed any symptoms of it.

[Musicalife]

One of my March kittens developed cat flu at first vaccination time, and it took quite a while for her to recover. Unfortunately, one side effect of flu is that the cat can develop polyps in the nasal tubes, which poor Mercury did. Her condition did not improve, she struggled to breathe sometimes and she started losing weight, so she had a minor op to remove the polyp. The improvement was immediate, breathing was much easier and she started eating for England. She is now with her new owners and doing well and, though small for her age, is making a good recovery.

It can take months for a cat to recover from cat flu, but if your cat is vaccinated and the breeder has vaccinated the kittens, I don't see why you couldn't have another. Like human flu, the cat flu virus mutates and the vaccination, whilst pretty effective, cannot cover all strains of the virus. You can still be unlucky and a vaccinated cat can get flu. Just be aware of this, try not to let your cats mix with non-vaccinated cats, and be vigilant. A trip to the vet at the first signs can reduce the severity of the illness.

[candes]

Now when you all say flu do you mean specifically calicivirus? Since that is the only one that I am aware of that has a vaccine available. There are many organisms that can cause similar symptoms. Herpes virus is the most common, but has no vaccine. No matter which it is, your cat will always have the virus. And will be subject to flare ups during times of physical or mental stress.

Terrijane, herpes virus is extremely common. Especially since cats can be exposed at shows on a regular basis. So I really don't feel it should be an issue with a breeder. Now calicivirus, I am not certain about. So what do our breeders here think?

[Tivicoons]

Hi all, I have had a very expensive session with my three kittens, due to our show cat picking up a virus at a show in October... he then passed it on to annother cat and then just when I thought the kittens would be fine one boy stated to sneeze and stopped drinking from Mum, he has been on drugs basically since then! The vet has told me that he could develop asthma or he could make a full recovery and be perfectly normal?! He is a gorgous little boy and will be having his second immunisation shot on Thursday as will his little bottle fed brother, who was slightly effected, he is an utter scamp too... and his huge blue brother didn't get effected by the 'sneezes' at all!

So yes one kitten in a litter can fall prey to the 'flu' while his litter mates do not... it is a complete bummer for me cos my little sneezer was the best of the three. They will be for sale soon, but obviously only when they are all well and I will have to tell the world that there was a problem... I think I'll breed dogs its much easier!!!

[terrijane]

I thought I would just give you an update on Cleo. I went back to the vet tonight and saw a different vet but in my heart I know something isn't right. this vet owns a Norwegian Forest that has the herpes virus so he knows a lot about it. the first thing he did was check her lymph nodes which should be the size of a petit pois but hers the size of a large pea. He felt that there was something going on so we are going ahead with the tests for herpes and calcivirus. I'm not expecting a miracle I have a feeling it will be one of these. She will then be neutered. But I would like to get her a playmate at least.

[terrijane]

Hi all, I have had a very expensive session with my three kittens, due to our show cat picking up a virus at a show in October... he then passed it on to annother cat and then just when I thought the kittens would be fine one boy stated to sneeze and stopped drinking from Mum, he has been on drugs basically since then! The vet has told me that he could develop asthma or he could make a full recovery and be perfectly normal?! He is a gorgous little boy and will be having his second immunisation shot on Thursday as will his little bottle fed brother, who was slightly effected, he is an utter scamp too... and his huge blue brother didn't get effected by the 'sneezes' at all!

So yes one kitten in a litter can fall prey to the 'flu' while his litter mates do not... it is a complete bummer for me cos my little sneezer was the best of the three. They will be for sale soon, but obviously only when they are all well and I will have to tell the world that there was a problem... I think I'll breed dogs its much easier!!!

How are your kittens getting on?