Cat Colds and Diarrhea

CitiKitty Cat Toilet Training Kit Train your cat to use the toilet.

Cat Colds Are Usually (But Not Always) Just a Nuisance, as is Diarrhea

 

Cat colds on rare occasions are fatal. Most often, they are just like in humans, a nuisance. Cat colds are vaccinated against as a part of the battery given kittens, and then again as a part of the booster shots given cats.

Feline Calicivirus (FCV) is a virus that affects the feline upper respiratory system, and accounts for approximately 40 percent of all respiratory diseases in cats, The severity of the infection may vary, but symptoms most often include moderate fever, ulcers and blisters on the tongue. Even if successfully treated, cats infected with FCV can become chronic virus carriers with lifelong clinical signs of sneezing and runny eyes.

Feline Herpes Virus (FHV) is the most common upper respiratory infection in cats. Clinical signs include moderate fever, appetite loss, sneezing, tearing, discharge from the eyeys and nose, mouth breathing and coughing. Even if successfully treated, FHV can lead to lifelong infection.

Feline Clamydiosis, once known as feline pneumonitis, causes a relatively mild upper respiratory infection, particularly affecting the mucous membranes of the eyes. Symptoms include tearing and occasional sneezing and nasal discharge. Boarding your cat increases its risk of clamydia infection and disease.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) is the most serious respiratory infection. It is progressive, and can lead to death. It is seen most often in young adult cats. Diagnostic testing for FIP is difficult. Although the risk of infection is low compared to other feline diseases, no cure exists. It affects the lining of the chest and abdomen. While it has been known since the 1960’s, its complexity has kept it from being know as well as it should be. There is as yet no reliable vaccine, unlike the other respiratory infections which have become a part of the battery of vaccinations given cats and kittens.

Diarrhea in kittens is fairly common. If it is not caused by worms (which can be tested for), it is a messy problem that the kitten will grow out of. Messy, I say, because the kitten has a tendency to miss the litterbox about 50% of the time. This is not necessarily a problem of the kitten taking issue with your choice of litter, or not knowing where the litterbox is (remember, if the kitten misses the litterbox 50% of the time, that means he is hitting it 50% of the time as well). The other phenomenon that occurs is that the kitten develops flatulence, but it is flatulence with substance, in that noxious liquid can come out with the expulsion of the gas. Fortunately, this is a temporary situation that the kitten grows out of with the help of Hill’s M/D a high fibre food, tho believe me, there are times when you think the cat will never get over it.