Why Is My Kitten Sneezing? | Cat Flu | Vet Explains

so you find your kitten with a snotty nose and gunk in his eyes struggling to breathe and eat your kitten may be suffering from cat flu watch this video to find out what you need to know about this disease and what you need to do in order to get it back to the lively ball of fur that it used to be hey guys dr peter i'm a veterinarian from south africa now cat flu is a broad term used to describe an upper respiratory infection that is usually caused by two types of viruses feline herpes virus and feline glycovirus feline herpes virus attacks the cell lining in the eyes and the nose while feline khaleesi virus attacks the cell lining in the mouth specifically the tongue gums lips heart palate and the throat both causing inflammation and pain both these viruses weakens the cat's immunity which means that bacteria can more easily infect the kitten resulting in a secondary bacterial infection which usually causes the symptoms that we tend to see the most common bacteria that is usually associated with cat flu is called boritella bronchisceptica and chlamydophila phyllis now cat flu is more prominent in young kittens and older cats as well as those suffering from feline leukemia or feline aids as all of these groups tend to have weaker immune systems it is a highly contagious disease and can spread by means of direct contact with other cats like when they play or snuggle together through air droplets when sneezing or coughing and through contaminated objects such as shared gauges and food bowls now you do get different levels of severity with cat flu most cats will just have a mild transparent snotty nose and some teary eyes but when the secondary bacterial infection becomes more severe the secretions from nose and eyes will turn yellowish brownish and become thickened what we call mucouperland and these can then form hot crusts which can block the airways therefore making it more difficult to breathe which can cause them to make this wheezing type of breathing sounds the kids won't feel great overall and will thus also show signs of lethargy weakness fever and some may also be inappetent especially if the infection inside the mouth is so severe that it causes ulcers on the tongue and cheeks therefore making it more painful and difficult to chew and swallow other common symptoms include eye squinting sneezing coughing and drooling and some kittens may also develop high ulcers when left untreated for too long the infection can spread to the lower parts of the cat's respiratory system and can thus result in a pneumonia which is very difficult to treat and usually unfortunately results in death now diagnosis is usually made based on the appearance and the history of the cat meaning the cat's age vaccination status and the duration of the clinical signs your vet will need to do a thorough physical exam where you will specifically look for secretions from the nose and the eyes open the cat's mouth to look for ulcers or sores on the tongue and the cheeks and then you will also have to listen to the heart of a stethoscope to try and hear if there is any compromised breathing going on your vet will also need to feel for any enlarged lymph nodes especially around the face and the chest area and you will need to take the kittens temperature with either a small thermometer or a type of scanner to see if they have a fever you may also make a blood smear to look for any signs of infection and if it does suspect a lower respiratory tract infection such as pneumonia you may also recommend chest x-rays to assess its severity if your vet is fancy he may also take a swab from the secretions from the nose trachea or ice and send it to the lab for bacterial culture or a pcr test in order to confirm the presence of rna from the feline kulesi and herpes viruses now just like most viruses there isn't really a specific drug that can kill the virus itself what we need to aim for is treating and preventing secondary bacterial infections for long enough and offering nutritious food in order to allow the kitchen's immune system to recover and therefore to fight off the virus itself mild cases of cat flu is usually treated with an injectable form of a broad-spectrum antibiotic such as amoxicillin clavillonic acid to help fight off the infection as well as an anti-inflammatory drug such as maloxicum to help lower the fever and to take away the pain in the mouth if your kitten is having any trouble breathing through the nose your weight may also prescribe a mucolitic to help clear the airways and to remove the mucus if the kitchen is still active and eating they will usually be sent home with a five to seven course of the oral form of all three of these types of mets if your kitten has a severe eye infection your vet may prescribe a pet specific eye wash that you will need to use to rinse out the infection four to six times a day as well as a topical antibiotic such as offloccession which you need to apply for about five to ten days depending on your weight instructions now if the kitten does not want to eat is lethargic has any difficulty breathing and is dehydrated it will need more intensive care and will thus need to be admitted for spiritualization your kitten will ideally be put on a drip but it is often difficult to find a vein to put an iv catheter in so in these cases we will first give intra-peritoneal fluids where we basically inject ringo's lactate solution into the kitten's abdomen the kitten will then receive the injectable form of both the antibiotic and anti-inflammatory as well as an immune booster every single day and its eyes will be cleaned four to six times a day as well if the kittens are really weak and refuses to eat a nasogastric tube can be placed where we basically insert a small tube through their nostril and nasal passages all the way into the stomach where we can then inject food and water directly into their tummies usually once the kitten receives its meds and starts to feel a little bit better it will start eating like a monster which is always a good sign i had some kittens brought to the clinic which was on the brink of death but soon after giving them some fluids and injections they flipped around and ate more food than most of the dogs in the hospital apart from this it is important to give your kitten some tlc aka tender loving care which means keeping them warm and dry and always making sure they have enough clean fresh water and food as well as cleaning out the litter daily kittens can be little tornadoes in the cages and they may step in the poo and then in the food and water so maintaining good hygiene is vital for their recovery make sure to gently wipe away the discharge from the nose and ice with the eye wash your vet prescribed but even diluted salt water on cotton will will also work just as fine what will also really help is to let your cat sit in the bathroom while you take a bath or a shower as the steam will basically act as a type of nebulizer which will break up and loosen up the secretions in the airways therefore making it much more easier to breathe you can also place the cat in a wire basket next to a bowl of steaming water and then cover the two with a towel for about five minutes at a time two to four times a day smell plays a major part in a cat's appetite so if they have a stuffy nose they will have a decreased sense of smell which will eventually lead to a decreased appetite so in terms of diet they will need food that is soft highly palatable and high in calories we usually recommend the recovery cans from roelkenin or the feline kitten moose from heels but sardines are also very effective to just stimulate the appetite and to get it going a great nutritional supplement called lycine can also be given to your cat allysin contains amino acid lysine which helps to limit the multiplication process of the feline herpes virus which will reduce the severity of the disease guys if you found this video helpful so far then please hit that like button so that this video can spread to more people who are looking for answers to help the seek kittens thank you by the way i will leave links down in description to all of my product recommendations for the atom treatment of cat flu so make sure to check that out as well since upper respiratory infections can be caused by a variety of different disease agents it is not always possible to prevent them entirely however the best way that you can possibly protect your cat against cat flu is to make sure that it receives its core vaccines which needs to be given three times at the age of eight weeks 12 weeks and 16 weeks and after that every one to three years depending on your vet's recommendations cat flu is extremely contagious to other kittens so if you have a lot of kittens it is best to separate the sick from the healthy ones make sure that shared items like bowls and litter boxes are properly disinfected with bleach after using them to help kill off any remaining bacteria the eel kittens should always be handled last and you should wash and disinfect your hands face and boots before touching any other healthy cats i personally always recommend to start treatment for all the other kitchens in the litter as the chances are good that if one is infected that it will eventually spread to the rest and as mentioned earlier cat flu is not something you want to live for too long as it can quickly become very dangerous and even life-threatening it is also important to know that once the cat has been infected with these viruses it is possible that they will carry the virus for the rest of their lives and that they can have a relapse of symptoms when they get older especially after a stressful event that causes a decreased immune system such as re-homing boarding surgery trauma or even severe cold they will also shed the virus particles during these times so it is important to keep your young kittens away from them until they are fully vaccinated as well so if you have a young kitten showing these signs make sure to get them to the vet for checkup sooner rather than later let me know down in the comments if you guys have any questions thanks for watching and have a lucky day cheers

Channel: Dogtor Pete

Views: 33,986

Keywords: dogtor peter, dogtorpete, why is my cat sneezing, why is my kitten sneezing, my cat has runny nose, why does my cat keep sneezing, my cat nose is stuffed up, cat sneezing, cat nasal discharge, cat cold, cat respiratory infections, cat flu, cat cold sneezing, cat cold treatment, cat colds what to do, cat herpes cold, feline herpes virus, feline calicivirus, cat cold remedies, how to treat cat flu at home, at home treatment for cat flu, cat nasal discharge clear

Id: _YFZrSXGkig

Length: 10min 10sec (610 seconds)

Published: Thu May 26 2022