Cat flu - how long does it last?

[Monr0e]

I noticed a couple of weeks ago my cat had some clear discharge I'm one eye. The next day this had turned green and was in both eyes. I managed to get him seen by the vet later that day and he diagnosed cat flu.

He prescribed anti biotics, an anti inflammatory and eye drops.

He has finished his course of antibiotics but he remains very lethargic, rarely going further than the garden, and spends most of the day sleeping

His eyes cleared for a few days but he's begun to get discharge in them both again so we are continuing with the eye drops.

I was just wondering if this was normal for cat flu and how long it may last? Thank you

[thecatneuterer]

No it's not normal. The antibiotics should have had an effect. You may need stronger ones. Ronaxan is the antibiotic of last resort for cat flu. Assuming that's not what you already had that is probably what you need. Anyway you need to see the vet again.

[Monr0e]

Thanks for your reply. I have read on the internet that it can be between 3 and 7 weeks to recover so was hoping others may have experienced the same.

His appetite has definitely come back which is a positive but I will obviously get him checked out again.

[thecatneuterer]

Yes it's true that symptoms can drag on for weeks. But he seems to be going backwards, rather than improving, so definitely speak to the vet.

[Upsy1981]

We are on about week 4 now. Eyes have cleared up but he still has a slight snotty nose and is sneezy especially in the morning. Ours did seem to go downhill again after an initial recovery and then began to recover again. It may be that ours has this chronic sniffle forever now. He is eating and lively enough. Trust your judgement, I would go more off general behaviour. If he looks down in the dumps or is off food/water take him back.

[Upsy1981]

Don't forget cat flu is viral. The antibiotics will only deal with any potential secondary bacterial infection pneumonia etc so don't worry too much about the antibiotics as long as he has finished the course.

[Monr0e]

Thank you everyone
He is eating much better and even ventured over the fence into next doors garden today
I will keep a very close eye on him though.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

As a PP said fly is vital so antibiotics will not solve the problem. The answer is fly can last a lifetime in cats it is cause by three different viruses a calici, herpes and rhinotracheitis. The calici and herpes can become chronic/latent infections and flare up when the cat is under stress. Use of probiotics can help reduce the number of flares and severity of the flares.

[DrZoidbergsTentacles]

It's taken my kitten 3 weeks to recover, and she is still snuffly and sneezy - we had one lot of antibiotics which didn't work (can't remember the name), then the Ronaxan which she was on for about 10 days.

WE're finally coming out the other side. Hope your cat s on the mend soon.