help please kitten with cat flu

[miserableoldwoman]

hi
Would it be unwise to take on a kitten that has already had cat flu?
I was about to adopt a kitten from cats protection but it became ill before I got to take it home.It seems to be recovering now but I am having second thoughts about adopting her because I am worried about potential huge vets bills in the future!However I have become quite attached to her and would find it very difficult to not take her.
Please if anyone knows about cat flu please can they advise as to whether I should adopt or walk away.I don't know what to do.I am wondering what the long term implications are for a cat that has had cat flu.Does it tend to keep reoccuring?

I take in strays and several of mine had a bad case of cat flu as kittens.

One of them is a great big hulking almost 2 year old now and is an absolute joy, he's cuddly, gentle with the kids and even dp has a massive soft spot for him.

He's had no recurrances yet, although he suffers a bit from acne but that's unrelated. the only time he's been to the vet since was for an infected absess on his back.

Another one i found at the side of the road, half starved and very unwell... his chest cleared quickly with some gentle care but the gunky eyes got very infected and he almost lost the right one... it took months but after a huge battle it cleared and he can see with it again now, although he still has a scar on the iris. He's a little bit wheezy at times but other than that he's a huge fluffy monstor of a cat and wants to be friends with everyone.

I made the choice with both of them not to vaccinate as apparently the vaccinations can trigger a relapse and i do have to be on the watch for wheeziness or signs of them being unwell but they are easily two of the most loving and rewarding cats i've ever come across.

Keep in mind, even a healthy kitten has the potential to rack up huge vets bils... they can get sick anytime or have accidents and if that fact would be prohibitive then i don't think you should get a cat at all. Future vets bills are just something you'll have to factor in, no matter how healthy the kitten is now.

what have CP said? Where is the kitten now? can they not advise.

One of my cats had cat flu as a young kitten. He's almost 5 now and has never had a recurrence.

Cats can become chronic carriers of cat flu - they can shed virus that infects other cats in the household and they can have symptoms themselves either ongoing or intermittantly. Not all cats will do this but certainly some do. You are unlikely to get pet insurance to cover cat flu as this kitten has had it as a pre-existing condition. However, talk to the cats protection about this as they often cover the costs of ongoing health issues themselves so you may be able to come to some agreement with them on this and insure for other issues unrelated to cat flu.

Hope that helps.

Ours had cat flu as kittens (amongst other things) and were extremely poorly, verging on death when we found them. They'll be four this year and for the most part are gorgeous healthy cats (pics on my profile) and we wouldn't be without them, but their symptoms do tend to flair up whenever they are run down. It's like cold sores - the virus stays with them for life and will keep cropping up during times of stress or low immunity. Our pet insurance doesn't cover us because the condition was pre-existing, but sometimes they don't need treatment - their symptoms can vary between barely noticeable runny eyes and nose which will usually clear up on its own within a few days, and a bad case with mouth ulcers and wheezing which needs a trip to the vet. But even if you do need to see the vet, it's unlikely to be expensive - it's usually just a case of one injection and then lots of rest. Antibiotics don't work on the virus and will only help to treat/prevent secondary infections, so as long as they're eating and drinking well and are kept warm and dry, you can usually manage things on your own. After a while you get quite good at spotting the signs, so you'll know if you need medical intervention or not. I guess it's similar to the way you would treat a common cold in an elderly person, you just need to use your common sense and keep an eye on their symptoms to make sure they don't develop into anything sinister.

Ours don't get the cat flu vaccination either, as there's no point. But they do need their other vaccines, as cat flu is just one of the illnesses they can catch, so they still need protection from them. But we have to watch out after the injections, as it can cause their symptoms to flare up.

With regards to cost - a small minority of cases can go on to develop a severe mouth inflammation (google calici gingivostomatitis) that can require some pretty intensive and expensive treatment. It is only a small number but do be aware it isn't always just a case of a bit of medicine to help them through a flare up.

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies.The kitten is now better and so I have decided to take a chance and adopt her.We are collecting her tomorrow and I am excited and nervous too!I just hope she stays well but I am prepared if she needs treatment in the future.
Do any of you have pet insurance and if your cat has had flu will they still insure you?I am not sure whether to insure or take a chance as in the old days we didn't have pet insurance but I am guessing that vet's bills have risen hugely in recent years.Do insurance companies tend to quibble over pay outs or is claiming quite straight forward?

I have insurance for my cats (who are now both nine). Was v handy when male cat broke his leg (how???) at six months but luckily haven't had need to use it since!

I think you'd need to ask insurers about pre-existing condition and you might decide it's not worth insuring if they won't cover anything arising from the flu.

Good luck with your kitten.

IME bills for treatment for cat flu are usually less than the excess on a policy, so you can't claim anyway.

Best of luck with her

We're with tesco on their premier plan and they're great at paying out and will pay the vet direct. We're not covered for cat flu as it was pre-existing, but as Bella says, we've never paid more for treatment than the excess would cost, so we've never claimed. Plus too many claims push the premiums up, so we only tend to claim for stuff £250+ (our excess is £120 anyway).

Actually this thread has jinxed me, as I noticed ours both had runny eyes yesterday morning and one was blinking her right eye constantly. Luckily we already had an appointment booked last night to get her results from some skin scrapes she had last week, so we took both of them in as a precaution. The vet put dye in their eyes to check there were no ulcers, did a full examination, checked their temps ect, and gave us eye drops to put in twice a day to clear up the conjunctivitis. That only cost us £22.60.

This site has very useful information about the two types of cat flu and their symptoms. Can you find out which one she had?