Adopting a cat with chronic cat flu

[ghislaine]

There is a cat on a rescue site that has captured my heart (as well as sounding like a great fit for my family). The only issue is his health - he came from North Africa and had severe cat flu which seems to now be a chronic condition. He has had varied treatments to treat the underlying inflammation and infection but it has persisted. He has regular steam sessions to help clear his nostrils.

I won't be able to insurance cover for this as a pre-existing condition (unless someone is able to recommend one...?) so I'm wondering what could be tried and how to help him in the future if we're approved to take him home and introductions go well.

Anyone? Is this a really bad idea?

I think this is what SoupKitten had. She did have flu as a kitten when they found her and it left her with a permanent “cold” for want of a better description - sneezy and snuffly. It used to improve with some pink powder on her food (I can’t remember what!) but came back as shown as it was stopped. As it wasn’t really bothering her, we didn’t persist with it. She also had issues which I think were from an eye infection she had when found that left her with a stuck inner eyelid and constant weepy eyes.

She didn’t need any special treatment really, but she may have had only “minor” left over health issues from her difficult start in life.

Sadly she did die young of heart failure although I guess this could just have been bad luck. I don’t regret taking her on (I knew about the flu/eye things).

I fostered a ginger dcat from a tiny thing with cat flu. He lived a longish but happy life!! Sneezed and had symptoms but was a loved and happy boy!! No regrets.

Yes, apparently he sneezes and has nasal discharge. I'm just worried about breathing issues and/or whether the virus will have affected his heart - the inter webs tells me no, but it's always good to hear what day to day life is like for a cat with a chronic condition.

When I took SoupKitten on (also a tiny ginger scrap!) I knew she was not going to be a healthy cat and perhaps would not live as long as usual. I am happy we took her on though. I know that, from her rough start, she had a happy life with us.

She didn’t need any ongoing vet treatment.

I have a flu cat - calicivirus. She’s mostly fine. Has a permanently runny eye and gets the sneezes when she gets stressed. Otherwise nothing wrong with her. She’s 11.

She’s indoors only though, so she can’t spread it around. And some catteries won’t have her due to the risk of contagion. I also have to remind the vets etc so they take extra care in cleaning up when she’s been in.

Our first cat had cat flu, which lead to conjunctivitis, an eye ulcer and now permanent eye discharge and dry eyes.
Luckily she was ready insured before all of this came out.

She is an indoor cat, mainly because of her sensitive eyes. She has to have various eye drops, but 2 of them we can buy at a normal pharmacy (vets told us to do this). It’s cheaper than the vets are, and it saves having to go through the insurance to save a tenner every time.

Speak to your local vet about their services. Ours have a plan which is about £10 a month, which includes free flea and worming, and general health checks every 3 months. Because of the eye problem, they give her extra checks for ulcers and things like that (which isn’t normally included but they’re really good).

Your local vets might offer something similar.

Is the steam treatment something that has to be done by a vet, or is it something you can learn?

Our vet showed me how to safely clean her eyes, for example, so it saved time and stress not having to take her in as much.

We have two other cats, and obviously poorly eye cat does need a lot more care, (and attention because she’s still scared of the drops), but she’s worth it.

It definitely helps to have a supportive vet though.

Thanks for the tip about the vet plan. I will check my local vets tomorrow to see what they offer. I also did some digging and found this policy that will cover pre-existing conditions which haven't been treated in the last three months. He last went to the vet in early Jan, so he might be covered. Does anyone have any experience with the Bought By Many pre-existing policy?

Thanks everyone for the reassurance. The steam treatment basically involves taking him into the bathroom and running a hot shower to help clear his nose.

Never had to claim but my cats are insured with bought by many fixed for life policy and it all seems good and no surprise clauses in the small print.

Thanks for the tip about the shower. One of my Persians struggles with her teeny tiny nose and is very snuffly.

No experience of this, but just wanted to say it's great that you're considering giving him a home. Hope it works out