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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Cat having bad cold for 6 weeks

13 replies

Cleebope2 · 29/01/2020 23:13

Our cat is 8 and has had a stinking cold since before Christmas, constantly snorting and full of mucus. We’ve taken her twice to the vets and she said nothing can be done as it’s a virus not bacterial. She may have it forever apparently! Poor mite is so miserable but eating ok and no fever. Has anyone got any experience or advice?

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 30/01/2020 07:56

I have never had a cat with a cold and I’ve had 6 cats.

Can you get to another vet?.

Lou573 · 30/01/2020 07:59

Lifetime of cats here and can’t recall any of them having a cold. Has she had the cat flu vaccination?

Veterinari · 30/01/2020 08:15

It sounds like cat flu. Is she vaccinated? It is often viral but secondary bacteria can invade and worsen the symptoms.

Nasal infections can also be caused by a bacteria called mycoplasma which is treated by the antibiotic doxycycline. A course of antibiotics is warranted if it's very mucoid and ongoing.

Mia184 · 30/01/2020 08:56

My cat had a cold twice and in both cases antibiotics helped. I would take her to a different vet.

Toddlerteaplease · 30/01/2020 11:50

Magic has been really snuffly and snorting for months. It's normal for her as she's a Persian, but it's been really bad since the central heating went on. I've had Bisolven powder from the vets, but I don't think it makes much difference. As a nurse, I really want to suction her out!! But I don't think she'd like that!

Original poster
Cleebope2 · 30/01/2020 21:50

Gosh do you think some vets aren’t as good as others? I trust them all to be experts on cats.She has seen two different vets at our local surgery which I thought was a good one. She’s a rescue cat but she was fully vaccinated when we got her two years ago.She had her boosters summer 2018 but not 2019 so I feel really guilty about that. She’s very mucoid. Maybe we could try somewhere else if it’s still bad I need a couple of weeks.

OP posts:
LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow · 30/01/2020 22:01

idiot cat had a cold right at the beginning of the year and was still sneezing on and off in the summer through to autumn

we had him at the vet after about 5 weeks...as he suddenly seemed a bit withdrawn and was sleeping in a heap....but prior to that apart from explosive sneezing fits he was absolutely fine. Eating, socialising, hunting, being his usual idiot self in every way

Vet said his chest was fine, no wheezing, no infection, no temperature and gave him a couple of jabs...and some antibs just in case (Looks like vets dont agree with the NHS on antibiotics Hmm )

I was dreading having to give him the tablets but turns out he likes pills...place them lovingly on top of his food and he scarfs them down with obvious enjoyment.

His sister didn't get ill at all and I think he finally stopped sneezing as we went into autumn!

He's 14 now!

Original poster
Cleebope2 · 30/01/2020 22:56

So it can last for ages then. Looking forward to better weather and maybe she will go back into the garden as she’s been indoors for 6 weeks now and becoming a hermit.The first vet said maybe a cold, the second vet said maybe flu or cat herpes. Not much we can do then if they won’t prescribe antibiotics.

OP posts:
cudbywestrangers · 30/01/2020 23:05

We have had sneezy cats. One of our 2 was snotty and sneezy for a long time and the mucus became blood stained. At one point there seemed to be a bacterial element so she had a lot of antibiotics which helped a bit. Eventually had an x-ray which unfortunately showed a tumou Sad. Sadly her sister is now sneezing... hoping it's just a cold as otherwise she's fine. They were rescue kittens and may have had cat flu before the were vaccinated which can cause problems later.

Veterinari · 31/01/2020 14:46

It could be mycoplasma which is treatable
It could also be a reaction to a foreign body (inhaled bit of grass etc) or even (unusually) a growth of some kind in the nasal cavity.
At a minimum I'd expect a swab for culture and sensitivity to identify possible pathogens and if it's not improving then sedation for X-rays/scope

Fluffycloudland77 · 31/01/2020 17:22

I do think some vets are better than others, there’s a brilliant vet at our practice. Sensible practical treatment. Then there was a male vet who obviously had a grudge against bengals & I asked not to be put with him again.

One of ours was long term mucousy & she had a tumour in her nasal cavity.

Hovverry · 03/02/2020 21:02

Cats and dogs do not get colds. Your cat has cat flu.

Toddlerteaplease · 03/02/2020 22:32

Magics breathing has been so much better today since going to the groomers. Probably the steam for the bath helped her.

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