Chronic Upper Respiratory Symptoms?

[Laura304]

We’ve had our cat since she was 4 months old and this summer, she turned 8. Ever since we adopted her, she’s had upper respiratory infection symptoms. She’s been on multiple different antibiotics, an antiviral and lysine. Through the years, she’s always had a baseline of symptoms. She was never without symptoms entirely. She has gone through flare ups over the years but I feel like within the last year or so, they seem to be worse than before.

The vet doesn’t seem to have any more ideas since this is just a chronic problem. Have your cats had good results with a particular treatment we haven’t tried?

 

[abyeb]

Have you noticed any pattern in when the flare-ups happen (E.g., in the summer more than the winter)? I’m wondering if it could be allergy-related.

 

[Laura304]

There doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern based around seasons. We’ve noticed that she can get a flare up if she has been really stressed (like a big get trip) but even when she is relaxed, she has gotten unexplained increases in her symptoms.

 

[Megsnan]

I had a cat 10yrs ago that had the same condition as yours. There were times it was worse than others and my vet would tell me that there was nothing they could do about it. They suggested running a hot shower to steam the bathroom and then keep him in there for 15 minutes. A couple of times they prescribed meloxicam to help. It’s frustrating for sure, I hope your kitty starts feeling better.

 

[stephanietx]

I have a cat with feline herpes. She has chronic upper respiratory symptoms and occasionally will have flare ups. She ALWAYS sneezes and has snot. She is now almost 13 and was diagnosed with feline herpes at age 2. Hannah is very susceptible to airborne allergens as well, so winter to spring and summer to fall are trigger times for her.

One thing I would suggest is a culture of any discharge or nasal drainage. This will tell the doctor if there is a secondary infection and if so, a sensitivity test will show which antibiotics will most effectively treat it. You could also have her tested for feline herpes.

Have you noticed if she has flare ups during stressful times or when there's a change in the schedule in your home? Hannah does not do well with schedule variations. We try to keep to a regular schedule and we also run Feliway diffusers to help all the kitties in our house remain as stress-free as possible.

Other things you can do try is switching to a grain free diet, giving a daily antihistamine, and some other supplements such as Duralactin, lactoferrin, and L-Lysine.

 

[Laura304]

Was it hard to get them to culture it? That has never been mentioned as an option for us. They’ve always just said it’s feline herpes and no further testing was brought up.

 

[cheeser]

Like stephanietx , one of our cats also has herpes (as well as FIV). Unfortunately, once a cat has been diagnosed as having herpes, some vets just automatically assume that any nasal congestion is always viral, and don't look any further. But sometimes kitties can have a secondary bacterial infection, or maybe even a fungal infection. So we've learned to ask for cultures if our cat doesn't seem to be getting any better.

In our case, doubling Buddy's usual dose of L-lysine and lactoferrin during flare-ups helps somewhat. And since stress often triggers flare-ups, the vet also recommended OTC calming products like Zylkene or L-theanine to help alleviate Buddy's anxiety, as well as Feliway diffusers. OTC antihistamines have also helped to provide some relief re: the nasal congestion. Alas, after five years of dealing with this, that's about the best we and our vet been able to come up with.

Wish you the best of luck, and hope you find something that works for your kitty!

 

[stephanietx]

Was it hard to get them to culture it? That has never been mentioned as an option for us. They’ve always just said it’s feline herpes and no further testing was brought up.

No, it was super easy for my vet to culture. It was a swab in the nose and a long qtip like thing at the back of the throat.

 

[Laura304]

Thank you guys for your help! I’ll discuss a culture and an antihistamine with our vet!