Congestion?

[swampmonster]

Hello everyone,

So my newest fur child, Beak, is settling in nicely. Since adopting him in February he's had this weird congestion problem on and off. We initially thought upper respiratory, which blows through most animal shelters at a given time, so we took him to the vet for two visits administering antibiotics. It helped, but still at random he comes down with congestion. He also gets crusties on his nose that are usually dark brown (Warning, graphic: in the beginning it was definitely greenish and when he'd sneeze, goop would come out that was a mix of yellow and brown). He doesn't sneeze much out any more and if he does it's clear or white, so we've made progress. I just wonder what causes his congestion. Some days he's fine, others he's stuffy and you can hear it. The vet didn't know what to make of it, but as vets go we can explore every avenue if we really want to. My late cat Nori always had a congested sound, the vet figured it was structural, he snored a lot and had a murmuring sound when he'd breathe, but Beak doesn't snore and the congestion is more pronounced.

Anyone with a similar experience? I've been running the humidifier by his cat tree in an attempt to help him.

 

[BeccaCat]

My little girl gets what seems to be chronic upper respiratory infections. She gets congested and sneezes a lot, and sometimes her eyes get very watery. The vet thinks she probably has feline herpesvirus, which can cause these symptoms. When I first got her, my vet also tried antibiotics. My kitty seems to have “flare ups” when she gets stressed. It was bad when she moved in, then it was mild and even good at times. She recently lost her kitty sister, and she is in the midst of a flare up right now. I did find the humidifier helps her, so I’d keep doing that regardless of the cause. You could also ask your vet about a probiotic if you don’t use one already. They are supposed to help with the immune system.
I hope your kitty’s “cold” clears up soon!!

 

[fionasmom]

This does sound as if it could be feline herpes from your description. This can appear from time to time and often vets treat the current symptoms which usually present as a URI or conjunctivitis. Having said that, if symptoms become serious the vet has to be contacted even if you are sure it is herpes.

Yellow/green pus can definitely come from the nose during a herpes episode.

Fiona herself was a rescue who was found with a messy eye and, for the rest of her life, one eye periodically discharged and oozed. We treated it as was necessary; my biggest concern was the moisture which was on her face during these episodes which irritated her skin which had to be protected.

 

[swampmonster]

Thank you so much!
I believe you might be right, we've had a few cats in our lifetime who've had the feline herpes virus. It usually presented as eye watering, but I could see it being linked to Beak's respiratory issues. He's a former street cat, so I'm not surprised if he has herpes. I also wondered if it's allergy related, my one cat had a hell of a time with asthma flare ups every spring, speaking personally my sinuses are in terrible shape right now with all the leaf mold. I'll have to mark it out on my calendar and see if his flare ups coincide with certain times of the year.
Overall he's doing ok, just a bit stuffy, but if he starts coughing or discharge shows up again it's off to the vet.