House Full Of Sick Cats!

[weebeasties]

So somehow Sam came down with a URI. We isolated him and 5 days later he is fine. Unfortunately, now 4 of our other babies are sick. Apparently we didn't isolate Sam soon enough. The sick ones are all 8+ years and never been sick in their lives. They are so miserable and it's breaking my heart. Since Sam got over it in 5 days, will the others get better in about 5 days as well? Or does it depend on each individual cat?

 

[krisrath11]

I would say each cat. Typically they give clavomox for this as it can turn into phnemonia and kill them. My vet gave me the whole bottle when one of mine got it as I have 6 and 6 fosters. Only 2 got it though.

 

[weebeasties]

I had read that antibiotics would not be helpful since most URIs are viral infections. Do you think a vet visit is called for? As of right now, they are sneezing and generally not feeling well. They are eating/drinking and no discharge. Sunshine has coughed a few times today. (She's the only one who has coughed). A vet visit would be stressful for them because it is an hour car ride and they HATE being in the car, but I don't want to take any chances with their health by not taking them.

 

[krisrath11]

Merlin got sick and it took it away in 2 days. He sounded terrible too. Idk if u have a vet u can call or not but u can try that. If any of them do stop eating or drinking they need to go immediately.

 

[toxicglowsticks]

I just dealt with a house of URIs when bringing in a new kitten from a shelter. I, too, didn’t catch it quick enough.

I was prescribed amoxicillin for both cats. My resident cat improved within three days and our kitten took a few more days. However, I described the obvious symptoms I saw in the resident cat when my kitten was diagnosed on a immunization visit. He treated both without seeing the other. Would it be possible to call your vet, describe the symptoms, and see what they say? It’s possible that they won’t need to see them unless anyone gets worse.

As far as antibiotics being ineffective, it is indeed a valid risk just as it is for humans. But it does help with any possible secondary infections that could develop due to a weakened immune system.

 

[catlover73]

I went through the same thing shortly after I adopted my Casey as a 7 week old baby. He had a couple sneezes once in a while so I thought he was adjusting to his new home. By the time I realized he actually had a URI all 4 of my cats were sick. He was taken to a vet because his eyes were discharging green gunk. He was barely sneezing still and the vet treated him for an eye infection and a URI. My oldest cat Starbuck got the worst of it and was taken to a vet due to her coughing and she was also put on an antibiotic. I did not take her to the same vet that saw Casey but I did take his records for the URI with me. Apollo and Sonny were just sneezing and a little more tired then normal so I did not take them to the vet. No one ever stopped eating or drinking normally. I did steam treatments for everyone. I ran the shower as hot as possible and sat in the steam with them 3x a day until their URI's went away. Apollo hates being picked up and fought me when I did the first steam treatment. After that he began demanding them until he felt better. It is scary seeing our babies sick. My vet agreed with me that as long as the steam treatments were helping relieve the congestion that I did not need to bring Sonny and Apollo in for treatment since they were eating and drinking normally. In my experience the steam treatments seem to help the URI's resolve faster by helping break up congestion faster.