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- Jun 27, 2013
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My husband and I have a ten year old spayed female cat. She's a longhair, and
an indoor cat. When we got her from a farm, she was ill, and the vet told us
then that she would have this viral chronic respiratory illness off and on all
her life, and that there was nothing we could do for her beyond giving her
supportive care through her illnesses. Since then, about every eighteen months,
she develops what, in a human, I would call a chest cold. She's a little more
subdued while she has it, and she coughs or sneezes occasionally, and when she
purrs -- but apparently only when she purrs -- she becomes short of breath.
There's no discharge from her nose or eyes. Through it all, she eats and drinks
and eliminates normally. Usually it takes her two to four weeks to throw it off,
and I notice as she gets older, it's taking longer. The only real change in her
behaviour is that she doesn't snuggle with us as much while she's sick,
presumably because of the purring thing -- she wants attention, but in brief,
concentrated bursts, which we're happy to provide. We try to expose her to warm,
humid air when she's ill, we keep her warm and quiet, and I've started giving
her a vitamin supplement every day to try to give her a bit of a boost. My
husband and I don't have any money, so extensive veterinary care isn't an option
right now. We've just tried to give her a calm, happy, comfortable place to be
in, and to stress her out as little as humanly possible. Is there anything you
can suggest that we might do that would help her to get well, or at least to
feel better?
an indoor cat. When we got her from a farm, she was ill, and the vet told us
then that she would have this viral chronic respiratory illness off and on all
her life, and that there was nothing we could do for her beyond giving her
supportive care through her illnesses. Since then, about every eighteen months,
she develops what, in a human, I would call a chest cold. She's a little more
subdued while she has it, and she coughs or sneezes occasionally, and when she
purrs -- but apparently only when she purrs -- she becomes short of breath.
There's no discharge from her nose or eyes. Through it all, she eats and drinks
and eliminates normally. Usually it takes her two to four weeks to throw it off,
and I notice as she gets older, it's taking longer. The only real change in her
behaviour is that she doesn't snuggle with us as much while she's sick,
presumably because of the purring thing -- she wants attention, but in brief,
concentrated bursts, which we're happy to provide. We try to expose her to warm,
humid air when she's ill, we keep her warm and quiet, and I've started giving
her a vitamin supplement every day to try to give her a bit of a boost. My
husband and I don't have any money, so extensive veterinary care isn't an option
right now. We've just tried to give her a calm, happy, comfortable place to be
in, and to stress her out as little as humanly possible. Is there anything you
can suggest that we might do that would help her to get well, or at least to
feel better?