Tigger has Flu!!!!!!

[Lenore]

Took my Tigger to the Vet today and they say he has cat flu! He is not innoculated (for various reasons, he is 8 but we have only had him 2ish years, he was castrated when he moved in but when questioned the vet told us that in order to innocuate him, we would first have to have him tested for various horrific illnesses, having known a cat with FIV, my OH didn't want to know if Tig did or now, hw was showing no symptoms and he really didn't want to spend the next few years treating Tig differently form our other cat because we knew he would get ill one day and wanted to prevent it) and we have been told it is very early.

In fact OH was mocked a little by vet for bringing him in, he has been sneezing a little for the last couple of days and has a very slightly runny nose. Apparently people only usually bring their cats in when they have gone all gunky.

They have given him antibiotics and they say that he'll probably - hate that word - be fine. But its cat flue, of which my only experience is kittens & Rolf. So I am a little worried:cry:

Has anyone had a cat that was OK after having this?

[dinahsmum]

Poor Tigger - hope the antibiotics soon have him feeling fine again.
No I've no real experience of flu. My old vet had a burmese who he rescued when he had a very bad flu and basically had candles running from his nose all the time (nice!) But he was otherwise fine.
I have the feeling that flu is much more serious in the very young/very old or otherwise unhealthy. Much like humans. But I have no science or experience to back it up.
Hope someone will be along soon to reassure you.

[Mags]

I've no experience of Cat Flu either but just wanted to say I hope poor Tigger will be better soon.....:cool:

[Fran]

I hope Tigger starts to feel better soon. Cat flu tends to be much more serious in kittens and elderly cats so hopefully a course of antibiotics and Tigger will soon be on the road to recovery.

[alexgirl73]

Fingers crossed for Tigger, I'm sure he'll be fine after the a/b's!

[TIGS]

ah hope tigger gets well soon :( :)

[Erin]

really hope he gets better soon

[dandysmom]

I've had no experience with this also; do hope the AB's will have him well very soon. Let us know who he's doing, please....

[sammy]

I also understood from my vet that it is really only dangerous in the very young/old or infirm, so I'm sure Tigger will be fine given time.

All the best to him (and you!).xxx

[sassiecath]

Hope Tigger gets better soon. If your interested in some good reading on how suppliments help booster a cats immune system to deal with things like infections & virus, there is a book by a vet called "The Very Healthy Cat Book" by Wenell O. Belfield, dvm. I have had my cats on his suppliments & I feel they have helped with their condition. Tiki had FUS & when he got an unrelated illness this year, they tested his urin & it was totally clear of crystals. He gets a vit C combo Vit. & Carpon for the FUS.

My other cat Inky had an infection from a cat fight but never ran a temp & I believe it was because of the vit C he's been on.

Just thought I'd tell you about this.

[Samz5]

Poor Tigger! My 5 cats all got cat flu a few years ago, they were aged 7 to 10 at the time, and when the oldest one came down with it first we went straight to the vet with her, but theres not much the vet can do, the other 4 came down with it within a few days.
You will be happy to know they all made a complete recovery. None of mine were given antibiotics either.
Some got it worse than others, but it took about 2 weeks for it to completly go.

Some tips for you, if Tigger gets a really blocked up nose he won't be able to smell his food and won't eat it, he might be off his food anyway and this won't help him recover, we would twice a day run some hot water in the bath (or run a hot shower) until the bathroom was all steamed up, then pick all the cat bogies out of there noses (nice job!) and take them to the steam room, then feed them in there, nice smelly food is good.
You could slightly warm up the food too for extra effect.
As long as he's eating/ drinking he should be fine, just keep a close eye on him.

[charliebubs]

I've had experience of cat flu. Do you know exactly what it is?? Is it the calici virus or herpes virus??

In my experience I learnt that it isn't actually curable, as it's a virus and virus's can't be treated. They either go away on their own or they don't. Antibiotics will help remove some of the symptoms i.e. the sneezing, but they do not remove the virus.

If the cat isn't particularly young or old then they do have a good chance of fighting it off, but they could still be a "carrier" and pass it on to other cats.

Also, if the virus gets more severe it can cause things like mouth ulcers, which can make it hard for the cat to eat and uncomfortable.

Having said all that, I'm sure that Tigger will be fine. He's a good age and should have a good immune system.

Oh and BTW - even vaccinated cats can still catch cat flu, as the vaccines aren't 100% - so don't beat yourself up about the fact he wasn't vaccinated. :)

Lots of hugs to you and Tigger. Keep us posted on his recovery.
xx

[Sweet]

Get Well Soon Tigger x

[Kay]

Tigger is at a good age to make a full recovery as cat flu uually affects the young and old seriously. Hope the anti-biotics kick in soon.

[Animagus]

Hope Tigger responds well to the antibiotics and gets better soon
xxxx