cat flu?

[Juli]

I'm a bit worried about one of my little kittens, she sounds a bit wheezy and sneezes occasionally, she's eating and drinking fine and playing like mad, they both had worms so we've given them some worming syrup, bit stressful for them, The rescue centre advised us to just let nature take it's course for a while and not put them in any stressful situations e.g trips to the vets, as they may be at risk of FIP. Should i only worry if she seems quieter or not eating, drinking? She's quite a good size and weight, bright eyed and alert, is there anything i can do to help her beat it? She had a weepy eye when she woke up this morning but it seems to be clearer now. We only got them on saturday evening and she seemed quieter then, she was also slightly wheezier, how can i tell if she's getting better? Normally would take any animal to vets but they've only just settled and i'm scared of freaking them out with being poked about at vets!

[pinklizzy]

Cat 'flu can be quite nasty in little kitties, especially if the immune system is compromised. The fact that she's eating and drinking is a good sign, keep a close eye on her to make sure her intake is sufficient. Does she have any ocular/nasal discharge? If she does, is it clear or greenish? If she sounds very congested you can try taking her into the bathroom with you while you shower-sounds odd I know but the warm moist air can help loosen any secretions. Obviously this all just very general advice and I'd recommend that you call your vets and let them know the situation regarding the worry over FIP etc. At least then they will be aware,even if you don't take her to be examined.
Hope that helps, just keep a close eye on her, which I'm sure you are anyway!

[Juli]

Thankyou for your reply, i figured that as she was eating and drinking and jumping around playing that she may be over the worst, obviously if she deteriorates then the vets will be the first port of call, her eye discharge was fairly clear and she's had none since this morning, her nose is harder to tell as she's pure white but finds the grubbiest places to explore, it's just like crusty snot (sorry but it is!)not actually running but just there!

[pinklizzy]

Glad she doesn't seem to be suffering too badly. Don't worry about the snot description-after seeing lots of cat 'flu and kennel cough, it's something I'm very used to!

[Juli]

Have decided to take them to the vets, spoke to lady there and she said it was up to me but they'd rather see them, i thought long and hard but decided that if i did nothing and they got worse i'd never forgive myself but as they are drinking, eating and playing maybe they are strong enough to cope with a visit to the vets and some antibiotics or something, just hope they don't keep them in, don't think they'd survive the stress of that, but we'll see how they get on. It may even put my mind at rest if they aren't as bad as i'm fearing! Will keep you posted.

[pinklizzy]

Hopefully it'll just be a case of starting them on some antibiotics and possible something to help with congestion/mucous. To be honest, the vet is unlikely to want to keep animals with a contagious condition like cat 'flu in the practice, especially when they are bright and eating well etc etc.
Fingers crossed, let us know how you get on.