If your cat is showing symptoms of a cold, it might surprise you to know that the herpes virus could be at fault. While the herpes virus is typically associated with cold sores and STDs, cats can contract a form of feline herpes that causes cold symptoms. Once acquired, the virus will occasionally rear its nasty head, making your kitty sick again. Read on to learn about the most common symptoms of this virus, what you can do to care for your cat, and what you should do if your cat hasn't ever had these symptoms.
Symptoms
Once your cat catches feline herpes — which can be acquired either from another cat, or even while they're in the womb if their mother has it — it's in their body for the rest of their lives. Like human herpes, it can flare up and cause problems, except instead of causing the pustules that humans get, cats develop cold symptoms.
These symptoms will most likely include sneezing, nasal leakage, lethargy, a loss of appetite, and a pus-like substance oozing from the tear ducts. Symptoms can continue for days, or if your cat's immune system is weakened, even longer.
Treatment
Since feline herpes is a virus, antibiotics won't help to beat the illness. However, you should visit your vet nonetheless. Your vet, like one from Columbine Animal Hospital & Emergency Clinic, can confirm whether or not it's herpes, and if it is, offer medication to help ease your cat's symptoms. If your cat is dehydrated, they can take care of that with IV fluids, and they may prescribe an antibiotic anyway to help prevent secondary infections from occurring. However, in the long run, your cat will simply need to ride out the illness and allow their own immune system to beat it.
Prevention
If your cat has never had these symptoms or is very young, you should get your cat vaccinated against feline herpes right away. The vaccine can potentially protect your cat from ever catching feline herpes, which could save them from a lifetime of cold symptoms. However, the vaccination won't help if your cat already has the illness, so your vet may perform a blood test first to determine if your kitty is already infected.
Feline herpes rarely has fatal effects, but it can still be a very unpleasant experience for kitties to go through. If you can, vaccinate your cat against this illness before it's too late. If you think your cat is experiencing symptoms of this virus, make sure to get to a vet right away to prevent their condition from worsening.
