Can My Cat Catch a Cold?

If you are like me, you probably have never had a cat with a cold, but cats with colds are fairly common.

How does a cat get a cold? The first thought that comes to mind is can my cat catch my cold?

The answer to that is no and no you cannot catch your cats cold. It is said that cold viruses are species-specific, which means pets and humans cannot pass a cold back and forth.

While we can (for the most part) doctor our colds with over-the-counter remedies, our cats cannot.

A cold is serious business for a cat and even more serious if you have a multiple cat household.

Oddly enough, your cats symptoms will be very similar to yours, sneezing, runny nose, coughing, wheezing and sometimes a mucous discharge either from its nose or mouth. It is also possible for your cat to have a breathing problem, cold sore type ulcers around it mouth and red teary eyes that have a discharge.

Cat colds are very contagious and interestingly, cats are more susceptible to colds in the summer time.

Where can your cat pick up a cold?

At a boarding kennel, the groomers, at your vets and if your cat is an indoor/outdoor cat, it can pick up the virus from any cat it encounters outside.

What can you do for your cats cold?

First of all do not try any human over-the-counter remedies. Usually a cat cold lasts just about as long as a human cold (7 to 10 days) and the cat will get over it just as we do.

Where it gets complicated is, if the viral infection travels to the lungs or bronchial area causing a lower respiratory infection or if a secondary bacterial infection occurs in the nose, mouth or eye area.

This is why at the first sign your cat is coming down with a cold, you should call your vet. This ounce of prevention can honestly save you many vet dollars, should the cold develop into something more serious.

Once a cat gets a respiratory infection it is possible that it will re-occur time and time again (like the proverbial bad penny.)

Another important thing to take under consideration is cats smell their food before they eat it. This is normal cat behavior and if your cat has a stuffy nose, it cannot smell its food.

What happens when a cat cant smell its food?

The cat will not eat or even drink. The cat becomes dehydrated and starts using up its own fat stores for energy.

A cat needs to eat and drink (most canned cat food provides not only nutrition, but water,) the result of not eating can cause a condition known as hepatic lipidosis or fatty liver syndrome, which can be life threatening.

This is why, if your cat shows any sign of a cold or stops eating for any reason call your vet at once.

I cant say this enough, that one simple phone call may save you many future vet dollars.

A cats cold can be a simple runny nose (wipe it with a warm wet washcloth, cats cant blow) and require nothing more than some TLC from you, but check with your vet first.

There are two types of viruses that can cause a cat to have cold like symptoms, the first is felline herpesvirus (FHV) and feline calicivirus (FCV). Keep up all of your cats recommended vaccinations as the vaccine for FHV and FCV is given at regular intervals.

Keeping your cat indoors is truly the best way to protect your cat from being the recipient of what is going around.

Having a cat is an interesting experience. I have three at the present time and have had as many as six. Each cat is as individual as any person I have ever known. Personalities and temperament between cats is as different as night and day. I work very hard at trying to understand my three and as soon as I think I have it all figured out, they find some way to mess it all up. If you enjoyed this article please come and visit me at http://cats-and-dogs-on-the-web.com

Sneezing Cat - What Does it Mean?
A sneezing cat may have a cold or other respiratory illness. He may have something stuck in his nose. These are just two of...

Individual Health Insurance - Tailoring Your Cover To You
Do you know, the pace of development has gone so fast we tend to forget what else is developing at the same sort of speed - s...

Cats and Food Variety
Cats are interesting creatures. Like humans, they very much like to have variety in what they eat. Cats also like to snack fr...

Home Remedies For Back Pain
Back pain can be relieved in number of ways. For usual cases rest regiment combined with cold/hot compresses, therapy, exerci...

How to Train Your Cat - 6 Easy Tips
Most cat lovers will tell you that the reason they love their cats so much is because cats are so independent. However, cats...

How To Install Flooring In Your Basement
It can be a challenge to turn that hard, cold concrete floor in the basement into a floor that is warm and inviting. The good...

Getting Rid of Stray Cats: 5 Foolproof Tips
Stray and Feral CatsStray and feral cats are a huge problem in the United States. Strays are simply cats that have wandered o...

Guarantee Recipients Opening Your Emails With These Secrets To Successful Subject Lines!
Youve done the hardest part; youve captured your prospects email address. Now it is time to send your email to them. Most w...

Opt Out Versus Opt In - Some Basics
You have probably experienced this. You are eating your dinner at six or seven and then, the phone rings. "Do you have a PC a...

Life Insurance Leads
Selling life insurance policies can be an extremely rewarding and lucrative profession. But has to have proficiency and know ...

Your Email Marketing List is a Captive Audience
You know, many people dont entirely grasp the power you have when you have a high-quality email marketing list. The folks on ...

Five Effective Household Back Pain Treatments
Back pain treatment comes in lots of forms, from exercise to pain mediction. Standard and most widespread back pain remedy is...

Cat House - Give Your Cat a Home of Their Own
Before you give them yours, give your cat a house of their own. Cat houses come in all shapes and sizes. Available in both in...

The Four Essential Tips to Consider Before Choosing Flooring for Your Home
When building your home or redecorating, choosing your flooring is going to be one of the most important elements in giving y...

Floor Options For The Bathroom
When you decide to redecorate your bathroom you must remember that its a functional space also . Therefore when redecorating...

Cork Flooring Can Enhance the Beauty of Your Home, Office or School
Cork has been around for many years; just a bit of research into the history of its uses provide some interesting facts and i...

Have You Considered These In Your Email Marketing Campaign?
Now, that you have taken the good decision of running an email marketing project, lets just tell you the benefits of this mar...

39 Ways To Slow Down Summer
Last winter you had all of these grandiose plans for summer. You would finally learn to kayak, take a road trip to visit your...

Fishing Cats
What started out as a lazy Sunday afternoon, I decided to rummage through some research materials for a topic to write about,...

Multi Titles - Loss, Willow Tree & The Rain Falls, Casket of Love, My Own Puppet, and More
LossIn a field of fresh cut clover summer sun, noon high, beats down on open farm spaces, 3 dependent children, and somewhere...