Hi all,

Just seeking some cat advice, if anyone can help??

My brothers cat, who was seemingly fine last week, has started sneezing lots, shaking his head, has really sore red eyes, that run a lot, and has got a nasty cough. I dont know much about cats, being a dog person, but i thought it sounded like a cold. Is it possible for cats to get colds? and if so, how can he help his cat get better?

Is he vaccinated against cat flu? I would say it sounds like he needs to get him to a vet pretty quick. Cat flu can be fatal. It might be just that he has a bad cold, but either way, he may need anti-biotics. Is he an old cat or a young cat?

Well, my brother takes in strays and abandoned cats all the time - his house is just a big cat sanctuary, but they all go to the vets regularly, and have check ups and stuff. I think the cat in question is the two yr old. His last vet check was about a month ago, and all the cats were deemed fit and well as far as i know. Im nt sure whether he has had them vaccinated though. Is this common practice with all vets, or do you have to request it?

Vets cannot make anyone vaccinate, but they will all advise it, followed by annual boosters. If your brother's cats are not vaccinated, whether it's cold or cat flu, it will spread like wildfire through them all. Mine are all jabbed against flu, entiritis and feline leukaemia but when 1 caught some kind of cold and infection recently, 3 out of 4 ended up with it and ended up on anti-biotics.

If he's been vacinated against cat flu, I would think grass seed up snoz, they are terrible for getting this at this time of year, simple trip to vet to extract the foreign body:hihi: Awww hope he's goin:hihi:g to be okay.

Ah, k. I shall get on the phone, and advise they all get jabbed. Is it just the one jab for all three things you mentioned?

I wondered that too, but with the sore eyes and coughing too, thought it might be some kind of respiratory infection. Hope he's ok.

So do i!! Hes just had one of his elderly cats pass away due to a stroke, and although none of the cats are actually his (he didnt buy them lol) it was so sad. She was 17, so she'd done well - he rescued her 8 years ago, and she was such a cutie. I dont want him losing anymore unnecessarily.

usually a course of vaccines for cats is just for entiritis and cat flu, the leukaemia is an extra one. One vet i visited never mentioned it, the other vet recommends it every time. Unfortunately, thats also the expensive one but having watched my sisters cat die of it, i always get mine done. If I remember rightly, they draw all the vaccines into 1 syringe, thus just needing the 1 jab

Right, ok, thank you. I've just phoned him, and he's going to book them all in at the vet, just to be sure, and have them all vaccinated. He has 4 in at the moment, so it aint going to be cheap i imagine!!

No, it wont be cheap. If he's on housing / council tax benefit, he could use the PDSA. It does vary a little from vet to vet. I had my maine coon done a couple of weeks ago. The full course was £45. They have 2 sets of injections, 4 weeks apart. It's about £38 at Spire vets, chesterfield. I'd imagine every other vet is somewhere between £38 and £45 ish. Good luck, let us know how he gets on.

This also sounds very much like cat flu to me- and it's not the sort of thing that can be ignored once your beasties have it.

Most adult cats just have a bit of treatment and they're fine, but elderly, frail or very young cats are frequently affected by secondary infections and sometimes killed by the respiratory infections and complications that go hand in hand with the flu.

My last litter of kittens were born with flu and it took 14 weeks of antibiotics twice a day and eye drops 4 times a day for them to be well enough to go to their new homes.

If your brother's place has a case of cat flu in one animal then it's wisest to get the others vaccinated, although it may already be too late to stop it spreading- vet advice is the way to go.

sounds very much like cat flu to me too- if there are rescues coming and going and its a multi -cat household, there's a stronger chance of cat flu and other infections cropping up more regularly. My little rescue has it, bless her and so far I'm lucky she's eating well and not letting it bother her too much but it can be pretty unpleasant and highly contagious.

Thanks everyone - he's made a vets appointment, so hopefully they will all be ok!!