Causes of a runny nose in a cat
Can you give me a nose without a runny nose?
The causes of rhinitis, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose, can be different:
- allergy;
- presence of foreign objects;
- plague;
- calcivirosis;
- pneumonia;
- rhinotracheitis;
- parasite damage;
- neoplasms.
All breeds are at risk of inflammation, regardless of gender, age, or season.
Allergies - how to recognize and treat?
Symptoms of an allergic reaction:
- clear discharge is observed from the nose;
- the animal sneezes;
- The cat rubs its eyes and nose with its paws - a reaction to irritation of the mucous membranes.
The most common cases of allergies are reactions to dust, tobacco smoke and flowering plants. Often there are allergies to household chemicals or cosmetics of the owners, sometimes to food or medicine.
If you suspect what your cat is allergic to, avoid your pet's contact with the potential allergen. If the condition improves, then the cause has been found.
If you are unable to identify the allergen on your own, consult a doctor - he will prescribe tests and, for treatment purposes, antihistamines.
Symptoms of causes
A runny nose in cats is a not serious disease, but it brings a lot of inconvenience to both the animal and the owner.
There is a general symptomatology of a runny nose in cats as a secondary disease, but one should not discount the primary pathology.
General signs include the following symptoms:
- mucous discharge from the nose: transparent or thick yellow, with a green tint, gray;
- watery eyes with purulent elements;
- redness and swelling of the mucous membranes;
- cat sneezing;
- behavior change, food refusal;
- constant rubbing of the muzzle with paws.
If the cause of a runny nose is an allergy, then similar symptoms are constantly observed in the cat, depending on the presence of an allergen nearby. This could be cigarette smoke, dust and household chemicals. Seasonal manifestation may serve as a reaction to plant pollen .
Plants, or rather their pollen, are a common cause of allergic rhinitis in cats.
Associated symptoms
Foreign objects that enter through the nose most often do not stay there, but pass further into the larynx, which provokes accompanying symptoms.
Along with a foamy runny nose, there will be attacks of painful coughing, wheezing, the animal has difficulty breathing, and sometimes coughing up blood.
- Discharge may appear during acute cases of feline distemper . Other visible signs will be critical in treatment. Having eliminated the primary disease, the runny nose disappears.
- With panleukopenia, there is a lack of appetite in the cat, lethargy, heavy breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, rumbling in the stomach, and a sharp increase in temperature. A characteristic sign of distemper is the animal’s inability to drink water, while experiencing extreme thirst. Pus-filled spots may appear on the skin of the abdomen. There is also a cough, discharge from the eyes, and wheezing.
- The most noticeable sign of the presence calcivirosis there is a sudden loss of appetite. Then the temperature rises to forty degrees, sneezing, and the presence of wounds on the mucous membranes of the mouth, lips, and near the claws. Rapid breathing, shortness of breath, painful lameness.
Rhinitis and refusal to eat are the two main symptoms of calcivirosis in a pet.
- The presence of pneumonia is characterized by the appearance of cough, wheezing, fever, and weakness of the animal. Difficulty and rapid breathing, possible presence of fever. In the absence of appetite, severe thirst is expressed.
- With rhinotracheitis, the incubation period lasts up to six days. The first signs are weakness, refusal to feed, fever, shortness of breath, cough. Next, wounds appear on the tongue.
- When infected with parasites, the animal suffers not only from nasal discharge, but also from constant sneezing. Fungal infection is most often manifested by discharge after sleep - transparent and sparse in nature, congestion of the organ of smell.
Cold drops for cats
For a runny nose caused by hypothermia, you can use some drops intended for people. Galazolin gives a good effect. These drops are designed for the treatment of children, but can also be used to gently relieve runny nose in cats.
In addition, if the runny nose is viral, you can use Anandin drops. This medication has not only an antiviral, but also an immunostimulating effect, which reduces the risk of the disease becoming chronic. Maksidin immunostimulating drops can be used with caution. The course of treatment with these medications ranges from 5 to 7 days.
How to cure a runny nose in a cat at home?
If, apart from discharge, no accompanying signs are observed, the animal can be treated at home on its own.
- To begin with, create favorable conditions for keeping: eliminate drafts, insulate the bedding, and move the cat to a warm place.
- It is necessary to remove dried crusts near the eyes and olfactory organ. This should be done using a cotton pad moistened with an antiseptic herbal infusion or boric acid solution.
Drops for the treatment of runny nose
Moisten the mucous membrane with zinc sulfate . For instillation, you can use children's nasal drops. One drop in the nostril every day.
If there is no increase in temperature, you can warm up with hot sand up to three times a day. It is permissible to rinse the passages with hypotonic solutions. To do this, take one teaspoon of sea salt and dissolve it in half a glass of warm water. And they also use beet juice: one part juice to three parts water. Moisturize the mucous membranes with a 0.5% tannin solution or 1% soda solution.
Fortunately for owners, there are special drops for the treatment of rhinitis. Your veterinarian can recommend one or the other for you.
To destroy pathogenic flora, you can use the injection of streptocide powder . You can instill ecmonovocillin, diluted with saline in a ratio of one to two. Two drops per nostril.
All prescriptions must be prescribed by a veterinarian, based on the causes of the disease.
Infection
If the cause is an infection , it is permissible to prescribe galazolin, it moisturizes the mucous membrane, thymogen - two drops are dripped for ten days. The prescribed dioxycycline is given at the rate of one-fifth of a tablet per kilogram of the cat’s body weight on the first day of prescription.
Then they give half of the original prescription for two weeks. The usual dose of fosprenil is approximately 0.2 to 0.5 parts of the drug per kilogram of body weight. Apply once a day. Severe infection requires complex therapy: droppers, immunomodulatory agents, in particular Galavit.
Allergic runny nose
Allergic rhinitis in cats is a very common phenomenon.
For allergic rhinitis, short-term treatment with steroids and antihistamines is indicated.
The main measures for allergic rhinitis are aimed at eliminating the allergenic environment. Do not allow your cat to exercise during the flowering period if you are allergic to pollen. After wiping the nose and eyes of discharge, it is necessary to destroy the napkins by simply burning them. Limit the animal's walks during periods of heavy vehicle traffic in order to avoid irritation in the form of exhaust gases.
Colds in cats: treatment and symptoms
It should be noted that experts and doctors, when treating cold allergies, place the main emphasis on prevention. This is not accidental. In order to cure rhinitis, comprehensive treatment should be carried out. However, if the cause of an allergy to cold is an advanced disease, attention should be paid to its signs.
Only after they have been eliminated can treatment of rhinitis begin. In order to achieve a positive outcome in the treatment of rhinitis, you should definitely consult with an allergist. Only an expert will be able to prescribe the correct treatment. As usual, the expert prescribes antihistamines. They effectively block the allergic reaction to cold.
In addition, during this period it will be suitable to take vitamins PP, E, A and C. They will improve peripheral blood circulation. When an allergic reaction to cold occurs, areas with a rash may appear on the skin. They should be treated with antiallergic ointments and liquid creams. For severe forms of dermatitis, hormonal medications will help.
The disease occurs with well-known symptoms:
- nose is hot,
- sneezing,
- apathy,
- coughing,
- weakness,
- The big cat's eyes are watering,
- it happens that they are partially closed when the third eyelid is inflamed.
Features of the development of colds in kittens and cats
1. It must be remembered that if a cat with cold symptoms does not have a vaccination and it sneezes, it is not an infectious disease. You need to know that viral calicevirosis or rhinotracheitis in cats always begins with the appearance of a runny nose and you can lose the animal within up to 10 days, these viruses are especially dangerous for young animals, and moreover, they are deadly.
One of the main symptoms of the disease is a runny nose, which may be one of the signs of bronchial asthma or be of allergic origin. It is necessary to carry out an accurate differential diagnosis, because the treatment is fundamentally different: corticosteroids, antihistamines.
2. All cats tolerate colds differently: in some it manifests itself in mild malaise, while in others the disease can be very severe. You should not self-medicate, relying on available home remedies.
3. If the first symptoms of a cold appear in cats, the temperature rises, you need to consult a veterinarian. The disease is treated with antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and immunomodulators. Don't give cats a cold, it can turn into pneumonia. And also, against the background of a runny nose in cats, it is quite possible that secondary bacterial infections will develop and the maxillary sinuses will become inflamed.
In the event that veterinary care is not available, it is necessary to know the sequence of treatment for colds in cats and the medications used. Here is an approximate procedure:
- inject the cat intramuscularly with Gentamicin, it is administered twice,
- Ascorbic acid tablets twice,
- Norsulfazole three times, this is the daily dose of medication
- and also Immunofan, subcutaneous injections once every two days, twice in total.
When keeping several cats, it is necessary to isolate the sick cat from the rest until the cause of the disease is finally determined.
Great attention should be paid to the prevention of colds, to prevent hypothermia of the animal, as well as to eliminate drafts, and do not forget about them when ventilating the room.
Features of therapy largely depend on the cause of rhinitis in the animal. To clarify the nature of the problem, you need to contact a veterinarian, who will be able to conduct the necessary research to identify pathogenic microflora, allergen or other cause of the problem.
If the cause of the problem is a cold caused by hypothermia, specific treatment for rhinitis in cats is not carried out. It is enough to keep the animal warm during illness and provide it with high-quality food. You can give vitamins. It is advisable to isolate the sick animal from healthy ones for the entire period of illness.
To effectively treat allergic rhinitis, you should first examine the animal to identify the type of allergen. To do this, it is necessary to protect the animal from contact with the allergen. This will reduce the severity of the disease. In severe cases, treatment should be supplemented with antihistamines in the form of tablets and injections.
Infectious, viral, fungal diseases
Once again, carefully analyze all the symptoms observed in the animal.
If snot and heavy breathing are accompanied by vomiting, gastrointestinal upset, the appearance of purulent spots on the body, severe thirst and fever, your pet may have the so-called feline distemper - panleukopenia.
If, in addition to a runny nose and sneezing, there are sores in the mouth, shortness of breath, painful lameness, and the cat does not eat anything, these may be signs of calcivirosis. Similar symptoms are observed with rhinotracheitis.