Dear Dr. John,
I lately acquired a cat who shouldn’t be fairly a 12 months previous as a playmate for my older cat who’s 13. My older cat has had a historical past of intermittent eye issues with redness and discharge. My vet all the time offers me an ointment and it goes away each time. It began up once more a couple of days in the past and whereas it’s not as dangerous this time, my younger cat appears to be coughing. It shouldn’t be a hairball retch as I do know what that appears like. Both cats appear to in any other case be OK with regular appetites and vitality stage. Should I take them in to be seen and what could be occurring? Could there be a relationship between the 2 indicators within the two cats? I’m additionally puzzled as to why my older cat periodically will get this eye concern. A.L.
Dear A.L.,
While mud and different irritants could be affecting your older cat’s eyes sometimes through the years, there may be additionally the potential of your cat having a recurring viral an infection resulting in conjunctivitis. While typically led to by stress, generally the rationale for its reappearance shouldn’t be identified. The extra generally implicated viruses are calicivirus and feline herpes virus 1. If that’s what your older cat has, it has in all probability had a virus for a very long time and your veterinarian would possibly really feel that it’s the trigger. I might ask them for the trigger slightly than simply therapy. Treatment often consists of antibiotic ointments or drops, with or with out steroids, to deal with conjunctivitis and numerous antiviral drops could be given as eye drops if a virus is suspected or recognized. Various dietary supplements can be useful akin to lysine.
Your youthful cat may very well be coughing from any given irritant or mud, together with cigarette smoke in the event you smoke, or it might have caught a virus from the older cat. However, these two feline viruses are usually related extra with eye and nostril points and never coughing. Most of those medical indicators with viral infections final for lower than two weeks. If both or each begin to turn into torpid, lose their appetites, or develop yellow or inexperienced ocular and nasal discharge then I might have them seen.
Dr. John de Jong owns and operates the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic. He could be reached at 781-899-9994.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”