Hello Everyone,
We seem to be in the midst of a kitty cold epidemic. One cat had it, then another and now another. Poor little kitties are sneezing. It sends to last 3 or 4 days. What I’m wondering is if the dogs can catch this cold from the cats. Our Great Dane is somewhat a mother hen to the cats and had been beside which ever one is sick giving licks and nuzzling. Can he catch the cold or do these things generally stay within species?
The most common cold agents by far are viral and those are basically species-specific. However a minority of infections are bacterial and those can cross species barriers, at least to some extent.
So unlikely, but possible. Just depends on what they have.
Your dog probably won’t get it.
There is a strain of Herpes virus that is more or less endemic to cats, and in an otherwise healthy cat it will cause “cold” symptoms: Sneezing, runny eyes, congestion. Mostly it is self-limiting and does clear up in a few days, occasionally though it can get bad enough that a secondary bacterial infection can set in and antibiotics are in order. It is contagious among cats, ans as it’s viral there’s not much to do for it though some vets recommend antibiotics just to prevent a secondary infection. Lysine supplements seem to help it clear faster though, and to prevent new outbreaks. You can get Lysine cat treats from your vet, and possibly from pet stores too I think.
I have one cat who gets a flare up every couple of years and gets congested enough that he has to breath through his mouth. It’s off to the vet for him! And when he gets it, I can pretty much guarantee that at least 3 others will get the sneezies, but generally the others aren’t so badly affected.
Thanks guys. One of our cats (a pound rescue) has confirmed cat herpes. Perhaps it had spread to the others.