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Is your cat sneezing? It could be flu

Living

Can you remember the last day you came down with the flu or had runny nose? If you have, then you will certainly concur with me that it is not a fascinating ordeal.

Last week was my turn to be the host of this tormenting virus which nearly held all my activities to a standstill. Headache, fever, running nose, muscle pain, aches call it; all attacked my system like safari ants on rampage in hunt for a poor lonely cockroach. Vets are generally enduring and such minor illness don't usually send them home, but this time around, I had to surrender and call Dr Apiyo to sit in for me.

I cannot actually recall when I last came down with flu. Perhaps, when I was in Form One and that must have been a sequel of monolization-shock, a common practice in high school between 80s and 90s. I can remember being driven in a school ambulance because of failure to withstand constant fever and congested chest only to be diagnosed with flu.

I rarely become ill; however illness gives me an insight into my patients. What amazes me most is that human diseases have their equivalent in animals. The only difference is that animals are a little bit hardy in manifesting symptoms; they don't concentrate so much on discomfort due to diseases like we do.

One example is when Floppy, a black and white tom cat was presented to the clinic for examination. He was sneezing,  had lost appetite and could play no more. Being an agile and a curious cat, Floppy would normally seek attention from any visitor who stepped into the house and gently rub himself against anyone and purr vehemently in a bid to seek intention and at least get a pet.

"My daughter, Gift, has been dull because her friend Floppy has not been in the mood to play in the last two days," Gifts's mother said as she handed over the cat to one of our nurses. "I can't believe that simple thing like a sick cat can torment my dear daughter this much," she commented.

On further examination, I found out that Floppy had a runny nose and his eyes had a clear discharge. Besides, he had apparent painful sores around his nostril and within his mouth. He could no longer purr and he had lost his miaw.

Without even taking Floppy's temperature, I already had a glimpse that he was suffering from cat flu. Like in humans, when cats have the flu, they sneeze, have clear nasal discharge which turns from yellow to greenish if the condition goes untreated. It also comes with muscle and joint pain which makes me pity these small animals as they suffer in silence and wait for their owners to recognise and address their plights. Cat flu is manageable if recognised and treated in good time; some cases usually advance to permanent loss of eye sight or even fatality if they go untreated.

Although the condition is referred to us flu, cat flu is ostensibly not transmissible to human. However, it is highly contagious and a single drop of infected discharge is capable of causing a disease to other cats. Infected cats should therefore be isolated from uninfected ones and the surest way to control it is through vaccination.

- The writer is a vet surgeon at Pets Centre Veterinary Clinic in Muthaiga

 

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