# Can cats get kennel cough?



## Heather102180 (Nov 19, 2003)

I've heard of dogs coming home from the vet and having "kennel" cough. Is that really a cough or what and does anyone know if cats can get it?

Fozzy had an all day visit at the vet last Wednesday for a potty patch shaving. We went out of town Thursday and returned last night. He seemed perfectly fine but during the middle of the night just starting sneezing a whole lot. He's still doing it off and on tonight. His eyes seem a little watery and I'm betting that's from when he sneezes. 

Anyone experience a sneezy cat?


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## DustinG. (Jul 25, 2009)

according to two vets ive been to, yes they can. In fact they told me my Allie Cat had kennel cough. She didnt have a cough per se. but he was horribly sick and and really really bad sneezing attacks. im talking 10+ sneezes back to back very quickly. she was wheezing and could barely breath. poor thing, it was heartbreaking.

the first Vet said it was something new for him to see cats with kennel cough, but he was "sure that what it is"


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Cats can get kennel cough, but it is truly a cough. If Fozzy is just sneezing, I would be more inclined to think URI brought on by the stress of being there all day.


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## Heather102180 (Nov 19, 2003)

Yup, it's all just sneezing. He flinches about 3 times and then sneezes about 10 times in a row! I feel so bad for him. =-( He never seems stressed about the vet though...he's just a happy go lucky kitty when he's there. Maybe the anesthesia freaked him out. 

I'll keep an eye on him...his still purry as ever. :luv


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

"Kennel cough" is actually a fairly amorphous term. Usually what is termed "kennel cough" is any of several bacterial infections, the most common of which is bordetella. It can cause coughing OR sneezing -- does NOT have to be coughing. The "coughing" is actually more like a reverse sneeze than a cough in many cases.

However, cats can get many types of "colds" (i.e., viruses causing respiratory symptoms) as well. If it continues, a visit to the vet is in order. Antibiotics won't do anything against a virus, of course, but since there are often secondary infections (or, possibly, something like bordetella), antibiotics often do help.


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## DustinG. (Jul 25, 2009)

hoofmaiden said:


> "Kennel cough" is actually a fairly amorphous term. Usually what is termed "kennel cough" is any of several bacterial infections, the most common of which is bordetella.


yup my first vet used "bordetella" and "kennel cough" in the same sentence. The second vet only said "bordetella"

but now im starting to wonder if Herpes had anything to do with my cats cold.....i thought i remember readind that a bad feline herpes problem can result in severe cold like symptoms. i dont know, but evertime one of the cats sneezes, or makes an unusual noise, i start to get paranoid.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

The herpes virus is often the culprit for the generic "upper respiratory infection". The virus never goes away, it just becomes dormant but can be activated by stress, which is why many cats come down with a URI after a traumatic event like an all day vet visit. A huge number of cats carry it. It's also the reason that many shelter cats exhibit URI symptoms at the shelter or right after they're rehomed.


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## DustinG. (Jul 25, 2009)

doodlebug said:


> The herpes virus is often the culprit for the generic "upper respiratory infection". The virus never goes away, it just becomes dormant but can be activated by stress, which is why many cats come down with a URI after a traumatic event like an all day vet visit. A huge number of cats carry it. It's also the reason that many shelter cats exhibit URI symptoms at the shelter or right after they're rehomed.



could the herpes virus make for SEVERE cold symptoms? im talkeing bad. the poor little girls nose was completely stopped up, she was wheezing, she was week and disoriented. She basically seemed to have the cat equivalent of a human with a BAD flu. She just laid on her side all day wheezing, and gurgling....and this went on at the worst part for about four days. she had bad sneezing attacked for at least a week on either side though.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Yes, some of them can get pretty sick, especially if they had other things going on that affected the immune system.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

DustinG. said:


> could the herpes virus make for SEVERE cold symptoms? im talkeing bad. the poor little girls nose was completely stopped up, she was wheezing, she was week and disoriented. She basically seemed to have the cat equivalent of a human with a BAD flu. She just laid on her side all day wheezing, and gurgling....and this went on at the worst part for about four days. she had bad sneezing attacked for at least a week on either side though.


Yes, it could. I know Muffin has herpes, and when I first brought him in the house he got really bad. He was about 4 weeks old, and he's sneeze and sneeze and sneeze...poor boy. He had a runny nose, wouldn't eat as much as I wanted, you could hear him wheeze when he breathed, he was just miserable. I did get an antibiotic for it and it helped quite a lot. Now if we're going to do something stressful for him I get L-lysine and give him a capsule once a day for the week before the event. It helps a lot and he hasn't had an outbreak for almost 3 months. And the last time he did was just a little bit of runny nose/goopy eyes, and he napped a bit extra.

I'd look into the l-lysine...it makes a big difference. JMO.


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## DustinG. (Jul 25, 2009)

librarychick said:


> DustinG. said:
> 
> 
> > I'd look into the l-lysine...it makes a big difference. JMO.


i got some for my herpes kitts day before yesterday.....3 doses and i already see an improvement. She was STARTING to act a little sluggish and hazy the day before i took her to the vet.....shes not sluggish at all anymore. And her eye already looks 50% better.


so.....is it pretty much guaranteed that my other furball has it, or is GOING to get it from her? i assume so...especially when i see him licking her face....eeeew.

luckily (from what i understand...and hope) its not contagious to humans. Becuase i first noticed her runny eye problem when i kissed her face and got wetness on my lip..... :yikes gross.


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## Heather102180 (Nov 19, 2003)

Fozzy actually slept through the night last night...didn't hear any sneezes and this evening he is doing ok. Hope he's on the mend! Thanks for everyone's advice and personal experiences!


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