upper respiratory infection

[artlady]

Hello, I have a cat I got yesterday from Cat Rescue in San Diego.
She has been sneezing. I brought her to my vet. Who gave her an antibiotic at my request. She felt it was common in Rescue cats.
My question is this: I have another healthy cat. We do not want him sick. How contageous is an upper respiratory infection? And is ther any danger to the cat if she has it?

Also, I have issolated the sick cat and she has not been in any contact with the healthy one. Can they still get it since they are in the same house?

Please help.

Artlady

[kate & kobi]

Congratulations on your new kitty! You did the right thing getting your new cat to the vet. Most likely your first cat will be fine, as long as his immune system is not already compromised by another illness.

It may be a good idea to keep them separated for a few days so that they get used to each other's smell before they meet, but I don't think there's any need to keep them separated because of the URI.

Good luck and do keep us updated with their progress!

-kate, kobi & pele

[artlady]

Dear Kate, Kobi and Pele:

I appreciate your help. Our old cat, Oreo, age 3 is in amazing shape. We have our new "sneezing kitty", age 4, upstairs, away from Oreo.

But I was worried it could be transmitted by our handling both cats. We are really trying to wash our hands and sanitize the house.

We will introduce them in a week, as soon as they are aclimated.

thanks,

Art lady

[Traci]

Actually, it's good that you are taking sanitation measures seriously because URI's can be easily transmitted to other cats. If your kitty is up-to-date on her FVRCP vaccinations, chances are, if she developed a URI, it would be mild, but I would still keep them seperated until the other kitty's symptoms have cleared.

[Auntie Debbie]

Congratulations on your new kitty! I agree on the separation until the URI has run its course. Then you can slowly introduct the newcomer to your resident cat.
Please see my website listed under Favorites on the left side of the board for tips on "URIs" and "Introductions". Good luck with your new kitty!

[Mona]

Yes it is good to isolate, and also was your new kitty tested for FELV and FIV, and what was the result. You are correct to isolate her from the other kitty until she is better.

I adopted Chloe at 8 weeks and she had an URI, Honeybun my older girl developed a mild cold and conjunctivitis in her eyes weeks later and we had to treat her.

Mona, Honeybun and Chloe