whats wrong with my cat? please help!

Question

My cat is 8 months old ,,,he has up until now been in perfect health,typical of a young neutered male ,,very friendly,active and curious. two days ago he became very lethargic and is dry heaving,sneezing and coughing up a small amount of clear saliva, also eating very little. Im not sure if he ate something he wasn't supposed to or if he has an upper respitory infection or the flu,,,,please help!!

zodiacqueen · Answer

Good to hear that he's up to date on the shots.  Then it's probably a respiratory infection and some antibiotics will probably fix him right up.  Just keep a good watch on him and put your ear up to his chest to check his breathing and make sure that his lungs are clear.  You'd hear wheezing and a "junky" sounding chest easily with your own ear if it's right up on his side.  If you hear junkiness(yes, it's a word now LOL), then he needs a vet ASAP.

You can try to give him some human tuna.  That may entice him to eat since it's strong smelling.

Please keep me posted.

ana2323 · Answer

Thank you , he is actually up to date on everything , i do have an apointment acheduled ,but it strange ,I have three cats and the other two are in no way symptomatic ,my other male had the upper respitory infection before when i adopted him from the spca and i immediatley took him in to my vet but the symptoms were much different. I guess ill keep fingers crossed until the apointment. thank you again..

zodiacqueen · Answer

Hi, your kitten needs a vet ASAP.  These upper respiratory infections can be very very serious in cats and can be life threatening.  Cats do not get over this on their own without antibiotics.  They don't get "colds" or the "flu" like we do.  This won't go away on its own.  This has already been going on for 2 days now, please get him to a vet.

If you haven't been up to date with the usual kitten vaccines, this could also be feline calicivirus or rhinotracheitis both are also life threatening.  And, a cat that can't smell its food won't eat.  That's another serious problem with a growing kitten.

Best wishes.