Natural Pet Health

Respiratory infections in pets

If you have noticed signs of lethargy, coughing, sneezing, fever and runny eyes or nose, then your pet is probably suffering from a cold or upper respiratory infection. This is an infection of the nose, throat and upper airways similar to when humans get a cold or flu. Cats are particularly prone to respiratory infections, but dogs can also contract them, including the common problem of kennel cough.

You may also notice that your pet has stopped eating; this happens particularly to cats because their appetites are primarily driven by smell. If a cat’s nose is blocked and he cannot smell, he will probably become more picky about what he will eat or stop eating altogether for a few days.

Canine influenza or dog flu was first identified in early 2005. This was after the outbreak of an epidemic of a dog respiratory system disease in the greyhound racetracks in Florida. A major outbreak of the disease was reported in New York State and by 2006 it had spread to 22 states of USA and believed to affect almost 16% of the dogs, with a mortality rate of 7%.

The canine influenza virus (CIV) belongs to the same family as the equine influenza virus, which has been around since the last forty years and more. It is understood that the contagion occurred on the racing tracks as the same tracks are used for greyhound as well as horse racing.

Although the symptoms are almost similar canine colds are not the same as the common cold in humans. Your dog may develop a cough, runny eyes, sneezing and there may even be a yellowish green discharge from the dog nose.

However, these are mostly the symptoms of a viral or bacterial infection that mimic symptoms of common cold. In most cases these symptoms disappear on their own over time. But it needs to be known that certain infections can progress into serious ailments if not attended to.

Canine colds fall under the category of dog respiratory problems and may occur due to the following common infections:

Both older and younger pets are more predisposed to disease. They are also more prone to progression of a disease and treatment failure. This happens because in older pets the vital organs and systems start to loose their functionality and, in puppies and kittens these organs and systems have not developed completely.

The immune system too is highly compromised in older and younger pets due to similar reasons. Canine and feline upper respiratory infection is common in young pets. Although inherently self-limiting by nature, home care remedies can make that extra difference to a fast recovery.