Cat flu is a common cat disease caused by the Feline Herpes Virus or Calici-virus. Feline Herpes Virus is the more serious of the two. It is also known as Feline Virus Rhinotracheitis which is an older term for the virus.
Feline Herpes virus infects the membranes of the eyes, the lining of the nose, pharynx, sinuses, and throat.
Symptoms include sneezing, nasal discharge, conjunctivitis , discharge from the eyes, loss of appetite, fever and depression. Occasionally, mouth and eye ulcers and excessive drooling of saliva may be seen. The very young, very old and immuno-suppressed cats are more likely to develop severe disease and possibly die as a result of their flu.
Cat flu viruses are spread in three ways.
- Direct contact with an infected cat showing signs of flu from contact with virus carried on clothing, food bowls and other objects. Large amounts of virus are present in the saliva, tears and nasal discharges of cats with 'flu. The virus is able to survive in the environment for up to a week.
- From contact with a cat that is a carrier of cat flu
Our herbal recommendations include:
- Boosting the Immune system with Maritime Pine Bark.
- Address the virus and flu symptoms with the Flu Mix/blood cleanser.
- Address corneal ulcers. A common residual effect of cat flu is a persistence of the virus in the corneas of the eye. Periodically, with stress, the virus, which lays dormant in nerves of the face, will reappear forming oval corneal ulcers that are slow to heal. To treat this add 2 drops of my Cat Eye Wash in 15ml of Colloidal silver and wash eye twice daily. Make a fresh batch each time. At night time use 1 drop of castor oil into each eye prior to bedtime.
