If you have a cat with an upper respiratory infection, how long do you have to keep them from your other cat(s)

I would recommend keeping them separate until the affected kitty is completely asymptomatic. If you’re very lucky and your other cats have healthy immune systems (and a couple of vaccines under their belt, so to speak), it may not spread. It is extremely infectious, however.

Thank-you.

@Jude is that your new kitty, Chevy? Here’s some additional info for you to read. I hope he’s better soon.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+1348&aid=210

@bkcunningham Yes. He is pretty sick, but we are doing our best. He had to go in for some IV fluids as he was pretty dehydrated. I have never seen a cat that sick.

@Jude poor baby. You and your poor kitty cat. He’s not eating or drinking?

Barely, on his own. We are having to feed him through a syringe. Sometimes, he will eat on his own. We give him fluids through a syringe, as well. We got a warm mist humidifier for his breathing. We both stuck by him all weekend and took care of him. We loved him and made sure that he was comfortable.

It just breaks my heart to see a 5 month old kitten going through this.

When we got our second cat, she came with the common shelter upper respiratory infection (which we were unaware of until the next day or two). She was so sick we honestly didn’t think she was going to make it. After about a week, she was skin and bones. So heartbreaking! With meds and care, she finally got better and is quite the spunky cat these days. Her survival is part of why she’s named “Chance”. We didn’t even know we should be keeping her separated from our other cat, so we didn’t. The first cat never got sick, thank goodness. Good luck with your kitteh!

I would keep them apart until he’s over the infection. No reason to take any chances. If he’s getting dehydrated here’s a trick I’ve used with animals over the years. Put a little water in the palm of your hand and hold it under his mouth. Let him lick it out of your hand and repeat as often as he’ll drink. Don’t push it in his face or nose. In his condition it might go into his lungs. But they seem to like the contact and the personal service, so it might help him stay hydrated.

@Jude how’s Chevy doing this morning?

From this morning.

That didn’t work. I fixed it.

Good news! He’s not going to compete in any kitty marathons right away, but he looks like he’s doing better.

@syz how long does the nasal congestion last? He has been on an antibiotic for 4 days.

Feelin better!

He is really feeling better, isn’t he? I’m so glad. Well, that made my morning. @Jude ! Wonderful. Looks like he is definitely on the road to recovery. He’s happy.

My homey and I. All better. :)

Good for both of you.