What to do if a cat's nose is clogged

10. Be deliberate about taking medications. Do not deviate from the doctor's prescription and do not change the dosage yourself. If medication does not help within 1 week, make an appointment for a second appointment. It is likely that the cause of the nasal congestion has not yet been found.

How to make it easier for your cat to breathe

Contributor(s): Pippa Elliott, MRCVS. Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and treating companion animals. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked in the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Number of sources used in this article: 15. You will find a list of them at the bottom of the page.

From time to time, cats can get colds and encounter fairly serious respiratory (breathing) problems. If you notice your cat having trouble breathing, it's important to see your veterinarian to find out the exact cause of the stuffy airways and prescribe the appropriate treatment. This article will tell you how you can spot a cat's respiratory problems, and how to make it easier for him to breathe. You can also read about the most common causes of respiratory problems in cats.

Identifying upper airway problems

• Some cats with allergic rhinitis may have clear, wet nasal discharge, but it can sometimes be hard to notice because the cat regularly licks its nose.
• If you notice nasal discharge in your cat, try to find out if it affects one or both nostrils. Bilateral discharge (from both nostrils) is more common with infection or allergies, while unilateral discharge may be due to a foreign body or a unilateral infectious inflammation in the nose.

• If you notice your pet sneezing on a regular basis, you should make an appointment with your veterinarian to help figure out the cause of the problem. It could be an allergy or an infection, so the vet will need to take a sample of mucus secretions to make an accurate diagnosis.

• The most common cause of nasal and sinus congestion is viral infections. These include feline herpes virus and feline calcivirus infection. These infections may also cause swollen, red and watery eyes, mouth ulcers, and increased salivation. [4] X Source of Information A cat can be protected from these infections by timely vaccination and avoiding contact with sick animals. Recurrent viral diseases in cats suppress their immune system, so when they get sick again, the adapted harmful bacteria affect a larger area of the mucosa, cause a more severe course of the disease, severe nasal discharge and loss of appetite. Understand that in many cases the cat gets rid of the viral component of the disease quite easily, but it is quite difficult for the cat to recover from the residual bacterial complications. For this reason, it is very important to show your cat to a qualified veterinarian if you notice any of the above symptoms.
• The cause of the difficulty in breathing is an accumulation of mucous secretions in the cat's nose. Just like in humans, mucus in cats blocks the nasal passages and makes breathing difficult.

Causes

Nasal congestion in cats is often related to an infection of the cat's airways.

Among the causes, we may find allergies, viruses, or even nasal cancer. Let's look below at what to do in case of a stuffy nose to improve the cat's breathing, remembering to contact the veterinarian in any case.

As we said before, cats often get colds and other respiratory illnesses. That's why it's important to identify the symptoms of respiratory illnesses. One of these symptoms that is very common in cats is nasal discharge and can be of a nature:

In the case of discharge from only one nostril, the cause may be A foreign body in the cat's nose or an infection. On the other hand, if the secretion is present in both nostrils of the cat, the causes may be due to either infection or allergies. The main causes of nasal congestion are:

A cat with a stuffy nose also does not breathe well, so it is worth noting that the cat has difficulty breathing. If your cat has difficulty breathing, it will take this posture:

Nasal congestion: how to help your cat

A method to help the cat breathe better, also used by us humans, is to use water steam to help drain the mucus.

Obviously, you should not put the cat's head on a basin of hot water, as the cat could get burned or scalded by hitting the basin. But it would be sufficient to prepare a steam bath by opening the hot water of the shower and allow the cat to enter the steamy environment for 10 minutes, keeping it away from the water.

Also, although the cat's nose is blocked, you should clean it by moistening a cotton swab and running it under the cat's nose. Finally, you should contact your veterinarian, who will decide whether to subject your furry friend to antibacterial therapy or prescribe a mucolytic medication.

A cat's nose won't breathe: what to do, treatment

Since the disease more often bothers kittens, you should assess the situation and make a decision: try to solve the problem yourself or run to the clinic. If the kitten is not vaccinated, it is likely to have a viral infection and the veterinarian is needed.

When a vaccinated teenager or adult animal becomes ill, you can try to help yourself.

A therapeutic strategy includes the following items:

1. Providing nutritious feeding and proper housing. Wet food or complete natural food should be used, as the pet has difficulty breathing and loses its appetite.
2. Treating the underlying disease with antimicrobials. Passive immunization with hyperimmune serum or globulin is indicated in the first days. Late treatment on the 3rd-5th day is ineffective. The main danger is secondary microflora, which develops against a background of weakened immunity by the action of the virus. Therefore, antibiotics are used. Form of administration – parenteral or external – is determined by the veterinarian. Immunomodulators are prescribed to increase the body's resistance.
3. Symptomatic therapy. External medications are used – solutions or ointments for injection into the nasal cavity. If the disease has spread to the eyes or mouth, special agents for the treatment of conjunctivitis and stomatitis are used. When the allergic nature of the runny nose is diagnosed, the source of irritation is eliminated and antihistamines are used.

Is it possible to give cat nose drops?

It is impossible to cure rhinitis without the use of external means. Antiseptic ointments or drops are used. Dual-purpose preparations for application in the nose and eyes are the most effective.

Medical drops should not be used alone. The cat's body is different from the human body.

However, if veterinary drugs do not help, under the supervision of a veterinarian use the listed remedies:

What to do if a cat's nose is stuffy

What to do with a cat with a stuffy nose will prompt a veterinarian. The therapeutic therapy depends on the underlying cause that provoked the pathology. In order not to aggravate the condition of the beloved pet, not to provoke serious complications, do not self-treat. Treatment of a stuffy cat's nose should be complex, taking into account the underlying cause of the ailment.

If the cat breathes through his mouth, the nose is stuffy and the reason is the presence of a foreign object in the nasopharynx, nostrils, it is necessary to gently remove it from the nasal passages. Entrust this procedure to a veterinarian.

If the nostril is stuffy, rhinitis is provoked by bacterial, viral infections, cats are prescribed complex antibacterial drugs, antibiotics of systemic broad-spectrum. To eliminate this problem, the treatment was effective, the course of antibiotic therapy must be complete.

Animals, if the nose is stuffy, may be prescribed sedatives, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, anti-edema general reinforcing drugs. To relieve inflammation of the nasal mucosa, in addition to general medication, the veterinarian will prescribe special nasal drops (Diocycline, Naftizin). With a bad runny nose the drops are put into each nostril two to three times a day until recovery is complete.

With severe rhinitis normalize the condition of the pet will help Fosprenil. The dosage and frequency of administration will prescribe the attending veterinarian.

If your pet has a stuffy nose, inhalation with essential oils from conifers and warm compresses are very helpful. You can warm the pet's nose with salt, sand or herbs wrapped in a cloth bag or clean cloth. You can wash the nose with the juice of young aloe.

Remove crusts from the lobe systematically with a moist, sterile cotton-gauze swab. If the mucosa is dry, lubricate the area around the nose with baby cream, oil, petroleum jelly.

How to flush the nose of newborn kittens

To flush the nose of a newborn kitten, just one drop of saline solution is enough. However, manipulation of the upper airways in the first month of life is undesirable. If fluid is thrown into the lungs, the animal will develop pneumonia, and the baby may die from pulmonary edema within a week. At the same time there will be no visible symptoms that will appear immediately. The only thing that will give away the malaise after a few days – partial or complete refusal of food.

If the kitten wheezes and does not suck milk, because he is breathing through his mouth, and you see dried mucus disturbing the patency of the nasal passages, drop a drop from the dropper and immediately pump it out with a syringe.

If the sniffling and wheezing does not go away at once, listen to the lungs with a phonendoscope. Sometimes the cause of wheezing is due to swallowing amniotic fluid at birth. In this case, the kitten needs immediate resuscitation and antibiotics.

Prevention of nasal congestion in cats

1. Regular wet cleaning. Wash floors and wipe down furniture at least 2-3 times a week, paying special attention to hard-to-reach areas and areas where the cat spends most of its time. Use fragrance-free and chlorine-free detergents to reduce the risk of allergic reactions. Pungent smells and chemicals can trigger an immune response and lead to profuse nasal discharge and lacrimation.

2. Hygienic treatment of equipment and utensils. Wash the cat bed regularly and wash toys and water and food bowls. They can pick up bacteria and viruses brought into the house from the street on the owner's shoes and hands or the muzzles and paws of other pets who have access to free range.

3. optimum indoor climate. Avoid drafts and stuffiness. The room in which the cat is kept should be neither hot nor cold. The air should be sufficiently humid to enhance the protective function of mucous membranes and not to dry them out to the formation of crusts. To maintain a microclimate in the room you can use a humidifier or place pails of water in all rooms and near the pet's bed. Periodically you can leave the cat in the bathroom where you just took a hot shower. The warm steam helps to moisten the mucous membranes and the dried up dirt comes out by itself.

4. Balanced nutrition. Feed your cat a full premium or super-premium cat food that is age-appropriate, breed-specific, and health-conscious. For example, allergic cats are indicated for therapeutic foods with hypoallergenic split protein and easily digestible carbohydrate sources. Pregnant and lactating cats should be given high-energy foods with an increased amount of calcium. If he starts sneezing while eating and his eyes are moistening profusely, try replacing the food with a new one. He is probably reacting to a pungent smell or to some of the ingredients in the food. Cheap supermarket foods usually do this, since they contain many dyes and preservatives that can cause allergies. In some cases, however, holistic foods can provoke a reaction, since they contain too much protein and may not be digested, resulting in a skin reaction.

Wounds

A scratch, a bite, a laceration on a cat's nose and any other trauma with compromised skin is a gateway for billions of pathogenic germs. To stop bleeding, the wound is blotted with a gauze swab soaked in 3% hydrogen peroxide. After a few minutes, the edges of the wound are treated with green or healing ointment (e.g., Levomekol). The treatment is repeated until the wound is completely healed. If a cat's nose sore does not go away in three days or if a pustule forms on the site of the wound, you should contact your veterinarian.

A profuse discharge from the cat's nose is often a symptom of an infection. The fluid may be thick, clear or cloudy, flowing only after physical activity or all the time. The discharge in infections is usually bilateral, meaning that the cat's nose leaks from both nostrils at once. Usually at the beginning of the disease fluid is watery and clear, but with the progression of the disease nasal discharge from the cat becomes thick, foul-smelling, opaque and colored – yellowish, pinkish, swamp color, etc. Irregular greenish-gray discharge is pus from the cat's nose, formed due to increased activity of pus-causing microbes. The doctor should be consulted immediately, especially if coughing and sneezing, fever, inflammation of mucous membranes, refusal of food, apathy are added to the symptoms. Many viruses are deadly; procrastination is unnecessarily risky. Do not use any nasal drops for cats before visiting the veterinarian, as symptomatic remedies will complicate the diagnosis. To make breathing easier, the oozes are removed with a wet tampon.

In addition to viruses, cat nasal secretions can increase as a result of a bacterial or fungal infection. As a rule, ailments of this kind indicate a decrease in immunity, which is fraught with more serious diseases. Fungus on the cat's nose may seem harmless – appetite is preserved, activity is normal. But this is a deceptive calm before the "storm", so a veterinary consultation is necessary. Bacteria – cocci and others – also pose a serious danger due to immune suppression. If the cat's nose is runny, the color of the nasal lobe or muzzle fur suddenly changes, or strange crusts, dots or spots appear on the nose – be sure to test for fungi / bacteria (culture).

Nasal passageway irrigation

If a pet cannot breathe normally it may be because his nose is clogged with dried up exudate or swollen mucous membranes. In all these cases we recommend flushing the animal's nose, as this helps to speed up its recovery. The procedure is not without its pitfalls, so we recommend enlisting the help of someone else. Nasal irrigation of the cat is done as follows:

• The solutions used for lavage must always be heated to a temperature of about 37°C.
• Ideally the smallest syringe should be used for washing, but the insulin syringe will do well for this purpose. To its spout we recommend to connect a tube from a catheter for intravenous injections. It is thin enough to be inserted into the pet's nostrils.
• After that the cat should be carefully fixed in a lying position. If for some reason you could not get an assistant, you can put the cat's head between your knees.
• When the cat is securely fixed, the flushing solution should be injected into one nostril first and then the other. No more than 0.5 ml can be poured at a time. After each portion it is necessary to pause so that the pet has time to sneeze properly.
• At the end of the procedure it is necessary to use a gauze napkin soaked in warm saline solution to clean the cat's muzzle from residues of lavage fluid and exudate.

Since the animal will certainly not be in the best of moods after the nasal rinse, the drops or other medication should be put in immediately without letting the cat go! Otherwise there is no guarantee that he will be caught.

Solutions used to flush the nasal cavity

In most cases, the most common saline solution can be used for rinsing. But it is better to treat the nasal cavity with a 0.05% chlorhexidine solution. It is not much more expensive than saline solution, but it has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

How to use drops for rhinitis

It's no secret that for the treatment of rhinitis, as well as in order to relieve the swelling of mucous membranes and relieve pain, therapeutic drops are most often used.

Applying them is much more convenient than constant nasal flushing, but… To make the drops really effective, they must be used correctly:

• The animal needs to be well secured, seated, and then the cat's muzzle raised so that it is looking exactly at the ceiling.

• Standard droppers should not be shoved into the nostrils, as this will almost certainly lead to nasal injuries! They should be held a couple of millimeters away from the nose and drip the medicine so that it flows directly into the nostrils. In case the owner has tilted the pet's head vertically upwards, there is nothing difficult about it.

• It is not realistic to cure rhinitis in a day, the pet needs to be accustomed to all the necessary procedures, doing them at the same time, without getting nervous or panicking. If you do everything confidently and calmly, the cat will get used to it and will not resist much.

Symptoms of a stuffy nose

How do you know if a cat has a stuffy nose? Even if this symptom appears before the appearance of profuse nasal bleeding and watery eyes, it is the first bell for the owner.

These are the common signs that all respiratory infections begin with. Read more about the possible causes of disease in the article "A cat has a runny nose and sneezes: how to treat?"

How to help if a cat sniffles and sneezes?

Whatever caused the congestion, the first thing we need to do is to help the animal restore normal breathing. To do this we should:

• rinse the nasal passages with saline solution (we discussed in detail the rinsing technique in the article "What to do at home if the cat sneezes?") – this will help remove thick secretions and crusts, reduce the concentration of infectious particles, slightly reduce the swelling of the mucosa;
• for anti-inflammatory effect, you can also use a decoction of chamomile after a complete cleansing of the nose, using the same technique;
• If the washing did not give the desired result and the cat is still sniffling and sneezing, you should drop any baby drops that relieve swelling by narrowing the mucous membranes (Nasivin, Otrivin, Vibrocil etc.).

Once the symptoms have subsided, the best solution is to take the pet to the doctor to determine the exact cause of the illness and to treat the animal definitively. Don't be put off by veterinary care: a simple nasal congestion in cats may be the first symptom of a dangerous disease.

How to treat cat runny nose

Contributor(s): Ryan Corrigan, LVT, VTS-EVN. Ryan Corrigan is a licensed veterinary technician from California. She received her bachelor's degree in veterinary medicine from Purdue University in 2010. She has been a member of the Academy of Equine Veterinary Technicians since 2011.

Number of sources used in this article: 8. You will find a list of them at the bottom of the page.

A runny nose is a great inconvenience for cats. But it is within your power to help your furry friend: first, try to determine the cause of the runny nose. Once the cause is figured out, cat runny nose can be treated with medication or you can just wait until it goes away on its own, as is often the case with common upper respiratory tract infections. Relieve the symptoms of a cat's runny nose with steam and regular clearing of a stuffy nose.

Help with home remedies

Learn about common causes of cat runny nose. There are many factors that lead to inflammation of the nasal mucosa or maxillary sinuses in cats: allergies, a tumor in the nose, a foreign object caught in the nose, parasites, a fungal infection, flus, and various bacterial and viral infections. [2] X Source of information

Determine if the cat shows signs of an upper respiratory tract infection. Very often the runny nose is caused by the herpes virus or calicivirus. When these diseases occur, the cat has clear or cloudy discharge from both nostrils as well as discharge from the eyes. [3] X Source of Information

Let the respiratory infection pass on its own. Upper respiratory tract infections in cats are characterized by watery eyes, clear nasal discharge, and coughing. If you think your cat's runny nose is a common respiratory infection, you can wait for it to go away on its own. Most of these infections go away fairly quickly, within 7-10 days. [4] X Source of Information