Tips to Treat Cat Flu

Although cats are pretty healthy there is a virus that can catch them off guard and give them a case of the flu. Cat flu, like human flu, is a common illness among cats that cause runny noses and sneezing. In older cats, the flu usually goes away within ten days but in the meantime here are a few tips you can follow to treat your cat's flu.

Like humans, cats are not very hungry when they have the flu, but still try to get your cat to eat as much as they can to help fight the flu. Since most cats are pretty finicky you will have to find out the best way to get your cat to eat something but here are a few tips. Give her a warm meal that will be soothing to the stomach and body. You can add some warm broth or water to her food to make the meal warm. Since the flu usually causes stuffy noses, try helping your cat breathe much easier by giving them tuna as a meal.

The smell of tuna can help clear stuffed noses and bring back their taste buds. You can also try giving your cat some cheese, eggs, or small pieces of chicken to increase their appetite. However, don't feed your cat too much human food and don't feed it to them longer than five days. If you are having difficulty to get your cat to eat, try dabbing some on the tip of their nose or paw. You can also try mixing the food in a blender to make the portions easier for her to sip or lick instead of chew. When you are sick and weak you don't have much energy, so your cat probably would prefer to just lick or sip her food. Always make sure your cat is drinking enough water, which helps flush out the virus.

When pets are sick they will often get a mucus buildup around their eyes and nose be sure to clean it off to enable her to breathe much easier and see much better. You can either use Kleenex or a damp cloth or something moist to clean the mucus with. You can also treat their runny, stuffy nose with saline nose drops to help clear things up. Tilt her head back and place two drops of saline nose drops in her nose with a dropper. Keep her head tilted for several seconds to allow the saline to work. You can do this treatment as often as you like to help her runny and stuffy nose.

You can also use saline eye drops to treat the mucus build up in her eyes. If you use the same dropper for the nose and eyes, be sure to clean it before you use it on either one. Another good tip to treat your cat's flu is to help them soak up some steam. A humidifier will help treat your cat's congestion and stuffiness but if you don't have a humidifier, you can also run bath water or the shower and let it get steamy in the bathroom, then let your cat sit in the bathroom and soak up all the steam. To decrease your cat's chances of getting the flu and reduce the symptoms, be sure you are up to date on all their shots.