Tracheitis in Cats: what it is, symptoms and treatment
Yes, tracheitis in cats is very common and if not treated promptly it can become serious. Let’s find out the causes and how to cure it.
Although cat is used to spending many hours out in the garden free to run and chase its small prey, it is not immune from being struck by certain diseases.
Colds, coughs, sore throats are just some of the frequent pathologies of these cold months , which affect us but also our beloved cat.
Some diseases are less serious and disappear within a few days, but others are much more serious and if not treated in the best way and promptly can cause further problems for your cat.
Tracheitis in cats is just one of them. Let’s find out what it is, what its symptoms are and how to treat it for a quick and harmless recovery for our feline friend.
Tracheitis in cats: what it is and its causes
From the name itself, perhaps it is easy to understand: tracheitis is an inflammation that affects the trachea. The trachea is the airway that connects the larynx to the bronchi, and when it becomes inflamed due to an infection, tracheitis occurs.
This pathology can arise for various causes, the inhalation of some irritants, bacteria, viruses and fungi. Generally in cats, the simplest form of tracheitis can become complicated, transforming into rhinotracheitis and tracheobronchitis, to name two examples.
In fact, tracheitis can manifest itself in two forms :
primary : caused by direct infection of the trachea;
secondary : derived from an infection in an upper airway tract, which then later spread to the trachea.
But let’s go now to see the main causes of tracheitis in cats :
bacterial infection : due precisely to a bacterium that attacks the trachea. Among the most common are Staphylococcus aureus, which affects the nasopharyngeal tract, and Streptococcus pneumoniae (the tracheitis caused by this bacterium generally derives from a form of sinusitis);
viral infection : among the viruses capable of causing this pathology there are influenza viruses, colds and parainfluenza viruses. Feline herpesvirus is the one that most affects cats, also causing rhinotracheitis.
Unfortunately, tracheitis in cats is never in its primary form. As not only is it almost always connected to specific viral forms, such as feline Herpesvirus rhinotracheitis : this virus that affects the eyes, nose and trachea.
But also because the cat tends to mask the first symptoms that occur, and when we realize that there is some problem in him, the tracheas in the primary form will have already evolved into its secondary form , complicating and extending the inflammation also to the pharynx or larynx, lungs and bronchi.
In some cases, it can appear directly in its secondary, more severe form, due to nosebleed or pharyngeal infections that have been neglected.
Symptoms of this pathology
In the winter, tracheitis in cats is a very recurrent pathology. Continuous temperature changes, not only outside but also inside the home, inevitably favour the onset of inflammations, especially viral ones.
But what are the specific symptoms that arise in cats due to tracheitis? Let’s look at them together:
Cough, which can be deep and severe;
Runny nose and sneezing;
Wheezing, with serious difficulty in breathing and the appearance of whistling in the breath;
Fever, which can exceed 38 °;
Presence of lymph nodes under the jaw;
Lack of appetite;
Difficulty in swallowing, when the larynx and pharynx are involved in inflammation in addition to the trachea;
Difficulty meowing when the larynx is also affected;
Red throat ;
Catarrh in the bronchi, when tracheitis has evolved into tracheobronchitis.
These symptoms may not necessarily occur all together and also in different forms from cat to cat. But when we notice some of them in the cat we must absolutely think that they can be indicators of tracheitis, and take him to the vet, to intervene effectively with the most suitable therapy for the case.
How to cure cat
As we have said previously, when even some of the symptoms listed above appear, it is good to take your cat to the vet.
With a specific visit and thanks to the information we have obtained, you will be able to diagnose whether it is tracheitis in cats, but above all will understand the cause of its onset.
With this information, he will indicate the right therapy for your cat to follow, certainly based on:
Anti-inflammatory, to reduce infection and prevent its spread;
Antibiotics, to fight or prevent any bacterial complications.
Mucolytics and aerosols could be added to the therapy indicated above if the situation of tracheitis in the cat occurs in a much more severe form. But homeopathic treatments can also be supportive, but always on the advice of the veterinarian.
These are the ways to treat cat, and get it cured from tracheitis. But a recommendation: the veterinarian must give us the therapeutic indications for our cat, we do not act at random.
