Can cats recover from a cold without treatment?

If a cat has a mild cold with strong resistance, it can recover without treatment. Generally, it takes 3 to 7 days to recover. If the cat does not improve after more than 5 days, it is necessary to seek medical treatment promptly. Cats with poor resistance (kittens or elderly cats) have a low chance of recovering from a cold without intervention and require timely treatment. Whether a cat can recover depends mainly on the pathogen's toxicity and the cat's resistance. If the cat has a common cold and its resistance is strong, it may recover on its own.

I. Causes of Cat Cold

Cat colds can be divided into non-infectious and infectious causes.

1. Non-infectious causes: Cats are prone to catching colds when seasons change or when air conditioning is too low in summer. Owners should take appropriate measures to keep their cats warm, and the illness is usually mild, allowing the cat to recover through its resistance.

2. Infectious causes: Cats infected with respiratory viruses and bacteria will also exhibit respiratory symptoms, or colds. In this case, cats can not only infect other cats but also have more severe symptoms that usually cannot recover through their own resistance.

II. Symptoms of Cat Cold

Cat colds usually manifest as sneezing, runny nose, increased body temperature, eye and nasal secretions, and mild symptoms may only include sneezing, minimal runny nose, and poor mental state.

Cat cold symptoms caused by non-infectious factors are generally mild. With proper warming and nutritional supplementation (respiratory prescription paste), cats can recover through their resistance. It usually takes 3-7 days to recover, but if symptoms persist for more than 5 days and even worsen, it is advised to visit a pet hospital for testing to determine if the virus is involved.

Cat cold symptoms caused by infectious factors are usually more severe and may include sneezing, runny nose, increased body temperature, conjunctivitis, and purulent nasal secretions (yellow). Taking the cat to a pet hospital for a "Cat Respiratory NPV Five-in-One Test" can detect multiple pathogens simultaneously, facilitating cause-based treatment and symptomatic medication. Antiviral drugs such as famciclovir and interferon are used to treat viruses, combined with antibiotics (such as Clavaseptin and Mometamax) to prevent secondary infections. Eye inflammation requires the use of pet-specific anti-inflammatory eye drops (such as fluoroquine), and respiratory conditioning may involve the use of cough suppressants and respiratory prescription pastes to help alleviate symptoms.