Is my senior cat's sneezing and eye discharge from ear tumors or cat flu?

Sneezing and eye tearing in cats is often the result of a viral upper respiratory infection. Symptoms may include sneezing, eye or nasal discharge, nasal congestion, eye squinting, lethargy, and inappetence. Common causative agents include herpesvirus and calicivirus. The fact that he is eating and drinking normally is a good sign. However, because he is an older kitty, it will definitely require close monitoring to ensure his signs are not worsening. An exam with your veterinarian is recommended to make sure that his vital signs are normal, including a normal temperature. If he'll let you check his temperature at home, you can. I suggest lubricating a thermometer and checking his temperature rectally. Normal temperatures for can range between 100.5 to 102.5. If his temperature is 103 or higher you should consider bringing him in to your vet. Additionally, if you see yellow/green discharge from the eyes or nose, increased frequency of sneezing, lethargy, loss of appetite, or open-mouth breathing I suggest bringing him to your vet right away. Viral infections, just like in people, can weaken the immune system allowing bacterial infections to occur, which requires veterinary prescribed antibiotics. If there are any other cats in the house, I recommend temporarily isolating them from your sneezy cat until his signs resolve. Minimizing environmental stress is also recommended for his recovery. If you have any other concerns or are interested in additional information I'm happy to follow-up with an online consultation.

I am sorry to hear that! It sounds like he has had a good work up so far. I suspect your vet may want to recheck imaging (if not done already) to ensure the foreign object is no longer present. If there is a concern the infection has never fully resolved, you could ask for a referral to an internal medicine specialist (https://www.ecvim-ca.org/specialist-listings/internal-medicine-specialists-list). If the infection has been cleared but keeps recurring, you could ask to review the pros and cons of therapies such as anti-viral medications, probiotics, Cerenia or long-term antibiotic courses. I hope this helps!

Without images it is very difficult to assess what may be going on. It would be worthwhile getting a second opinion but a tumour in the mouth or sinuses may well be affecting the drainage from her eyes or nose and may be contributing to the signs you can see, an the smell you describe is likely related to an infection or damaged tissue. A sedated oral exam and xrays or CT scan would help to investigate everything that may be happening, including tear production and drainage which may be contributing to the crusts and blood shot eyes

In a 10 year old cat, it's certainly possible that your cat has a tumor. Given that he has been having continuing problems with this swelling, I recommend having further testing done such a blood tests, urinalysis, and x-rays of his head. This will help vet see if there is a tumor in his nasal cavity, and then the vet can discuss treatment options.

It sounds like an upper respiratory infection. They are common in cats and can be incredibly contagious to other cats. Make sure to wash your hands and change your clothes after dealing with Tom. Many of these infection are viral and simply have to run their course. Occasionally antibiotics are used to treat secondary bacterial infections. Cats don't like to eat if they can't smell, so if you can give him smellier foods, like tuna or some varieties of wet food, he may eat a little.

If you see some discharge in her nose, wipe it away. Ask your veterinarian if the medicine he gave you for the diarrhea is also working for an upper respiratory infection. If not, you may have to get antibiotics from him. You may have to bring Teena back to the vet if you find more problems. But you also have to give the medication time to work. And I suggest you give her lots of love. She can live very well being blind, cats can get used to that. They have their whiskers and whiskers on the legs to find their way around.

Coughing, congestion, sneezing, lack of appetite, discharge from the eyes and nose, and lethargy can be signs of a respiratory infection in cats. When cats can't smell their food, they won't eat, and that may be why he is losing weight. Gently warm really smelly wet food such as sardine or fish based. I would also take him into a vet now to get checked out, as he sounds really sick to me. Best of luck.