Discussion
Hopefully can get some help here.
We are looking to possibly get a new kitten. We have found two that are 4 weeks old, they had been abandoned at the local vets. At 2 weeks of age they had come down with cat flu. Now they have mostly recovered from the cat flu although one is slightly sniffley but this is expected to clear in the next day or so. Unfortunately they have both been left with eye problems and have lost vision in 1 eye. The eye was cloudy but now has effectively popped inside. So they may need their eye removed which the vet said they will look at come neutering.
Now my questions are -
1, if we do adopt one or both of these kittens are they likely to have more health complications in later life?
2, Would they suffer from heart & Lung scaring?
3, Would they likely put our existing cats at risk of cat flu?
We are looking to possibly get a new kitten. We have found two that are 4 weeks old, they had been abandoned at the local vets. At 2 weeks of age they had come down with cat flu. Now they have mostly recovered from the cat flu although one is slightly sniffley but this is expected to clear in the next day or so. Unfortunately they have both been left with eye problems and have lost vision in 1 eye. The eye was cloudy but now has effectively popped inside. So they may need their eye removed which the vet said they will look at come neutering.
Now my questions are -
1, if we do adopt one or both of these kittens are they likely to have more health complications in later life?
2, Would they suffer from heart & Lung scaring?
3, Would they likely put our existing cats at risk of cat flu?
Have you asked the Vet they are with? They are best placed to know after all 
Bex & TheVet will know more than most of us about this.
The eyes won't be a problem, they'll have full & happy lives although you may want to keep them as indoor cats; blind ones can't go out, unless walked on a lead.
Bex & TheVet will know more than most of us about this.
The eyes won't be a problem, they'll have full & happy lives although you may want to keep them as indoor cats; blind ones can't go out, unless walked on a lead.
Sorry, completely missed this thread.
I agree with Ali, check with vets caring for them. It's a bit hard to know which way it'll go. They will either live their lives with very little evidence of the cat flu or they can end up with chronic problems.
Did they get checked for other viruses such as chlamydia (also affects the eyes)
If your cats are vaccinated then hopefully not, depends a bit on whether the kittens get flare ups and start to shed, which may increase the risk. One of my cats prob had mild cat flu as a youngster (or at leasrt a herpes carrier), he was always prone to sneezing etc during his life yet none of my other cats succumbed
I agree with Ali, check with vets caring for them. It's a bit hard to know which way it'll go. They will either live their lives with very little evidence of the cat flu or they can end up with chronic problems.
Did they get checked for other viruses such as chlamydia (also affects the eyes)
If your cats are vaccinated then hopefully not, depends a bit on whether the kittens get flare ups and start to shed, which may increase the risk. One of my cats prob had mild cat flu as a youngster (or at leasrt a herpes carrier), he was always prone to sneezing etc during his life yet none of my other cats succumbed
Edited by bexVN on Monday 23 September 09:46
Sorry BexVN and Ali_Kat for the confusion, they will not both be losing both eyes. They both have a problem with one eye each. One of them will definitely need to lose his eye. The other is uncertain as yet.
We spoke to our vets, and the fosterer. Both said that the kittens having cat flu should not be a problem. It was a friend who is supposed to be very well versed in cats that told us that they will have on going health problems such as lung and heart scarring caused by the cat flu.
My girlfriend phoned her vets today, and they too have said that there is unlikely to be any long term damage caused by cat flu. Their only concern was that all of our cats be vaccinated in case of any remnant of it in the next few months.
You can clearly see the problem with the eye in this picture:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/v3v3dr2v5v7dnnn/2013-09-...
This is the one whose eye doesn't need to be removed!
This is the other boy, though you can't see his eye:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3blbpegsduxg8kj/2013-09-...
We spoke to our vets, and the fosterer. Both said that the kittens having cat flu should not be a problem. It was a friend who is supposed to be very well versed in cats that told us that they will have on going health problems such as lung and heart scarring caused by the cat flu.
My girlfriend phoned her vets today, and they too have said that there is unlikely to be any long term damage caused by cat flu. Their only concern was that all of our cats be vaccinated in case of any remnant of it in the next few months.
You can clearly see the problem with the eye in this picture:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/v3v3dr2v5v7dnnn/2013-09-...
This is the one whose eye doesn't need to be removed!
This is the other boy, though you can't see his eye:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3blbpegsduxg8kj/2013-09-...
No, I understood that, I was reassuring you on what I do have experience of, as one of mine is blind - she can see a bit, but would have a guide dog if she were human 
Personally, how can you resist?
I'd trust Vet & Vet Nurse over a friend that knows about cats especially when the Vet knows them 
Personally, how can you resist?
I'd trust Vet & Vet Nurse over a friend that knows about cats
especially when the Vet knows them We have a small cat that used to be my daughter's, it had cat flu before she got it and lost an eye. It's been fine since, now about 18 months old. The only problem was a few weeks ago when we think one of the other cats may have scratched it and the area behind the missing eye started weeping and was swollen with a build up of blood behind. We got her to the vet's quickly and a couple of injections for 2 weeks antibiotics and an anti inflammatory had her OK within a day or two. You need to be careful with infections of the area behind the scar as the brain is right behind and if the infection spreads then you have problems.
My wife has also brought home a stray which developed cat flu a few days after arriving, again antibiotics for him and he's now fine although he was quite miserable for a few weeks. None of the other cats caught it despite two of them having not been vaccinated for years, although we did get them done immediately we were aware of the other one being ill.
My wife has also brought home a stray which developed cat flu a few days after arriving, again antibiotics for him and he's now fine although he was quite miserable for a few weeks. None of the other cats caught it despite two of them having not been vaccinated for years, although we did get them done immediately we were aware of the other one being ill.
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