Cat flu
Cat flu is the common name for a feline upper respiratory tract disease. While feline upper respiratory disease can be caused by several different pathogens, there are a few symptoms that they have in common.
Avian flu can also infect cats, but "cat flu" is generally a misnomer, since it usually does not refer to an infection by an influenza virus. Instead, it is a syndrome, a term referring to patients displaying a number of symptoms that can be caused by one or more of these infectious agents :
- Feline herpes virus causing feline viral rhinotracheitis. This is the disease most commonly associated with the "cat flu" misnomer.
- Feline calicivirus—
- Bordetella bronchiseptica—
- Chlamydophila felis—
In South Africa the term cat flu is also used to refer to canine parvovirus. This is misleading, as transmission of the canine parvovirus rarely involves cats.
