Milo was a very handsome kitten. A red point Siamese, he had
the typical large “bat-eared” appearance of his breed coupled
with large paws: he was destined to be a magnificent specimen
in adulthood. Even his colouring was eye-catching. At 12 weeks
of age his "points" (face, lower limbs & tail) were a pale red
- they would deepen in colour as he got older. His new owner
already had 3 adult Siamese, 2 of which are related to Milo
and the newcomer slipped effortlessly into the household as
he was hardly a shrinking violet! A few days after leaving his
breeder, Milo developed a mild cough & sneeze. However, his
temperature was normal and he was his usual bright and lively
self and so we diagnosed an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection.
Milo had been vaccinated against the common ‘flu viruses (Calici
Virus, Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis) but moving away from mum
and littermates to a strange home, often with large scary cats
(at least to a small kitten) is emotionally a stressful time
and just like humans, the body’s immune system is slightly compromised.
As long as the kitten doesn’t go off his food and seems as bright
as normal, then the symptoms usually pass in a few days. However,
it is still worth consulting your vet for reassurance.
Milo
continued to have an occasional cough and sneeze for a few days
but then quickly made a full recovery. By the time of his neutering
(at 6 months of age) he was fulfilling his potential to be a
large handsome Siamese with the happy, cheeky disposition typical
of his breed. One month later his owners came home from work
to find him reluctant to open his right eye. A thorough examination
revealed conjunctivitis (inflammation of the membrane lining
the inner surface of the eyelid). There was no evidence of an
ulcer on the surface of the eye, another common cause of sore
eyes in cats and so a suitable ointment was dispensed. It is
not a good idea to use any eye ointment you may have in the
cupboard at home without consulting your vet. If an ulcer is
present, ointments containing steroids will actually make the
ulcer much much worse. Milo's eye started to improve after a
few days on the ointment but after 2 weeks, there was still
some conjunctivitis present.
At this point the vet started to suspect there was an underlying
condition present. The chief suspect was a contagious infection
called Chlamydia. The chief symptom of Chlamydia is a persistent
conjunctivitis that doesn’t respond fully to typical treatment.
In a few cases, the cat can suffer some respiratory problems,
such as coughing and sneezing. It is commoner in young cats/kittens
and particularly where they are kept in a multi cat household.
To diagnose Chlamydia a swab from the eye is taken and sent
off to a laboratory for analysis. Milo’s swab was sent to Glasgow
Veterinary School, where Chlamydia was confirmed. Treatment
involves giving a 3 to 4 week course of antibiotics both orally
(tablets) and topically (eye ointment). The added complication
is that Chlamydia is infectious to any in contact cats - in
this case the 3 other Siamese - and so the owners had the unenviable
task of having to give 4 Siamese cats 1 month's worth of tablets
on a daily basis!!
Chlamydia is an infection which can affect humans but there
is no evidence that the feline form of Chlamydia can be caught
by humans.In
humans, it is a sexually transmitted disease which can cause
infertility in women. Also, another form of the disease can
be caught from sheep and can cause miscarriages during human
pregnancies. Although there is no evidence that feline chlamydia
can cause problems it's advisable that any pregnant woman consults
her GP if there are any concerns. There is a vaccine available
but vaccinations cannot be completed until the kitten is at
least 12 weeks old and so, in a multicat household/cattery situation
(such as a breeder), kittens will be infected before the vaccine
can work. If a carrier cat is vaccinated against Chlamydia,
the vaccine will not prevent the organism being shed and passed
onto other cats, but it will lessen the clinical signs in the
infected cat.
At this moment in time, Milo’s eyes are both back to normal
and he recently finished his course of tablets (much to his
owner’s relief!) and all that is left is to monitor him fairly
closely over the next few weeks to make sure that he doesn’t
suffer a relapse.
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SOME OF OUR PATIENTS: “Milo"
Milo
continued to have an occasional cough and sneeze for a few days
but then quickly made a full recovery. By the time of his neutering
(at 6 months of age) he was fulfilling his potential to be a
large handsome Siamese with the happy, cheeky disposition typical
of his breed. One month later his owners came home from work
to find him reluctant to open his right eye. A thorough examination
revealed conjunctivitis (inflammation of the membrane lining
the inner surface of the eyelid). There was no evidence of an
ulcer on the surface of the eye, another common cause of sore
eyes in cats and so a suitable ointment was dispensed. It is
not a good idea to use any eye ointment you may have in the
cupboard at home without consulting your vet. If an ulcer is
present, ointments containing steroids will actually make the
ulcer much much worse. Milo's eye started to improve after a
few days on the ointment but after 2 weeks, there was still
some conjunctivitis present. 
In
humans, it is a sexually transmitted disease which can cause
infertility in women. Also, another form of the disease can
be caught from sheep and can cause miscarriages during human
pregnancies. Although there is no evidence that feline chlamydia
can cause problems it's advisable that any pregnant woman consults
her GP if there are any concerns. There is a vaccine available
but vaccinations cannot be completed until the kitten is at
least 12 weeks old and so, in a multicat household/cattery situation
(such as a breeder), kittens will be infected before the vaccine
can work. If a carrier cat is vaccinated against Chlamydia,
the vaccine will not prevent the organism being shed and passed
onto other cats, but it will lessen the clinical signs in the
infected cat.