Conference misery::feline_v1

    What is Chlamydia and how did you find out your adopted stray kitty
    has it??  Did the vet tell you??  Can you vet give you more information
    as to whether it is contagious or not??  
    
    Sandi (Lightning, DejaVu & Thunder's mom)
    
    

    If I'm correct, Chlamydia is a "virus" I think, that effects the
    eyes.  And Yes, I believe it is very contagous.  
    
    cin
    

    
    
    What are the symptoms??

    yes, the vet told us he had chlamydia but she did not say anything
    about it being contagious. Unfortunately, I wasn't the one who took
    Junk in so I could batter her with questions as I normally do. The
    only sympton I know of is runny eyes. The  discharge is very, humm..
    how do I put this, gluey and thick and yuckooo!!!!
    If there are any other symptoms I'd like to know since I am watching
    for signs in my other kitties.
    
    Kim

    I believe that is "the" symptom.  The yucky-poo eyes.  Be very careful
    with the medication that your not touching the tip of the container
    to the eye, otherwise your going to keep re-infecting the eyes
    everytime you medicate.  
    
    Clymydia is contagous....it's one of the things we vaccinate our
    cats for with the 3-in-1 shots.  Be careful to wash your hands after
    handling kitty so as to not spread the infection to the others.
     
    I also believe clymydia can be quite stubborn to treat.  I've luckily
    never had a problem with it, so I'm not talking from experience
    here, just accumulated knowledge.
    
    good luck
    cin
    

    When Jo Ann is out of training I'm sure she can add some information
    to this note.  Hopefully, she'll be back by Thursday.
    
    Jan

    Ok, let's back up a bit.
    
    Chlamydia is nothing to panic over.  It is the leading cause of
    conjunctivitis in cats.  It is also very easily treatable.  No cat
    should ever have to be put down because of having Chlamydia.
    
    Chlamydia is also known as Pneumonitis.  Your cat can be vaccinated
    against it by using a 4-in-1 vaccine (not three in one, Cin).  The
    only type of medication that will treat Chlamydia is Tetracycline,
    either in an ointment form (Terrramycin) or in more severe cases,
    an oral form, liquid or tablets.
    
    Chlamydia is asymptomatic, meaning that a cat can only give it to
    other cats while it has an ACTIVE infection.  If your cat is showing
    no symptoms, it cannot infect other cats.  It is no longer considered
    a virus.
    
    Once your cat has been sucessfully treated, there is only a small
    chance that he will ever get the chlamydia back.  It can recur in
    situations of *severe* stress.
    
    If anyone would like more information about this illness, please
    contact me.  I am speaking from first hand experience with this.
    Kalliste, my stud cat, caught Chlamydia shortly after I got him.
    I never had a problem with him giving it to any of the other cats,
    and he has never had a recurrence.
    
    Jo

    Backing up somemore....It so happened that Jo was over at my facility
    in training so we did get to talk.  Imagine my surprise!! and Relief!
    
    I am hoping what Jo said is true, so until different is proven,
    forget my previous note--apparantly what I've been told might very
    well be so much water out the window  (or something like that).
     
    A very bad picture was painted for me and my friend--sorry if I
    got anyone else upset over it.  Three cheers for Jo Ann!  ;>
    
                                                     ---kim

    Thanks Jo...I didn't think it was all that big a deal.  I hear of
    lots of breeders who have had it and I don't see anyone panicing
    over it.  
    
    purrs
    cin
    

    One of my four, Dream, had clymidia (sp?) when she was
    younger.  Aside from a propensity towards upper respiratory
    infections (and a bad habit of climbing up into your lap
    and looking adoringly into your face as she emits a *very*
    watery sneeze, "I love you Mommy - aacchoooo!" ) which may very
    well be a result of the Oriental Shorthair's weaker immune system,
    she is very healthy, has not infected any of my other cats, and
    is very active and playful.  She has more discharge in her eyes
    than the others, but as long as I clean her eyes out daily (which
    I can assure you she absolutely *adores* ;-) she is fine.
    
    She is such a loveable, wonderfull kitty, I can't think of what
    my life would be like without her!!
    
    Mary-Michael

    re:  .8
    
    Thank you , Jo.
    
    I agree - there is no need to destroy animals with pneumonitis.
    There is no need to panic, just take care and wash your hands
    before handling other animals.  Medicate as directed, and your
    cat should improve with no recurrance.  The 4-way shot helps,
    but after asking my two vets about the effectiveness, one says
    the protection only lasts 6 months - the other highly recommends
    using the 4-way and not the 3-way.  
    
    Anyway, DO NOT DESTROY YOUR ANIMAL because of this virus.  It's
    not the end of the world if your other cats have it also.  It will
    clear up and your cats will be as good as new.
    
    E. T.

    re: .11
    
    Right on M-M.  The truth is, that probably lots of cats have
    had it and their owners didn't even know it and the animal
    recovered.  Boy, talk about blowing things out of proportion!
    
    E.T.

    Jo, thanks for your reply. I knew chlamydia wasn't bad enough for
    me to start worrying about what to do with Junkyard. He's a tough
    little guy and has been through it all. 
    I appreciate the info, my biggest concern was whether it is contagious
    or not. My two other kitties don't appreciate THAT CAT being in
    the house, so there is definitely no lovey dovey, kissie, kissie
    going on between them!!

    I think Barney might have this, or something like it.  Last year
    (age 6) his eyes were SO bad (mucas membrane inflamed) that the
    vet had his eyes operated on and biopsied.  Turns out Barney has
    something with a long name, but is basically chronic conjunctivitis. I
    have him on a cortisone type ointment & liquid for his eyes (depending
    on which part of the house I'm in depends on the liquid or ointment).
    He's had this eye problem forever and my other two cats have never
    experienced any problems.  This year at the vets, the doctor was
    extremely pleased with how well Barney is doing.  I don't use the
    medicine every day (he hates it), but do use it a couple of times a
    week or when his eyes seem to worsen.  It also seems that this problem
    may be seasonal - he has it all the time, but it's terrible this time
    of year and in late summer.  Maybe he's allergic to pollen and
    ragweed??
    
    Anyway, there's no reason to panic, at least with Barney.  I feel real
    sorry for him though... his eyes always look so goopy.
    
    Mary
    

    Mary Micheal, if your cat is showing signs of upper respiratory,
    it may not have Chlamydia.  Chlamydia is basically and eye only
    thing, and should not cause sneezing, runny nose.  Of course, he
    may also have a concurrent URI.
    
    Kim, keep Junkyard separated if you can.  It is contagious while
    he is showing symptoms.  Wash your hands after handling him, and
    DO NOT touch your eyes after handling him unless you have scrubbed
    your hands.  You can catch it from him.
    
    Mary, if your cat has it, it will need to have it's medication changed
    to Terramycin ointment, and you will have to medicate religiously
    for the prescribed period (usually TID for 21 days)  Using a random
    application of the medicine can help the organism to build up a
    resistance to the medication and help promote a chronic problem.
    
    Any one who needs further info can contact me.
    
    Jo

    When you say Chlamydia can be tranfered from cat to human, are you only
    referring to the eye infection?  Chlamydia for humans, to my knowledge,
    is a venereal disease that if not cured in time can cause sterility in
    a human.  Are you saying a cat's eye infection could cause sterility in
    a human?
    
    Sharon
     

    Cat Chlamydia and human Chlamydia are not the same organism.  People
    can catch cat chlamydia, but it will not cause them to have a venereal
    disease (I won't go into what will cause the venereal disease :^D).
    
    Fuuniest story I ever heard was when Sheri, the breeder of three
    of my queens, went to the Navy Opthamologist and told them that
    she hadn't been careful enough and had managed to get chlamydia.
    First they told her she had the wrong type of doctor, then when
    she explained it was in her eye, they scratched their heads and
    asked her for a list of her partners (they were probably trying
    to figure out how it ended up in her eye!)
    
    Jo

    Junkyard is doing pretty good. His eyes aren't as cloudy and he
    doesn't have _any_ gunk coming out of his eyes!!! Unfortunately,
    we have just moved into a new neighborhood and he is trying to be
    king of the road. He got into a little spat and got clawed in the
    face, right when he doesn't need any more injuries to his eyes.
    The cuts seem to be clearing up ok though.
    That terramyacin is really a wonder drug!!
    
    Thanks for your replies,
    
    Kim