Pet health is important and it becomes hard for pet parents when their fur babies get a cold. If your pet seems lethargic, doesn’t eat or drink, or shows signs of dehydration, take them to the veterinarian immediately. Most common colds in pets are easily treatable at home, but if their symptoms start to advance it is best to take them to the veterinarian.
The most common symptoms of a cold in a pet is a runny nose, sneezing, sometimes a cough, loss of appetite and goop in either one or both eyes. Sometimes the inner eyelid will start to protrude and cover the eye. This is nothing to worry too much about unless it starts to swell or prevent the animal’s vision. Some pets may even run a small fever. You can usually tell if a pet has a fever, because just like us, they will get a warmer than normal temperature. If your pet seems abnormally warm or very hot, take them to the vet immediately. Fevers are just as life threatening to your pet as they are for you.
The first thing you want to do to help your fur baby is to make sure they’re as comfortable as possible and away from other pets. It’s very easy for other animals to pick up the same cold. If they have a favorite sleeping spot, make sure other pets can’t get to it and move their spot if need be. If they have a pet bed, move them close to where you spend the most time. Animals like being close to us when they aren’t feeling good. For the runny nose and goopy eyes, a warm washcloth is perfect. For the nose, just wipe the area and then hold a separate part of the cloth on the nose for just a little while. You don’t need to hold the cloth on there for a long time, but you do want to make sure you’re doing this several times a day. You want to do the same thing with the eye(s), but you’ll want to hold the cloth on there just a bit longer.
One of the most important things to do is make sure your pet is getting enough to eat and drink. Soft foods or something homecooked in your own kitchen may be the best options since they may find their hard foods unappealing. If your cat or dog is absolutely refusing to eat or drink, take them to the vet. Another beneficial thing you can do for your pet is humidity. This will help with the congestion, sneezing and cough. Bring them into the bathroom with you, turn on the shower to hot, and sit in the steamed room for a while. This will help break up that congestion just like it does with humans and you can do this several times a day. You can also bring a humidifier close to the spot they lay in.
Most of all, make sure you’re giving your pet lots of love and care. Treat your pet to the things that make you feel better when you have a cold, you would be surprised how much pets are like us when we’re sick. Also, if you have a very old or very young pet, they absolutely must go to the vet for a cold because it is much more life threatening for them. Good luck with your pet health care and hopefully that pesky cold goes away soon!
