Answer: No it is not, although the disease known popularly, especially in Britain, as cat ‘flu, or feline influenza, is similar to human influenza both in same of the signs which occur in being initiated by viral infection. But the viruses responsible in the cat and in man are quite different. Humans do not get cat ‘flu, and vice versa.
In North America cat ‘flu is generally known as feline respiratory disease (FRD) or upper respiratory tract infection.
A number of organisms have been incriminated in causing this feline disease and the clinical signs do very depending on which is responsible. Only rarely is more then one organism involves in the particular animal. At least 80% of cases are due to one of two viruses which appear to be equally important: feline viral rhinotrachetiis (FVR) virus and feline calicivirus (FCV). These two viruses are spread from cat to cat mainly by direct and indirect contact, and, perhaps surprisingly, to a much lesser extent by ‘aerosol’ infection (i.e. the inhalation of droplets, resulting from coughing and sneezing, which contain the virus partials). Therefore, spread mainly takes place wherever large numbers of are gathered together, for example in boarding catteries, breeding colonies and cat show. FRD may be seen in kittens as early as three to four weeks of age where infection is derived from a carrier queen.
FCV survives no large then ten days away from the cat and FVR virus probably only one day. Therefore, residual environmental contamination is less important then with FIE (FPL). FVR virus is readily killed by most disinfectants; FCV resist certain of them but is destroyed by aldehydes, alcohol and hypochlorite bleaches. The last named are strongly recommended from routine use with cats e.g. diluted Chlorox or Domestos.
Feline Reoviruses causes only mild signs such as conjunctivitis (inflammation of the front of the eyeball causing runny eyes) and are thought not to be very important. Also, the bacterial organisms Chlamydia (the cause of feline pneumonitis in North America) and the Mycoplasms are believed to ply only minor roles in feline respiratory disease.
As with most other diseases, bacteria already present in the body may take advantage of a cat’s weakened immunity to multiply and invade, and this secondary bacterial infection can lead to pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs) developing.
