If you’ve got bronchitis and are worried about passing it along to your feline friend, you’ve probably wondered how cautious you need to be around them, or if you need to worry at all. The good news is that cats and humans have two totally different sets of problematic germs, so you’re pretty much in the clear as far as whether or not your cat will get your case of bronchitis.
Pets can be a very calming influence on us, and they say that cat owners especially end up living longer because of the soothing effect of having a cat around. This can come in handy when you’re under the weather, because watching them calmly relax, or purr gently while sitting on your lap can be a big boost to feeling good, which strengthens our immune system, and allows us to fight the virus that’s waging war in our body.
It’s hard enough to kick a cold without worrying if your pet can get it too. That’s why you’ll be happy to hear that you’re in the clear on this one and you don’t have to worry about your cat coming down with bronchitis as well. This doesn’t mean you can just throw caution to the wind and surround them with used tissues, it just means that you don’t have to quarantine them or limit your interaction with them because of your cold.
Can I Give My Cat Bronchitis? Answer: No.
You don’t have to worry about your cat getting the same colds and conditions as you, as their immune system is different than ours, and they are susceptible to a different variety of germs and bacteria than we are. This means that you won’t be passing this back and forth with them. If your cat has a feline cold, they might pass it to another cat in the house, but you won’t have to worry about catching that. If they’re showing signs of a cold while you have bronchitis, it is likely only a coincidence, but you should still consult your vet if the symptoms persist.
Get Plenty of Rest
The best thing you can do in this situation is get plenty of sleep, and otherwise stay horizontal and rest up. Bronchitis is our body’s way of telling us to slow down, and if you try to keep your normal day to day activities going, you’ll just prolong the time you have with this condition until you give yourself the time to recuperate and get past this. In fact, it might have been your hectic lifestyle that brought it on in the first place, with lack of sleep, lack of exercise, and poor eating habits. Try to treat yourself as good as you can until this is behind you.
Get Plenty of Fluids
You might feel lousy, but the best thing to do now is to drink as much water and other fluids as possible. Try not to drink beverages that contain caffeine, because these have a dehydrating effect on the body. You might be tempted to drink Gatorade, since it is supposed to have electrolytes, and this could be a way to get some essential salt and sugar into your system if you haven’t had the appetite that you normally have and have been skipping meals.
Accept Your Kitty’s Love
Since you can’t get the sick, it’s OK to accept their affection for you, and modern science has proved that feeling good when you’re sick starts with feeling loved and appreciated and elevating your mood. So aside from resting up and getting as much fluids as you can moving through your body, be sure to send some quality time with your cat. It may not seem like it, but that’s their own special way of nursing you back to health.
So be sure that you stick to being as good as you can to yourself, and take some time out to appreciate just what an amazing creature your cat is. Simply gazing at them while they do mundane things like clean themselves, take a nap, or play with their favorite toy can remind you to stay in the moment, even if this moment isn’t as great as you’d like it to be.
I caught a sore throat and lung infection from my sick male cat being in my bed and coughing in my face a lot.