My cat Lenny is about 12 years old. In the past 9 months he has been developing symptoms of what seems to be a cold. He sneezes alot and seems to be congested with mucous. He is also having a hard time coughing up hairballs. Because this has been going on for a while, the best I can figure is that he has allergies. Does anyone have any recommendations??

In cats, allergies most typically show up as skin or tummy symptoms. Cats rarely get respiratory allergies like we humans do (such as hay fever). Because this has persisted for some time, as well as in different seasons, it sounds much more like a chronic viral respiratory infection. Here's some information about the most common viral problem in cats:

  http://onlynaturalpetblog.com/2009/01/27/feline-upper-respiratory-problems/

At Lenny's age, dehydration may also be an issue, especially if he eats much dry food. Mucous discharges can be (but are not always) a sign of dehydration. You might want to consider adding more moisture to his diet, such as canned or raw food.

If Lenny hasn't seen the vet lately, it's probably time for a visit. Bloodwork may be needed, and X-rays would be indicated if there is a problem in the chest (the cough from feline asthma sounds a lot like the "hairball hack.")

I don't know if you're still having problems with your cat Lenny, but our cat Bond has feline herpes (he was a shelter rescue a few years ago), and so has many of the same respiratory issues you've described, and more (lethargy, weight loss, etc).  He was in a real bad way about a year ago, and I wanted to give him something to boost his immunity - but naturally, not something from the vet that would likely be more expensive and have other, unpleasant side effects.

After doing a lot of reading and research of the various products available at Only Natural Pet Store, I decided to try the Genesis Resources Feline Immune Support (http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Genesis-Resources-Feline-Immune-Support-Formula/152004.aspx) and it has made a world of difference!  The tablets are large for a cat, but easy to break in half; I gave him one full pill a day initially (he was very underweight at barely 7 pounds), split into am and pm doses, and after a couple of months was able to go down to 1/2 pill a day, he was doing so much better (I tried every other day, but it didn't seem to be quite enough for maintaining his condition).  Luckily, he takes pills easily, but they are fairly easy to crumble and add to the food if your cat doesn't like taking pills.  I would highly recommend giving this product, or something like it, a try.

Oddly enough, when I asked my vet at a later date about a good supplement to boost my cat's immunity, he recommended giving L-Lysine, at 250-500 mg per day - this is one of the ingredients in the Feline Immune Support, though not quite that high a dosage.  I was also able to recently find L-Lysine only 'treats' and a powdered supplement specifically for boosting feline immunity; I haven't tried them yet as this product works so well for Bond, and the price is very reasonable.

Good luck!

That's great news that Lenny is so much better! It's amazing what the right supplement will do; the Genesis formula is an excellent product.

Upper respiratory problems and conjunctivitis (inflammation around the eyes) is very commonly due to the herpes virus (also called Rhinotracheitis). Virtually all cats have been exposed to it, but for some it becomes a cyclical problem. L-lysine works well for a lot of kitties. To get flare-ups under control the dose is 1000 mg for 5 days; the maintenance dose is 250-500 mg per day. I'm glad your vet is aware of it, because it does save a lot of pain for the cats.

I'm curious, what do you feed your cats? I have a personal theory that lysine works because it is largely absent in dry foods; it is one of the limiting amino acids in corn (meaning that corn has very little of it).

Cheers, Dr. Jean