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Treating Upper Respiratory Infections in Cats with Apple Cider Vinegar

| Modified on Aug 31, 2024
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Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is a powerful and natural remedy for upper respiratory infections in cats. This affordable and readily available home treatment can be easily administered either through your cat’s drinking water or mixed into their food, offering a simple yet effective solution to support your feline’s health.

How Much Apple Cider Vinegar Should You Give Your Cat?

When using apple cider vinegar medicinally for your cat, it’s crucial to choose raw, organic apple cider vinegar to maximize its health benefits. To prepare the remedy, mix 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with 4 cups (1 quart) of water. Use this solution to refill your cat's water bowl throughout the day. If your cat is hesitant to drink the vinegar-infused water, try adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the quart of water. The baking soda helps to reduce the acidity, making the water more palatable for your cat.

If your cat still refuses to drink the water, you can mix apple cider vinegar into their wet food. A typical dosage is 1/4 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar mixed into their food twice a day.

Alternative Application: Topical Use of Apple Cider Vinegar

If your cat won’t accept apple cider vinegar in its food or water, there's another effective method. Mix equal parts of apple cider vinegar and water, then use a cotton ball to apply the solution to the back of your cat’s neck or to its paw twice a day. This method allows the vinegar to absorb through the skin, and your cat may also ingest some of the solution during grooming, helping to treat the infection from the inside out.

Have you used apple cider vinegar to treat your cat’s upper respiratory infection? We’d love to hear your story!

Please continue reading below for feedback from our readers who have successfully used apple cider vinegar to treat respiratory infections in their cats.

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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22 User Reviews

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Posted by sido (Europe) on 02/19/2023
 ★★★★★

Our dearest kitty just left the earth today, but before we found out that he had very serious conditions --enlarged heart, tumour, which we had not imagined, as he was well and frisky, he had a sinus and lung probelms breathing (the heart couldn't handle the load) Nonetheless, the day we gave him the OACV, as suggested here --and bless you all -- he immediately started breathing better. Which the vet's injection had not changed in the least. And each day was better, until he suddenly went downhill two days ago, for these more serious reasons. Thank you for having made his last days better, with a remedy I had never heard of for kitties, in all the years they have blessed me with their lives and purrs...

Replied by CTH
(Winchester, TN)
04/01/2024
★★★★★

IDK about Persians, but my cat just had a litter of kittens 5 days ago. A few hours ago, one unlucky kitty just came down with a bad case of sneezes - no break for well over an hour for the li'l plop! So I started looking up things I could do at home (I don't do vets/doctors) & stumbled onto this remedy. Since I already know ACV is a pretty safe remedy, I used a washcloth to basically bathe my little newborn kitten in a fashion similar to her mom's. I also wiped some onto the mama's body, & dumped the tiny bit left into the main water bowl. My newborn kitty has finally stopped her itsy bitsy sneezes & is resting. I applied the ACV to her 20 mins ago. I'll be reapplying either tonight or in the morning. I also make my own - Bragg's recently sold out to Billy Gates, so I won't touch that brand anymore. All that to say this: ACV is a probiotic kind of remedy & is safe, so long as your kitty isn't allergic to apples, water, vinegar, or the microbes which make ACV such a wonderful remedy, she should tolerate it just fine.

Bex7
(OR)
04/02/2024

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bill-gates-bragg/

And here's the Gates connection: In its early years, Apeel Sciences received two grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. While some may have assumed differently, those grants did not give Gates any ownership of the company.

Apeel Sciences' Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Operations Jenny Du laughed when asked about Apeel's alleged connection to Bill Gates.

"Those grants make up 0.2% of money Apeel has ever raised, " she said. "I've never even met Bill."

So, combining Bragg with the Apeel situation, we can sum up the entire family of claims as follows: Gates, either alone or with Perry, owns both Bragg and Apeel (as a reminder, he does not), and changed the recipe for Bragg apple cider vinegar to include apples treated with Organipeel (again, presumably for some nefarious purpose).

The rumor that Bragg apple cider vinegar is made with Organipeel-treated apples is so common that it's even debunked on the company's FAQ page. Not only has Gates never had a role in selecting Bragg apple cider vinegar ingredients, Snopes found no evidence to suggest that the vinegar has ever been produced using apples treated with Organipeel. Both Cola and Du confirmed that the companies have never worked with each other.

And there is more info in the article. I called the company on the phone last year when I first heard this. It is so not true.

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Diamond (Ma., US) on 11/07/2014
 ★★★★★

I have an older cat that every season with out fail she comes down with upper respiratory infection, she doesn't eat for days on end. This time it's been almost two weeks with out any food; however, she is drinking loads of water, so finally I had the hardest time getting her into a carrier then to the vets. It cost me $130.00 bucks and she was still the same, maybe worse. So finally I decided on vinegar, I didn't have any money at this time as it went all into the vet. However, I did have a cheap brand of ACV with no strong smell, which was absolutely great because she will not eat or drink if its been altered in any way, so I put a wee bit into her water, then a wee bit on her back as it's absorbed through the skin. Thankfully she didn't smell the vinegar and drank plenty. Prior to all this, she was spitting up a white foamy substance and her eye was terribly runny, so for the time being she is doing just great and is back to eating ok....

-------------------------

In response to my own message... My cat is doing even better, since her two week bout of upper respiratory infection and not eating at all//thankfully she was drinking plenty of water, since my previous post, my cat has made a turn for the better 100%// I am so happy for this site. I find so many people putting their pets to sleep rather than see them suffer, I think on a greater note I did the same thing because I spent way too much money on several rescue cats. They too had upper respiratory disease and at that time I didn't know about these natural solutions.Thank you Ted and company & friends for all your help and efforts put into this wonderful site. God Bless...

Replied by Lauren
(Maryland, US)
12/10/2014

Hello, was it the dark color of ACV or the Clear kind?

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
12/11/2014

Hey Lauren!

It is the dark kind, but it is very specifically the Apple Cider Vinegar that is organic, raw/unpasturized, 'with the mother'/live cultures type. The clear or white vinegar is mainly used for cleaning or pickling.

Replied by Jessica
(Dayton, Ohio, United States)
12/11/2014

Will regular vinegar work as well?

Replied by Sandra
(New Mexico, US)
02/06/2015

The clear regular vinegar will not help. It must be organic Apple Cider Vinegar or any other Raw-Unpasteurized/filtered vinegar

Replied by Gala
(New York)
04/20/2015

Hi,

Can you please let me know the dose of the ACV you gave to your cat?

When did your cat start eating again? My cat hasn't eaten for 4, and has diarrhea. How did you get your cat to eat again?

Thank you.

Replied by Jaylynn444
(San Diego)
07/06/2015

Hi,

Just like humans, animals need a clean, healthy diet too. When people eat McDonalds, non-organic cows milk, and other junk food, it makes them sick. If cats are fed "junk food" (read the ingredients! If there are bi-products, throw it out! Trader Joes has a few very inexpensive cat foods that have pretty healthy ingredients! ) they will get sick too. The brand "Blue" is really healthy, but it is a bit pricey. Your cat getting sick every year is MORE expensive though. My kitties LOVE the Trader Joes Holistic Cat food! It's also healthier for them to have both dry and wet food. I keep their bowl filled w/dry food, and at night I give them a tablespoon of wet food (Trader Joes) as a treat. When I say "do you guys want your dinner"? They come running! Btw, my cats have never gotten sick, ever. I'm a Holistic Nutritionist, and I've been studying the effects of food on people for over 11 years. Most illnesses, diseases, etc. are preventable - and curable by the same thing - a clean, healthy diet. Think about this - when was the last time your heard about a wild animal getting cancer, or allergies? They don't. Only animals fed by humans get sick if they're not fed a clean diet. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Mia
(USA)
03/25/2024

I only feed my cat a tiny bit of dry food as a treat. Mostly, she gets canned wet food, with an ounce of water added at each feeding because she doesn't drink water from a bowl. Cats evolved out of Egypt (the desert), they are accustomed to getting their water in their food (since prey is 70% or more water). If cats don't take in enough water, they will develop renal (kidney) failure. Dry food is only 10% moisture. A steady diet of dry food will harm cats' kidneys, and can lead to chronic renal failure.

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
07/06/2015

Hey Jaylynn!

I DITTO you on the human junk food; junk in = junk out, in the form of health troubles.

I tried to search out the food you recommended and could not find it under Trader Joes. The TJ brand of pet food IMHO is not suitable for pets because of the high grain content, which is associated with UTIs in pets. Despite repeated searches I could only find a 'bench & field' holistic brand that appears to be sold by TJ's which does appear to be superior to BB and the TJ's in house brands of kibble.

As always with any diet we feed our pets it pays to read the ingredient label; if you see grains in the first few ingredients it is probably better to skip that brand and move on to a grain free diet.

Replied by Stephanie
(Hopewell Virginia)
08/07/2015

Hi, does the ACV have to be the organic unpasturized kind? Because after reading about the uses for ACV I went and bought some ACV and didnt think to look at the ingredients. I got the White House brand of ACV, its dark colored but I don't see any where on the bottle that its raw or unpasturized, but it does say it's all natural will it still work?

Replied by Emma
(El Paso)
08/26/2015

No -- you must have the mother in it. It will be junky looking at the bottom, be packaged in GLASS -- not plastic -- and cost between $4 and $10 for a small bottle. a lot of cost for vinegar; a very small cost for health.

Replied by Norma
(Maryland)
09/04/2015

Where do you buy ACV with mother? One of my indoor cats came down with a respiratory infection and I need to purchase the ACV as quickly as possible. I only have regular ACV which I understand does not work. He runs from me and hides under tables and beds after I tried putting terramycin onto his eyes.

I also care for 17 outside feral cats and some have infections.

What is the best dosage and method of getting the ACV into these cats/kittens?

EC: Most grocery stores now sell organic and raw apple cider vinegar with "the mother". If not, your local health food store will carry it!

Replied by John
(Memphis, Tn)
10/27/2015

Cats in the wild do not, for the most part, live as long either. In the wild a cat living for 20-25 years is unheard of as they are eaten, or something happens to them. Some may but overall most don't like most humans do not live to be 100+ either.

Replied by Laura Leveque
(Maine)
10/31/2015
★★★★★

Could you please let me know your thoughts about ACV on Persians? They tend to have delicate immune systems. What are your thoughts on raw local honey added to a cat's diet?

Replied by Luisa
(Sun City)
04/04/2016

My cats have been on the Trader Joe's diet and one of my cats has lost a lot of fur since. I went to this holistic pet store and she told me she might have food allergies. She looked up the ingredients and said that some of the them weren't good. I now am switching to Feline caviar free spirit holistic. Hopefully she can get her beautiful fluffy coat back just like she had before.

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Bettierage (Baltimore, Maryland) on 10/06/2014
 ★★★★★

Thank you for all the testimonials!

I have a 16-year-old, Butch Catsidy, who has been with me since he was 3 months old. To say this cat has my heart is a huge understatement. He has always been prone to seemingly random sneezing fits. I think he has feline herpes virus, but three different vets have seen him over the years and weren't concerned about it. None of our other cats are afflicted, so I've been told it's just a fact of Butch's life.

Last Sunday, his regular sneezing turned into a full-blown URI. He got some antibiotics, as well as some Tramadol because he had basically developed nose plugs from all the discharge. Removing those so he could breathe and constantly trying to clean out his nose was apparently very painful. By Wednesday, I'd managed to remove all the blockage and keep it clear, but he wasn't eating at all. The antibiotics had nauseated him, and at one point, he threw up what looked like nothing more than nasal drainage. He had at least managed to hydrate with no problems since the illness started, but at three days with no food, I was beginning to fear the worst. Plus, he still had a rattle in his throat from phlegm. Then I saw the bottle of ACV and remembered my grandmother swore by it for all her minor ailments. I found this site when trying to determine if it was safe for cats.

Wednesday night, I put some ACV in his water. I also got some cereal because he is fascinated with bowls and spoons, and when I eat from a bowl he becomes very interested. I didn't want to give him milk, but at that point, any calories were good calories. I set up three bowls by his water dish - the milk, some gravy, and some soft canned food. By Thursday morning, he'd moved on to the gravy. So I diluted some ACV in water and rubbed some on his front paws, as well as on his neck. He continued with the gravy off and on throughout the day. I had a meeting I had to go that night, and I put more ACV on his paws and neck before I left. I was gone for about five hours, and I came home to a completely different cat than the one I left. The only rattling he was doing was purring, and he was bouncy and playful again and - most importantly - ravenous. He followed me into the kitchen and yelled at me, as he usually does, so I opened a can of his favorite sardine flavor food. He went crazy over it. We continued feeding him small meals all day and night Friday. Saturday, I was texting my husband when the sunlight caught my phone and cast a light on the back of the sofa. Butch went nuts chasing it! And his nose was totally cleared and back to pink.

Yes, he did have antibiotics, so I can't be sure how much the ACV had to do with clearing up the URI. We had given him his last one Wednesday because the nausea was so bad, and we wanted to get a different antibiotic in hopes it wouldn't upset his stomach so much. As far as I know, the ACV took over for the Clavamox and cleared the rest of the infection. At the very least, it cured the nausea and brought back his appetite.

I told my husband that a few people had said giving ACV to a cat would mess up the cat's pH balance. He's a biologist, and he said a cat would have to drink an entire bottle undiluted for that to happen, and antibiotics are more likely to throw him off balance. We barely made a dent in the bottle to get Butch back to 100%, so I'm a believer!

Replied by Anne
(New Zealand)
06/09/2015

I'm wanting to use ACV on my cat, but didn't want to go ahead until I found out how and where to apply it and in what strength. I know the benefits of ACV, and I have started taking the Organic one again, as I sometimes have trouble accessing lemons to have a warm drink in the morning before breakfast. This column has been helpful, as I dont like giving my cat the flea and worm treatment in one, because it is so unnatural and costs $22 a month. I was treating her about 3 monthly with it and using a comb in the summer months to try and keep on top of the flea problem. I read a few comments on this forum that have been helpful and assured me that I would like to try her with ACV.

One thing I would like to share with readers is that I use colloidal silver a lot as a natural antibiotic. Putting it on a wound from a cat fight and giving it to her orally has ensured that it is working similar to an antibiotic, but without side effects. I keep it up for a few days. I use the liquid and sometimes the jelly form. It is great on burns too. It is something that the koala bears should have been treated with when they had burnt paws from the Australian forest fires. It brings almost instant relief and avoids blistering from my experience when used on a person, so judging by that, it must eliminate lingering suffering for animals. I can't sing its praises enough. I do recommend the strength 10ppm (parts per million) at least. I hope this is helpful to many readers. It has many other uses including use for viral infections, parvo virus with dogs, parasites, etc., etc. Google it and you will find it deals to hundreds of different ailments, diseases and viruses.

All the Best in seeking the best natural treatments for your pets!

Replied by Suseeq
(Sydney, Australia)
06/11/2015

Everything you say is about collidial silver is absolutely true. I also add it to the dogs drinking water and they are both in good health one is 13 years old , yes it's a shame they didn't treat the koalas as it would have given so much relief, but what do we know we are just the dumb public. Thank goodness there are people like us always willing to help our animals in every way.

Replied by Jean
(Killingly, Ct)
10/17/2015

What is ACV?

EC: ACV = Apple Cider Vinegar

Mia
(USA)
03/25/2024

Make sure the Apple Cider Vinegar is RAW and ORGANIC, with the mother.

Replied by Saundra
(Hendersonville, Nc)
11/24/2015

To Butch's mom: I can SO identify with you! I have a 15 y.o. orange tabby named Lucky & he's been with me through SO much! Last night I put Adam's flea spray on him & he stayed drooling. This got me a little worried because of his age, & he's a little thin, which worries me in & of itself. (But he can still have attitude; that's for sure! ) After & in the bath, I saw tons of fleas on his belly, mainly; cuz I cleaned his face & head pretty well of fleas. He slept in the warm bathroom last night. I sprayed the apple cider vinager on him this morning & no drooling reactions like before. I'm hoping that will get rid of the fleas because with 5 cats-even though they're indoor only-the fleas are a huge problem! Your post caught my eye cuz you obviously love your cat very, very much, as I do mine. If you want to contact me (to share cat superiors or something; or share any tips on caring for aging cats - it was of great interest to me to hear how Apple Cider Vinegar helped your baby.

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Candice (Mesquite, Texas) on 09/18/2014
 ★★★★★

I was able to heal my cat's pink eye, but he had an underlying respiratory infection that needed Vet attention. Story as follows:

Over the weekend, I realized that my 6 year old cat was not feeling well. He had just endured a move a couple of weeks prior which really stressed him out, but I noticed that he was squinting and winking his left eye a lot. By Monday morning it was swollen and had yellow discharge running from the corner. I knew I couldn't get him to the vet until the end of the week, so I searched for at-home-remedies. That's when I came across the apple cider vinegar remedy. I used this in conjunction with colloidal silver to heal his eye. This is what I did:

I bought a $5 bottle of organic apple cider vinegar from the grocery store. In a small container I mixed 1 tablespoon of vinegar with 1 tablespoon of water. I put 3 cottonballs into the solution which absorbed it all. My cat has dense, thick, long hair - so, I parted the hair at the nape of his neck as much as I could and squeezed the solution from the cottonball onto the area. I used my fingers to really work it into his skin and saturate the hair there. After squeezing the majority of the solution from the third cottonball, I took it and wiped over his bad eye making sure to remove all of the gunk build-up.

Next, I got a small bowl and mixed the same solution: 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 1 tablespoon of water. I sat this in my bathroom sink so I wouldn't make a huge mess. I picked up my cat and saturated each foot with the solution. He did NOT like this, but I was able to get it done without too much struggle. He would then run away and lick it all off of his paws.

I did these apple cider vinegar treatments twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed starting Monday morning and ending today, which is the following Thursday.

I also have a bottle of 10ppm colloidal silver (the cost was about $12 for a 2 ounce bottle at the local health food store) that I used. I remembered colloidal silver giving me relief years ago when I had viral pink eye in both of my eyes, so after doing some research and seeing that it was safe to use on my cat - I began dropping 1-2 drops into his bad eye a couple of times a day in between the apple cider vinegar treatments.

It took a while, in fact, it wasn't until Wednesday evening that his eye started to look better. However, I knew that something just wasn't right with my baby. He was incredibly lethargic and only drank minimal amounts of water and refused to eat. I called the vet and made the appointment, the main reason being for his eye although it looked to have improved by at least 85%. When the vet saw him, she said she wasn't worried about his pink-eye, that it seemed to be healing and didn't even need any ointment. She just wanted me to continue keeping it clean. She took a rectal temp as well and it was 105 degrees. She said that a normal temperature for a cat is 101. It worried her that his pink eye was nearly healed and he still had a pretty high fever. She deduced that he had an upper respiratory infection. She gave him fluids and antibiotics so hopefully he will be on the mend soon.

I wanted to write this to let people know that the apple cider vinegar and colloidal silver method really do work wonders for pink eye, but to be careful and pay close attention to your cat because he may have more than one problem going on that the at-home-remedy isn't solving.

Replied by Diamond
(Ma., US)
11/07/2014
★★★★★

Candice; This is rather odd that the first page I hit coming into this forum was your site. I'm saying this because I have a now 12 year old cat that has upper respiratory infections for quite some time. A vet. treated her (very expensive) only to find it did nothing for her. She was going way down on her weight so bad I was crying and ready to put her to sleep, when I found that it is safe to give our pets ACV. After two weeks I was at wits end so I decided to try the ACV and with-in less than a day her watery eyes cleared up & no more signs of being terribly sick. She was back to eating constantly and wanting even more food. Even though she is 12 years young she loves beating up my dog/ and being a Bruce Lee type model she give him the karate chop and puts him in his place. I'm not too keen on antibiotics as I almost lost my own life via these conventional meds//antibiotics and a close call of a heart attack. Also I lost a cat with wrong usage of meds.via yet another Vet. The saddest thing ever was the Vet called me at home that same eve. to ask if my cat was dead yet(?) What a promising life for this Vet I must say.

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Rosie864 (Worcester, Ma/usa) on 03/20/2011
 ★★★★★

My recently adopted kitten has been having a sneezing nose & runny eye off and on for 3 weeks. Yesterday I could hear mucus in her nose as she breathed. Oh no another trip to the vet. In one last ditch effort I found this site. I tried the apple cider vinegar on her paws and in her water. I'd say within 6 hours her breathing got better, eye cleared up and seems friskier. Today she seems fine. Looks like this home cure really works! Thanks

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Kat (Chicago, Il) on 01/13/2011
 ★★★★★

I don't know if This is just coincidence, but my kitty suffers from recurring bouts of congestion, which I think is because of feline herpes virus. I supplement his Diet daily with lysine. For the past several days, he has been lethargic - not wanting to play or move around (very unlike his normal self). The night before last I added a tiny bit of ACV to his food. Then yesterday morning, I added a tiny bit again. By yesterday afternoon, he was a new man. I don't know if his virus just cleared up simultaneous with me trying the ACV, but he's definitely much better - almost immediately. If he falls ill again, I will try it and report back!

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Carrie (Orange, California) on 11/30/2010
 ★★★★★

Every year my Kittie gets a terrible upper respiratory infection that sometimes leads to bronchitis. The vet is always giving Antibiotics, benadryl, and Steroids. This year my baby did not get better he continued to stay sick, so the vet said keep him on the antibiotics for 21 days. Still sick, sneezing, and now he has developed candida yeast all over his mouth, chin, and lips. Again I took my baby to the vets and he said put Vaseline on it and give him lysine to build his immunity. He now has been sick for 5 solid weeks and has a painful sore on his face.

I found this site tonight and ran out and got the ACV for him. I have great expectations. The ACV should kill this candida on the spot and build his immunity system. He didn't seem to mind when I put it on his sores, in fact, he seemed to be o. K. With it. Then I added it to his paws and on the back of his neck. On the sore area I did not dilute the ACV but I did apply with a cotton pad, it is really infected and needs to be seriously dried out. After a few minutes I applied pure water and soaked a cold compress on the area to help dilute and mellow the area out. On his paws and back of neck I did half/half of Spring Water and ACV and I used a cotton pad to wipe on his fur. My cat is grooming himself and really not caring at all. I also treated my other baby because he is fighting the same sickness but does not have the depressed immunity from the antibiotics. He has Weeping eye, sneezing, and an occasional cough. I am super excited about this working and will absolutely keep you updated on his health. I should see an improvement hopefully within days and will update on this post with his response to ACV. He is a strong beautiful healthy Kittie that gets a horrible sickness every year in October.

Replied by Carrie
(Orange, California)
11/30/2010

Kittie seems to be a little better today after 13 hours. He only sneezed once, is playing, and candida sore area looks better in some areas. He is eating and seems relieved and is no longer scratching from the pain. Black yeast fungus is almost gone after two wipe downs. He does have raw patch from were he has been scratching but the open sore on his lip is now dry. He woke-up and ate breakfast and seems like he likes the ACV. No runny nose - yah! Will keep you posted. Other Kittie did not sneeze all night.

Replied by Amarige25
(Atlanta, Ga, Usa)
12/13/2010

I am so happy that your kitty is doing much better. People don't understand how important these kitties are to us and what great lengths we go to to keep them healthy and happy. This stuff saved my cat. He was vomiting and had diarrhea for 6 weeks after I changed his food. I was trying to help him but I didn't do it slow enough, and I think his body just rejected it. So after weeks of racking my brain, getting him to fast, and then giving him baby food and some bowel care for cats from the health food store, I stumbled on this site as well as another one. I swear by this stuff. Just don't give him too much and dilute, dilute, dilute. He likes it now. It's up to us not to overmedicate our animals. All of that stuff has side effects, but this ACV does not.

Replied by Rose
(Hopewell, Virginia)
07/03/2022
★★★★★

You saved my 🐈 kitten's life. He is three months old. He hadn't eated in five days because of a severe respiratory infection. This was AFTER I spent 300.00 at the vet to treat it in the early stages. I put Apple Cider Vinegar on his back paws and inner ear last night at 6pm. I periodically applied it throughout the night and early morning. Just now at 8:42 am he walked over to his dry food dish and ate quite a bit. Thank you for what you do!!!!

Replied by Lynne
(Everett, Massachusetts)
05/30/2023

I've worked in feline rescue for many many years I'm certified as an animal behaviorist and I'm certified and trained for feline emergency health and wellness I'm not a vet but seeing it all and seeing how it had been treated I myself personally try to go the holistic route first I don't like putting drugs into my body so why would I put them into my pets always try holistic first. Some cases cannot be treated holistic and you need to use medication do not be afraid to ask questions and ask you about to explain things a little bit more if you do not understand you are paying for their service do not be afraid to call and ask questions also FYI when I was doing my schooling we were trained on how to make you spend more money at your vet's office a little FYI into the animal world so please do not be afraid to ask questions

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Sonia Rivera (Orlando, Fl) on 11/17/2010
 ★★★★★

Good day everybody,.

I have good news for those out there that have pets and no money to take them to vets. I have 6 cats I am crazy about. One of them caught a cold and got a stuffy nose. I put my organic apple cider vinegar to the test and it passed with high honors. I put a cap or 2 in the water bowl. After he drank out of it he was able to sleep more at peace per he was breathing so much better. By morning he was not stuffy at all. Praise god for this amazing product. Now, i just add it to their water as a supplement for prevention of anything. God bless and be happy.

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Stevie (Ft.myers , Fl) on 01/06/2010
 ★★★★★

My cat had upper respiratory infection, but he had it from day one when I brought him home. When we got him he had very short hair, watery eyes and nose, the eyes would be crusty first thing in the morning and his nose would be all stuff up. After two rounds of antibiotics, in which he would seem to get much better, but then worsen again over two weeks' time I did a lot of online research and thought, maybe food allergies. Spoke with our vet and we immediately took him off the dry food he had been eating and put him on a limited ingredient diet. Within the first few days his congestion and watery eyes got much better. By the first week he was actually starting to grow in more hair. By one month on the limited ingredient diet he had medium length hair. When we got him his hair was less than 1/4 inch long. We were amazed. Unfortunately he still scratched a lot on that particular brand of food and still sneezed a lot, so a couple of years into it we switched him to a Rabbit and green pea diet by Royal Canin. With that food he scratched less, but still sneezed a lot. Finally I found another limited ingredient diet at Petco and placed him on that and he did wonderfully. Quit scratching, sneezes only a few times a day, but a month into the process he developed a UTI. I'm not sure if it was related to the new food or just the fact that he is almost 7 years old, an Oriental and, therefore, prone to UTIs. After one round of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories he got a bit better, but then after being off the medicines for 3 days he got worse again. Started a second round of antibiotics and searched for various treatments and found out about ACV. I bought some this afternoon and gave him a partial dose in a syringe with water by mouth - which he was not at all happy about. He actually retched twice but didn't throw it up.

Later I snuck the remainder of the dose into his canned food and he gobbled it up. By this evening he was peeing larger amounts of urine, although still also squatting and not peeing a few times too. However, he did not visit the box nearly as often as he had the previous two days. In addition to the ACV I have instituted cranberry and vitamin C which he got full doses of yesterday and today.

However, the ACV itself has given him the most and fastest relief out of all the things we have been trying.

But definitely try your cat on some food that does not contain wheat, corn or soy and preferably something that is not what they normally eat (rabbit, duck or venison) for about 14 days in a row and see how he does. Petco has a brand called Natural Balance Limited ingredient diets that have both canned and dry. I would suggest you go with the canned food because it is very palatable. They have a Venison and green pea which my finicky cat loves, and also a salmon and green pea and chicken and green pea. But don't feed him all of them at the same time. Just buy one flavor and give that to him for two weeks and see how he does. If he is still messing up switch to a different flavor and try it.

I firmly believe it was the wheat gluten in the first limited ingredient food that caused my cat to sneeze and itch. With the second food it had soy, soybean and anchovy oil in it but no wheat or corn. With that food he was better, but still a little itchy. Conversely when I went to the third food that didn't contain soy, wheat, or corn is when we saw the major improvement.

Some cats are allergic to one or two of those and other cats are allergic to multiple things and the things you see with a food allergy are all the things you mentioned in your post and they completely mimic a URI.

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Janet (Asheville, NC) on 02/07/2009
 ★★★★☆

We adopted 2- 4mos old kittens which had just been fixed and treated with shots. we couldn't ask for better personality sisters but one immediately came down with terrible upper respiratory problems and runny eyes. I'm on day 3 of ACV treatment. It's worse when she wakes up and yesterday morning I almost broke down and brought her to the vet but I did the ACV to the neck and paws and dropped some diluted ACV in her mouth and she became much more spunky within an hour. I also have been putting some colloidal silver in the water and using an eyedropper to give her some ascorbic acid and lysine but I'm not sure if its enough to help. I also put some organic virgin coconut oil on their paws once a day. They seem to enjoy licking that off and the vinegar. Although the condition is not completely cleared up the cat is spunky and has a great appetite and the snuffling sounds are much diminshed so I'm gonna carry on. I also ordered some fulvic acid. As you can tell I'm not a big fan of vets or doctors. This is something note worthy - I wanted to give the sick one chlorella but she wouldn't eat it. While I was trying to interest her the one that wasn't sick ate 8 tablets! So she was running around super charged. I looked this morning to see if there was diarrhea and though there was a soft stool someone was having that before the chlorella incident so I don't think there was much side effect. I will write again with an update

Replied by Janet
(Asheville, NC)
02/08/2009

MORE GOOD NEWS! Before I went to work yesterday (day 3 of ACV for my kitten's URI) I finally got her to eat 2 chlorella and did another dose of ACV. I got Greenies Pill pockets and put the chlorella in it. The first day they turned their noses up at the pill pockets and I thought BUNK! but I tried it again on day 3 and kept putting in front of her nose and she'll eat them now. When I came home from work INCREDIBLE! No symptoms! If I listened real close I could hear a faint sinus constriction and this morning (day 4) no exasperation, she's cured! I want to emphasize this cat sounded like she swallowed a squeaky ball. On day 2 and 3 I also dropped some Colloidal silver in her eye because they were running so bad, (well day 3 not so bad). I'm supposed to take them to the vet for booster shots soon but I'm not so sure that will happen. Why wreck a good thing? This is probably the coolest website I know! Thanks for all your humanity!

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Nina (Inkster, Michigan) on 01/27/2009
 ★★★★★

Hello, my kitty had pink eye and i didnt have money to take her to vet.. I was so sick with worried at what to do for her, so i search the net for a cure and i found yr website... i have been giving her the acv and it working, i am so happy and thankful, i didnt really think it would help, but to my surpize it curing her, i gave her every 12 hrs 1/2 tsp of acv in a eyedropper mixed with water and little honey, she doesnt like it, but it works.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL, now my kitty is bright eyes again, i been treating her for 3 weeks, i think she had chest infection too, but it all clear now. so if u feel hopeless, give apple cider vinger a chance... nina and zaytunie (my kitty)

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Patricia (Pittsburgh, PA) on 10/13/2008
 ★★★★☆

Apple Cider Vinegar & Upper Respiratory Infections in Cats

This is my third day giving my cat ACV. Although this seems to be helping just a bit, he throws up every time I give it to him & then he is nauseous for a couple hours afterward. I don't know whether I should keep giving it to him or not.. Because him throwing up twice a day is not good for him. After he throws up, I give him another dose ( which always stays down) But, still he looks sick as hell afterwards! He hates me for it. I'll keep it up for another few days or so. Hopefully it will help out more than it hurts. My cat is 16 years old & has been since for months now. Vet visits have done nearly nothing to help... I'm hoping for a miracle. I will update with the status of ACV & Figuro in one week.

Replied by Eugene
(Columbus, Ohio)
09/21/2010

I read your comment, and just wanted to confirm that you are not giving your cat straight ACV are you? You have to cut it with water or other liquid. At least a 1 to 3 ratio, so say half teaspoon ACV to 1 and a half to two teaspoons water. To give a example with human doses a person drinks 1 tablespoon ACV in at least 8 ounces of Water. Never take ACV straight.

Replied by M
(Oklahoma)
07/11/2018

For future reference, if you administer ACV to your kitty and he/she starts vomiting, you need to dilute the ACV with more water.

ACV is very acidic. If you give them it not well diluted to drink, it can upset their stomach, irritate the esophagus and make them vomit. I would wait until the cat has stopped vomiting for hours before trying again, however.

That being said if your cat is vomiting a lot, a vet is the safest bet.

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Regina (Mountain Home, Idaho) on 09/23/2008
 ★★★★★

Out of my 5 cats, 4 of them came up with Upper Respitory Infection. Since I couldn't afford Vet bills and meds for 4 cats, I searched the internet and found this site with it's testimonies of using ACV to treat URI's. So I began rubbing it into the scruff of the necks of my kitties and putting about a teaspoon into their drinking water. I also rubbed a little on their front paws so that they would lick it out. Within hours, the two with leaky eyes were cleared up and I noticed a change in appetite and energy in all of them. Now, 2 days later they still sneeze a little but no leaky eyes or runny nose, no lethargy or lack of appetite, no wheezing and hacking. I had used the ACV on their necks and paws every 12 hours and changed their water daily, putting new ACV in. This stuff stinks terribly but it truly does work. I plan on keeping some in their water for at least the next few weeks and might continue after that just to keep them healthy.

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Dede (Mount Sterling, Kentucky) on 09/16/2008
 ★★★★★

I wish I had known about acv helping kittens with uri. About 3 months ago I had 4 separate litters of kittens. ( I have taken in strays and my yard is full of cats) Each litter had 5 kittens. being new at this I didn't that the kittens gooey eyes and sneezing would turn out to a very heart breaking experience for me. I had no money to take one let alone 18 kittens to the vet when they just got lifeless and died. I have 4 new kittens now and they have the gooey eyes and sneezing as does the older cats. My prayers have been answered in finding your web site. I've done treated them all withe acv and in hours I have seen improvement. I also put acv mixed with table salt on my husbands poison ivy and he is not burning and itching. Thank you Thank you!

Replied by Rose
(Tx)
10/24/2016

Hi,

I have a kitten that is 2 months old. I don't have the money to take him to doc. Can I use the vinegar too, and how much do I use? Thank you.

Upper Respiratory Infection
Posted by Jessi (Phoenix, AZ) on 08/06/2008
 ★★★★★

After reading all your comments on how effective ACV is for cat ailments I had to give it a try & it's made me a believer! When I got a stray 8 wk old kitten & realized he was sick with what seemed like a cold with mucus in eyes and sneezing (probably URI) & I hate to say but I was going to take him to the pound because I just can't affort vet bills on my fixed income. Then a friend told me about this site and I just happened to have some ACV as I use in salads because I heard it helps arthritis. So I added a few drops to his water and he lapped it up. Also put some under chin and down his front legs which he immediately cleaned off. Within a day I could see that his eyes were clearing up and he seems to be eating better and has more energy. I'm also giving it to my other kitten to make sure he doesn't get sick. Amazing!! I'm spreading this bit of good news to all my cat/dog lover friends. Thanks everyone.


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