Cat flu is the common name for a feline upper

respiratory The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies gre ...

tract disease. While feline upper respiratory disease can be caused by several different pathogens, there are a few symptoms that they have in common.

Avian flu Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds.

can also infect cats, but "cat flu" is generally a misnomer, since it usually does not refer to an infection by an influenza virus. Instead, it is a

syndrome A syndrome is a set of medical signs and symptoms which are correlated with each other and often associated with a particular disease or disorder. The word derives from the Greek language, Greek σύνδρομον, meaning "concurrence". When a sy ...

, a term referring to patients displaying a number of symptoms that can be caused by one or more of these infectious agents (

pathogens In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a ger ...

): # Feline herpes virus causing

feline viral rhinotracheitis Feline viral rhinotracheitis (FVR) is an upper respiratory or pulmonary infection of cats caused by ''Felid alphaherpesvirus 1'' (FeHV-1), of the family ''Herpesviridae''. It is also commonly referred to as feline influenza, feline coryza, and ...

(cat common cold). This is the disease most commonly associated with the "cat flu" misnomer. #

Feline calicivirus ''Feline calicivirus'' (FCV) is a virus of the family ''Caliciviridae'' that causes disease in cats. It is one of the two important viral causes of respiratory infection in cats, the other being '' Felid alphaherpesvirus 1''. FCV can be isolat ...

—(cat

respiratory disease Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, bro ...

) # '' Bordetella bronchiseptica''—(cat

kennel cough Kennel cough, also known as canine infectious respiratory disease, formally canine infectious tracheobronchitis, is an upper respiratory infection affecting dogs. There are multiple causative agents, the most common being the bacterium '' Borde ...

) # '' Chlamydia felis''—(

chlamydia Chlamydia, or more specifically a chlamydia infection, is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Chlamydia trachomatis''. Most people who are infected have no symptoms. When symptoms do appear they may occur only several we ...

) In

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

the term ''cat flu'' is also used to refer to

canine parvovirus Canine parvovirus (also referred to as CPV, CPV2, or parvo) is a contagious virus mainly affecting dogs. CPV is highly contagious and is spread from dog to dog by direct or indirect contact with their feces. Vaccines can prevent this infection ...

. This is misleading, as it does not refer to this feline upper respiratory disease but rather refers to the canine parvovirus which mainly infects dogs but can also infect other mammals such as cats, skunks and foxes . In the 2013 psychological horror film ''

Escape from Tomorrow ''Escape from Tomorrow'' is a 2013 American independent thriller film written and directed by Randy Moore in his directorial debut. It tells the story of a unemployed father having increasingly bizarre experiences and disturbing visions on the l ...

'', there is a fictional strain of cat flu surrounding the

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

parks, and according to the Disneyland nurse, "You could be a host and not even know it". The main protagonist Jim later experiences these symptoms in the end of the film, such as constipation, vomiting up massive hairballs and blood, and gradual weakening of his body. Later the next morning, his wife discovers his corpse with cat eyes and a grinning face.

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