Fever in Cats

Written By hannah hollinger
Published: 09/06/2016Updated: 10/15/2021
Veterinary reviewed by Michele K.
Fever in Cats - Signs, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, Management, Cost

What is Fever?

Because a fever is a sign rather than a condition, diagnosis of its cause is necessary for successful treatment. Medical attention is required for higher fevers or fevers that last more than one or two days. Do not try to treat the cat’s fever at home as many medications are dangerous for cats and the underlying cause of the fever could be serious. 

Fever is a common sign of infections, illnesses, some cancers, and various disorders. Cats are considered to have a fever if their body temperature is higher than 103 degrees Fahrenheit. A serious fever that requires immediate medical treatment occurs if the animal’s body temperature reaches 106 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. With these higher temperatures, cats can be at a high risk of brain and heart damage and even death. 

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From 369 quotes ranging from $200 - $2,000

Average Cost

$400

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Symptoms of Fever in Cats

The primary sign associated with fever in cats is a body temperature over 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Observable symptoms generally include flushing and lethargy. In cases of higher temperatures or prolonged fever, more severe signs may occur. The cat may demonstrate a variety of other signs based on the underlying issue causing the fever. 

Signs Include:

  • Elevated body temperature
  • Dry skin or mouth
  • Dehydration
  • Flushing or reddening of the skin
  • Lack of appetite
  • Weight loss
  • Weakness
  • Lethargy
  • Rapid pulse
  • Panting or breathing fast

Severe Signs Include:

  • Behavior changes
  • Confusion
  • Shock
  • Seizure
  • Death

Causes of Fever in Cats

A variety of medical issues can cause a fever in cats or other companion animals. Fever is a common sign of many infections and diseases. In some cases, the cause of the fever may not be determined. Causes of fever can include:

  • Bacterial infections
  • Viral infections
  • Fungal infections
  • Various parasites
  • Tumors or some cancers
  • Internal injury
  • Some medications
  • Poisoning or toxins
  • Immune-mediated inflammatory disease
  • Metabolic disorders
  • Autoimmune disease
  • Endocrine disorders
  • Environmental causes

Diagnosis of Fever in Cats

Diagnosing fever can be accomplished by taking the cat’s temperature. This is generally accomplished rectally, using a thermometer. The animal’s body temperature will determine if a fever is present. If a fever is present, further diagnostic measures will be taken to determine the cause. A fever is generally a sign of an illness, disease, or condition. Be prepared to discuss your pet’s medical history and any signs you have observed. The veterinarian will conduct a full physical examination and may take samples of blood and urine for analysis. A full blood panel and testing for various infectious or inflammatory diseases may be required to determine why the cat’s body temperature is elevated. Veterinary staff may also use X-rays or other imaging technologies to look for signs of infections, injuries, or tumors. If, after extensive diagnostic effort, the cause of the fever cannot be determined, the patient will be diagnosed with a fever of unknown origin.

Treatment of Fever in Cats

Little can be done to treat a fever until its cause has been determined. With lower fevers, the veterinarian may not even attempt to reduce the fever as it is normal for the body to raise its temperature in an effort to aid the immune system when fighting infections. Maintaining hydration and temperature reduction will be the primary focus when treating the fever and additional treatments will vary based on underlying condition. Hospitalization may be required for monitoring and treatment of your pet. Some common treatments might include:

  • Intravenous (IV) or subcutaneous (SQ) Fluids: Fluid therapy is necessary if the cat is showing signs of dehydration. IV and SQ fluids combat dehydration, provide nutrients to aid with lack of appetite, and may assist in lowering the core body temperature slightly. This common treatment has a very low risk of side effects. 
  • Fever Reducing Medications: Some medications for pain relief and inflammation, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories safe for cats, are effective for fever reduction. Never attempt to provide your cat this type of medication at home unless prescribed by veterinary staff, as the wrong medications can be fatal to cats. To reduce the risk of serious complications, your veterinarian will determine the appropriate medications and dose for your pet’s size and needs. 
  • Antibiotics: Infections are a common cause of fevers, making antibiotics a common treatment. This type of medication works to eliminate bacterial infections, so your veterinarian will not prescribe it unless the infection has been identified as the cause. 
  • Corticosteroids: This category of drug is used to fight inflammation, which is a common cause of fever. It may be used to treat various conditions that cause fevers and is often used in fevers of unknown origin. 
  • Surgery: In cases with severe infection, tumors, or certain parasites, surgery may be necessary to remove the cause. Surgery can put your pet at risk so your veterinarian will need to determine if this is the best course of action for your cat’s recovery. 
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Recovery of Fever in Cats

The prognosis for recovery from a fever depends on the underlying cause. In the case of minor infections or illnesses and some fevers of unknown origin, the fever will be reduced with treatment and the cat’s prognosis is very good. If the underlying condition is more severe, your pet’s recovery may take considerably more time and treatment. When your cat returns home, continue to monitor them carefully for return of the fever or other symptoms. If your pet’s condition worsens, return to the veterinarian for medical assistance. Be sure to follow all of the instructions provided by your veterinarian, including finishing the full course of medications even if symptoms appear to have improved or the fever has gone away. Your cat will need plenty of fluids to stay hydrated so ensure that water is readily available. Your pet will need to maintain an appropriate caloric intake while they have a fever, so some dietary changes may be required to support your pet’s recovery, including nutritious food or possibly high-calorie liquids.

Fever in cats can be expensive to treat. To avoid high vet care expenses, secure pet health insurance today. The sooner you insure your pet, the more protection you’ll have from unexpected vet costs.

Fever Average Cost

From 369 quotes ranging from $200 - $2,000

Average Cost

$400

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Fever Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals

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Siamese mix

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Nano

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4 Years

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1 found this helpful

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1 found this helpful

My pet has the following symptoms:
Red Bood In Stool , Kidney Failure
As nano is on drips and renal diet because of Renal failure ..he also has a colitis like symptoms for last 2.5 years.he usually has few drops of red blood in his stool(normal stool or loose stool) and sometimes about 1 tbps of blood in his stool as well w..he getting weak ...he is a outdoor indoor cat .e had tried flagyl syrups, injection, peptinil syrups, other antibiotics but nothing worked for permanent ..he also had tapeworm and we dewormed him several times and last time on 30t April 2018 with deworming tablet for cats..but 2 days back I saw a moving tapeworm segment on his tail.and today his stool contain alot of blood around 1 full Tbsp of red blood with little blood clots...em worried. .his vet recommend me to give deltacortal 5 mg half tablet for 2 days...so what should I do now ?

Aug. 24, 2018


1 Recommendations

The Deltacortril (corticosteroid) would be indicated in cases of colitis which may also be responsible for the faecal blood, but may be contraindicated in cases of kidney failure (down to your Veterinarian’s discretion); since Nano has kidney failure you should ensure that a renal diet is being given (which you mentioned) along with fluid therapy and other supportive care. Apart from ensuring that the worms are treated and managing the kidney failure, there are not many other options left apart from the supportive care and management. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM

Aug. 25, 2018

My young rescue cat had a fever of 106. She contracted a serious upper respiratory infection. The vet gave her a shot to lower her temperature. But she won’t eat or drink much at all and I can’t get her to take the medicine to control her temperature. She only will take the antibiotic.🤦🏼‍♀️

Aug. 28, 2018

Michele S.


Im packing and moveing out of my apartment. All of the sudden I noticed my Kitty laying around and not behaving normal. Could enviromental factors cause him to get a fever and loungy?

Aug. 28, 2018

Heather W.

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mixed

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Coco

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3 Months

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0 found this helpful

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0 found this helpful

My pet has the following symptoms:
Fever
Lethargy
Poor Appetite
Bello! My kitten Coco is usually very Active, enjoy playing and chasing her sisters and Brothers, since yesterday he is getting to be really calm and really Inactive, he has stopped drinking and eating and thats worries me a lot, he only looks for a calm place to sleep. Could you please reccomend me any home theraphy?

Aug. 22, 2018

0 Recommendations

Loss of appetite, fever and lethargy are vague symptoms which don’t narrow in on a particular disease or condition; in this case it is important to ensure that Coco is kept hydrated and try to encourage appetite by hand feeding her. Without knowing what exactly is causing the symptoms (since I cannot examination her) I cannot give any specific course of treatment and there are not many ‘home treatments’ available for cats; since she has a fever, it would be worth visiting your Veterinarian to be on the safe side. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM

Aug. 22, 2018

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Siamese mi

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Nano

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4 Years

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0 found this helpful

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0 found this helpful

My pet has the following symptoms:
Abscess. High Fever Kidney Failure
My cat had 104 fever because if abscess he has kidney failure and is under treatment can I give Sub fluid to him in fever ? He is diagnosed with kidney failure and is on drips and renal food ...but because of cat fight he got abscess on eye ...he has 104 fever

Aug. 21, 2018

0 Recommendations

If Nano has developed an abscess and fever you should speak with your Veterinarian regarding treatment; fluids should be being given under the instruction of your Veterinarian for the kidney failure along with other supportive care. Without examining Nano I cannot give you any specific treatment, but please follow up with your Veterinarian. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM

Aug. 21, 2018

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Me nyung

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1 Year

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0 found this helpful

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0 found this helpful

My pet has the following symptoms:
Hot Ears,Vomiting With Mucus
My cat is operated total hysterectomy at the past ten days.But, one of the suture line has redness and small amount of discharge after stich out.Now, my cat feels fever and vomiting,loss of appetite. How can I treat her with home remedies?

Aug. 18, 2018

0 Recommendations

If there is some discharge, it may be that there is an infection of the surgical site or from the suture. This is something which you should return to your Veterinarian about regardless since there is fever and vomiting which is an unusual complication after a simple surgery. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM

Aug. 18, 2018

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short hair

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Tabitha

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6 Years

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1 found this helpful

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1 found this helpful

My cat licked a philodendron and a peace lily couple times about 1:30 pm 8/6/18. She didn’t eat any of it. She seemed fine til Thur. Not sure how early Thur cause weren’t home til 5 that day but at that time she didn’t meow and her ears felt hot. Took to vet by 5:30. We told him about plant but told him we knew it had been well over 24 hours since she’d had access to plant. Also told him we had killed a brown recluse spider in bedroom where she is mostly. She had 106 degree fever. He pumped her full of water under skin. Gave her dry activated charcoal which she puffed out like it went into her lungs. So then he gave her liquid activated charcoal. Checked her fever, it was 104 and said bring her back tomorrow for blood work said it wouldn’t show if kidneys had been damaged til after 12 hrs. We told him again several times that she hadn’t been around it for at least 24 hrs. He sent her home with liquid charcoal said to give again when I got home which was 6:30 and again at midnight and he’d see her next morning for blood work. After midnight dose of liquid charcoal she seemed worse. Her breathing was labored most of night. At 5:30 am she got up from our bed for the first time that night and made a horrible cry. I thought she needed to go bathroom cause that’s the way she was headed so I picked her up to help her off the bed and she made another horrible cry. I put her in floor she laid on her side. I called vet. Told him she’d had labored breathing all night and in one spot and tongue stuck out and I’d tried putting water on tongue didn’t help and crying. He lives 10 min from office. He said he’d meet me in 1hr 30 min. Got there he was surprised. How bad she was. I told him I read last night give Antihisimine for plant toxin. So he gave her Benadryl (which I think he should have done Thur pm) steroids don’t know what else. Took X-ray (said lungs looked good and he was surprised) put her on oxygen. Ended up doing cpr brought her back gave her more meds (don’t know what) said she didn’t make it. She was 6. Now we are second guessing if she even had plant poisoning, or spider bite, or if aspirated powdered charcoal or if last dose is charcoal should have been given with water (he didn’t say anything about water. He just said he pumped enough water under her skin to last a few days) or the fact that the day after he gave all water he said if it wasn’t kidney failure but respiratory the water could have been worse which leads us back to why he didn’t do blood work the day before. The only reason she was near the plant was because my father in law had just died from aspiration pneumonia 2 weeks earlier and someone sent our individual family a plant. Most everything I’ve read said they will vomit and have diarreha and urinate more often She did none of that. Only temp and labored breathing. We are just sick trying to make sense of it all. The vet was going out of town when she died so he still has her waiting for cremation. Can he still find out cause of death since she died 8/10 today is 8/13. And what do you think about the whole situation

Aug. 13, 2018

1 Recommendations

This is a difficult question to answer, but I will give an overview to cover some information. Normally peace lily poisoning and Philodendron poisoning result in mild symptoms isolated to the mouth or gastrointestinal tract since they both contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals which result in severe irritation of the mouth which normally stops any ingestion of the plant; peace lilies are not true lilies from the Liliaceae family they are actually from the same family as Philodendrons (Araceae family), peace lilies therefore do not cause kidney failure in cats. From the peace lily, Philodendron and brown recluse spider it would make more sense that the symptoms were caused by the brown recluse spider than the plants given your description but we would expect to see a bite wound indicative of a bite; there is no antivenom or specific treatment for brown recluse spider bites and any treatment is purely supportive and symptomatic. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM www.msdvetmanual.com/toxicology/venomous-arthropods/spiders-and-scorpions#v3357522 www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/mauna-loa-peace-lily/ www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/philodendron/ www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/brown-recluse-spider/

Aug. 14, 2018

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DOMESTIC

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Flex and kiko

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6 Months

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0 found this helpful

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I took both my cats to get neutered on Thursday. They've been fine, until I returned from work today. They're not themselves and I think they may have a fever. They're not eating or drinking. They're not wanting any attention from me which is unusual. I dont know if I'm being over concerned or how long I should wait before I take them to the vet. I checked their temps, flex was 104 and kiko was 105.5. But I'm not sure I did it right because they could hold still and I was afraid of hurting them.i tried under their armpits and flex was 100 and kiko was 103. I think it's odd both of them are feeling bad 3-4 days after surgery when they were completely fine until today.

Fever Average Cost

From 369 quotes ranging from $200 - $2,000

Average Cost

$400

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