Upper respiratory infections in pets.

While we were moving in to our new place we were nicely greeted by a neighborhood dog. She was pretty and very friendly. She had a tag on that said her name was Lady and she apparently lived across the street from us. We gave her a pat, pat and our Dixie (our dog) played with her in our yard.

Out here in the rural subdivision we live in people have the tendency to allow their animals and small children to wander about the neighborhood without supervision. I guess they must feel it is safer because we aren’t in heart of a crime ridden city but still that is no reason to let everyone run amok. That is a rant for another day though.

Anyway, we kept the friendly dog out of our house and went about our business moving in. We didn’t bother to try and take her back to her home because we had the feeling she was allowed to run the neighborhood as were most dogs in the area.

A week after we were moved in we discovered that Dixie had a strange eye discharge, her eyes we watering like crazy and the discharge was greenish. We figured she had picked up and eye infection from playing with Lady on move in day (or that one of the cats had scratched her eye). We wiped her eyes out for a week with warm washcloth and eventually the eye discharge cleared up.

Well last week Andrew (one of our cats) began sneezing like crazy and his eyes were watering, he was sluggish for a few days and then back to normal but now Jack and Mr. Guy (also cats) are sneezing and displaying the same symptoms. Except they are much worse that Andrew was. Jack can barely breathe and he seldom eats or drinks anything now.

It appears our household has contracted an upper respiratory infection. In felines this infection is highly contagious and is often treated with costly antibiotics at the veterinarian. We don’t have the money to be taking all our animals to the vet for antibiotics and would prefer not to unless they absolutely need it. Besides we prefer to do things a bit more naturally.

A few years back a coworker gave me a bottle of Colloidal Silver and explained how it is great remedy for many ailments. It’s apparently a naturally occurring mineral that when taken clears up many infections, much like an antibiotic. We have a bottle of it from that worker (she got it at a natural food store) that I have used occasionally with great results! Today I was thinking it may also benefit my sick kitties.

I set out to learn about it’s impact on animals. Obviously I am not trying to give my pets something that could harm them so I did some research on Colloidal Silver and animals.

Lots of people have used it on their animals for various aliments. It is given topically, rectally and orally depending on the problem. It is even administered to treat minor sicknesses in dogs and cats. I found a fellow blogger who has shared his success with Colloidal Silver and his pets.

It appears Colloidal Silver is successful in animals so I gave my furry friends some today to help them get over the respiratory infection. If you are looking for information on how Colloidal Silver is used for pets and/ or it’s safety check out this Google search for Colloidal Silver for pets.

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Update 1 day later-

Jack’s symptoms have greatly improved and he is acting more himself, I only added a few drops to water and fed it to him via dropper. However, I have received much information from readers about the potentially harmful side effects of Colloidal Silver.

I do not want to give anyone bad advice or only provide one side of the story so I feel it is appropriate to update this post to include some of the potentially harmful side effects of Colloidal Silver.

As with anything you should consult your doctor before taking it and you should get all the facts! To help you with this I want to share some of the useful information about how Colloidal Silver could harm you.

I did some reading and found that a site that outlines that “The best known consequence of over consumption of silver is argyria. Most authorities state that argyria is disfiguring because of the discoloration of the skin but has no other harmful consequences. With argyria, silver is taken internally in excess and the excess is deposited in the skin, organs and other tissues. This causes the skin to turn a gray or bluish gray color. Upon exposure to strong sunlight, skin of the affected individuals can turn a dark brown or black color. This coloration is permanent. In addition to argyria, the intake of very large doses (far in excess of the amount that causes discoloration of the skin) of silver can cause neurological damage, organ damage and arteriosclerosis.”

Fore more reading on the risks of Colloidal Silver check out:

• From the National Center for Alternative and Complimentary Medicine- Colloidal Silver
• Colloidal Silver Toxicity – How much is harmful?
• Another person turns blue from colloidal silver
• Colloidal Silver- Safe or Scam?

If you have something to share on this topic please don’t hesitate to post a comment below. Knowledge is power, I want to be informed and to provide helpful information to my readers so they can make the best decision for themselves!