Ox's Health Woes (dental Extraction, Ear Infections, Herpes) - Please Advise!

oxthecat

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Hi everyone,

This site has been invaluable for me this past month, and man . . . it's been a month.

Hoping you all can provide some advice:

- Ox had 9 teeth extracted yesterday. He still needs more pulled, but was under anesthesia for 3 hours and my vet didn't feel comfortable keeping him under any longer. He seemed fine when we brought him home but he's tolerating his Buprenex VERY poorly -- disoriented, lethargic, overall miserable. When it wears off he does *much* better. We had to bring him back to the vet today because he was in such a bad state. Turns out he's really inflamed, so now we're meant to give him Metacam 1x/day. We're also only dosing half the bupe, though I'd really rather skip the whole thing if possible.

- He's been having relentless sneezing fits that affect his breathing. The vet said it's likely herpes that's been exacerbated by all the stress he's been under, and prescribed Lysine. I see the dosage on the package -- do I just mix it into his wet food?

- He *still* hasn't cleared his ear infections, so on top of his mouth pain and need to administer his oral meds, I still have to subject him to 2x/day ear drops.

He's had a real go of it, and I feel so bad for the little guy. I'm grateful we pulled him from the shelter and are putting him back together, but it's been a rough road.

Any advice from those who have dealt with any of the above? I'm looking forward to the day he's feeling well again and I can provide advice for others who have to go through what we've been!



Thank you!
 
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oxthecat

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Thank you, Furballsmom Furballsmom - I'll take a look at the Lysine thread.

He's sleeping a bunch now, but often shifting to cover his mouth. : (
 

cheeser

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- He's been having relentless sneezing fits that affect his breathing. The vet said it's likely herpes that's been exacerbated by all the stress he's been under, and prescribed Lysine. I see the dosage on the package -- do I just mix it into his wet food?
Poor baby. Sorry Ox is having such a rough time, and hope he's on the mend soon. :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:

Some cats aren't put off by the salty taste of L-lysine, and don't seem to mind if you sneak it into their food. If that doesn't work, you can try mixing it in with some meat baby food, like Gerber's 2nd Foods Chicken and Gravy, which is kinda like kitty crack for some cats. :wink:

I used to mix the L-lysine in with a little dab of food and give that to Buddy first to make sure he got the full dose, and then let him have the rest of his food.

There are also different forms of L-lysine, such as a paste that you can smear on their paws for them to lick off. But since our cat is also FIV+ and requires so many other meds and supplements, it's usually easier for me to just dissolve everything in water or bone broth, and administer it via a syringe.

By the way, you might also want to ask your vet about lactoferrin, per this old thread: Stubborn herpes infection? Add Lactoferrin in addition to Lysine. For our cat, the combination of L-lysine and lactoferrin seem to work much better than the L-lysine alone.

Good luck, and give Ox a big hug for me! :)
 

Furballsmom

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A quick note about the baby food, you're looking for jars with no onion or garlic in the ingredients. Beechnut also has some and there's Earths Best as well. I sometimes have a challenging time finding the Gerber second stage - I guess it just depends on the store manager, or something LOL
 
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oxthecat

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Thank you so much, cheeser cheeser - this is super helpful. I'm loath to wake him up to feed him (with the Lysine!) and give him his metacam, but I know it's for the best.
 

Monk'sMom

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Just saw this. Poor Ox. Hard to understand how this can happen to such a young fellow.
Yes, baby food with no additives or seasoning. One of mine likes beechnut chicken, but it's the cat that eats everything. The others wouldn't eat that. As Ox begins to recover you can add food toppers, and Furballsmom is a great resource on such appetite stimulators. Until then give your gentle love.
 

mservant

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Mouse has had dental issues from around 6 months along with probable herpes, and had to have 2 extractions a couple of months ago - during the dental 2 other teeth fell out as the roots were compleely reabsorbed and nasty ifection going on whic had been making him really sick. It is so worrying watching them get through the initial surgery and then the pain and infection. I am sorry to hear Ox is having such a hard time.
Mouse does tend to show signs of herpes whenever he’s run down or stressed in any way and we have l lysine here which I will start to give him as soon as symptoms like coughing, seezing or runny eye (his usual) show. Powder is a no go with Mouse - he does a really good line in frothing at the mouth and looking like I’m killing him if I try to give him powder, no matter how much I try to hide it. I’ve found the paste much easier and Mouse loves it so thinks it’s a treat.

I really hope you see Ox turn that corner and start to get well again soon. :vibes:
 
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oxthecat

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Hi all,

Just a quick update: Ox is doing *so* much better. Definitely tolerating the metacam better than the buprenex, so we've stopped giving him the latter. He is, for intents and purposes, back to his normal self: begging for food (we're only feeding him wet for the moment), exploring our home, sleeping in bed with us. He's not playing as much, as I think biting at toys still hurts his mouth, but other than that, he's doing great.

Sadly, his ears are still itchy and he's still sneezing, but hopefully the tresaderm and lysine will fix those soon.

I spent a lot of time on this site prepping for his dental extractions and really appreciated reading everyone's experiences. Happy to answer any questions to return the favor!
 
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