Please Help! Senior Cat With Uri Symptoms For Over A Month

I am in desperate need of help. My senior kitty, Calvin, became sick with symptoms that resemble an upper respiratory infection over a month ago and he is not improving. It started with throat clearing/coughing noises. More recently, he has been drooling excessively. Then on Monday, I noticed that his right pupil was dilated and much larger than the left. He has been lethargic and not doing much other than sleeping. Thankfully, he is still eating (a bit less than normal), drinking, and going to the bathroom.

I took him to the vet about three weeks ago. He was diagnosed with an URI and given antibiotics. He did not improve, so I took him back two weeks ago. They did an X-Ray and didn't find anything concerning. There was a mark on his lung that the vets thought to be an older injury of some sort that had calcified. Then, I took him again this past Monday when I noticed that his eye was dilated. They did blood work and said that it was normal. I even took him to a vet nearly an hour away for an echocardiogram, since our local office had concerns that a heart issue may have caused his eye to dilate. They weren't able to get a complete picture of his heart (he wouldn't stop moving), but what they could see looked normal.

After doing some research, I found that URIs typically include runny nose and discharge from the eyes. Calvin doesn't have these symptoms. However, he is definitely congested. I can hear it when he breathes and meows. Several times, he has coughed to an extend that he seems to have difficulty catching his breath. And he has started something particularly odd...he has been mounting things around the house, despite being neutered and never doing this before.

I have spent a lot of money and still have no answers for my poor Calvin. I am absolutely devastated. He is 13 years old and has been with me for nearly all of my adult life. I will do anything to help him. If anyone has any suggestions or a similar experience, please help us. Any advice is appreciated.

I have attached a photo to show his eye.

I am so very sorry to hear of this - poor baby and poor you!!

Do you have a university veterinary medical department you could speak with?

Thank you for your reply. I don't have anything like that in my area. It appears that the closest one is in Pittsburgh, which is quite a distance. I would make the trip, if I thought it would help. I'm concerned that Calvin wouldn't do well with such a long trip.

Usually a enlarged pupil means an infection somewhere. Did they do blood work after the antibiotics? Did they check for a tumor in his head or nose? You might start with L-Lysine in case it is feline herpes which is viral, it wouldn't hurt. Ask your vet about it. It takes about two weeks to clear up. That pupil bothers me, SOMETHING is wrong, the vet needs to go further. I'll pray for his recovery, the sweet boy needs a break!

Hi. I found an article on unequal pupil sizes in cats. Maybe you can glean something from this?

Unequal Pupil Size in Cats - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, Management, Cost.

Also, did the blood work the vet did include checking for feline leukemia? Not trying to alarm you but URIs/breathing difficulties can be associated with this virus, as can secondary infections.

I don't know if there would be any correlation between these two issues that Calvin has. So, I could be "barking up the wrong tree". Have no idea how the mounting would tie into all of this either.

Wish you could find another vet to get an additional opinion.

SuzyNichole said:

I am in desperate need of help. My senior kitty, Calvin, became sick with symptoms that resemble an upper respiratory infection over a month ago and he is not improving. It started with throat clearing/coughing noises. More recently, he has been drooling excessively. Then on Monday, I noticed that his right pupil was dilated and much larger than the left. He has been lethargic and not doing much other than sleeping. Thankfully, he is still eating (a bit less than normal), drinking, and going to the bathroom.

I took him to the vet about three weeks ago. He was diagnosed with an URI and given antibiotics. He did not improve, so I took him back two weeks ago. They did an X-Ray and didn't find anything concerning. There was a mark on his lung that the vets thought to be an older injury of some sort that had calcified. Then, I took him again this past Monday when I noticed that his eye was dilated. They did blood work and said that it was normal. I even took him to a vet nearly an hour away for an echocardiogram, since our local office had concerns that a heart issue may have caused his eye to dilate. They weren't able to get a complete picture of his heart (he wouldn't stop moving), but what they could see looked normal.

After doing some research, I found that URIs typically include runny nose and discharge from the eyes. Calvin doesn't have these symptoms. However, he is definitely congested. I can hear it when he breathes and meows. Several times, he has coughed to an extend that he seems to have difficulty catching his breath. And he has started something particularly odd...he has been mounting things around the house, despite being neutered and never doing this before.

I have spent a lot of money and still have no answers for my poor Calvin. I am absolutely devastated. He is 13 years old and has been with me for nearly all of my adult life. I will do anything to help him. If anyone has any suggestions or a similar experience, please help us. Any advice is appreciated.

I have attached a photo to show his eye.

Click to expand...

Bless his heart.I have an almost 11 yr old boy named Snowball.And hes been havn health issues n back n forth to vet n no answers.Lays around n lethargic.So I definitely know the frustration.And its hard to watch our babies like this.Hope ure baby gets better.Prayers