Am I worrying too much about my cat?

[instantkarma]

Hi all! I have been a lurker here for a while and I so very much appreciate all the wisdom that is posted and shared amongst cat lovers, it's been truly invaluable. I am in need of advice/reassurance/feedback regarding a situation with my sweet cat.

A little background: last month, my partner and I rescued a kitten from our local shelter. I already had a resident cat, an orange tabby by the name of Honey, and we kept the two cats separated for almost two weeks when we first brought our kitten home, to give them time to acclimate. Our kitten had a URI that had been treated at the shelter. Unfortunately, since I thought it was treated and had run its course, I didn't realize it was still so contagious and our vet did not warn us about this when we took our kitten for her first check-up. I regret being so naive and ill-informed at the time. Unfortunately, only a few days after our two cats started playing together, I started to notice that my older cat Honey had a raspy meow. Then we had a scary incident where she began to wheeze and cough. I got her into the vet quickly, and despite reminding them that our kitten had this URI that was still lingering, the vet thought that Honey had an asthma attack and had suddenly developed asthma. They didn't do any other tests on Honey, and they said her temperature was elevated but that was normal. The only treatment was they gave her a steroid shot. They didn't talk to me about any other possibilities, they didn't ask if I might want any other tests done, that was the end of it. This appointment was on a Friday, and through that entire weekend, she would still have occasional coughing fits, but what worried me most was that she was barely eating and she stopped playing completely. She was just not my cat anymore and I was so worried.

I decided to take her to a different vet for a second opinion. For my peace of mind, they did x-rays and thankfully her x-rays were great. The vet felt it was unlikely she has asthma due to the sudden onset, and due to our kitten having a lingering URI as well. For now, she believed the kitten had activated the feline herpes virus in Honey, and her suggested course of treatment was to do an antibiotic shot to treat any secondary infections (and she noted that the steroid shot from the other vet probably made it all worse unfortunately), and to give my cat these lysine chews to help boost her immune system.

So in the last few days, I've been feeding her very smelly food and she's eating great, which is such a relief. She's drinking well so I'm not worried about dehydration at the moment. However, she's still just not herself. She doesn't want to play, she wants to just sleep all day. She's extremely sniffly still and sneezing a lot. It's only been three days since our visit to the better vet, and I know it will take time, but I am just still so worried and scared for her health. I feel so bad for exposing her to this virus to begin with, and I just desperately want to make her feel better.

I guess I am just hoping maybe others have had experience with this? I am wondering approximately how long it will take for her to start feeling better? At what point should I consider either taking her back to that better vet I found or possibly even seeking a third opinion? I know I have to let it runs its course to some degree, I just hate seeing her like this.

Additionally, our kitten is still very sneezy. She is completely fine otherwise; she plays a lot, she eats and drinks just fine. Other than sneezing, she's fine, but it's now been two months since her URI and it seems so strange she's still sneezy.

Am I doing everything I should be doing? Should I be seeking more opinions from other vets? Are there any home remedies I can do to help in the meantime? Thanks for any help and insight you have!

 

[Rhall]

It does take awhile to get over it. My one cat who had URI as a kitten still sneezes pretty regularly (he just turned a year). His eyes need to be cleaned daily as well. I give him lysine chews daily and I do believe this is helping. His eyes would have an infected look from time to time and since I started the lysine he hasn't had any conjunctivitis.

 

[white shadow]

.
Hi instantkarma and, after all that lurking you've done, I guess it's finally time to say welcome to the forum !

First, go and look on your receipt from Vet #2 - I think it's likely that the antibiotic injection was the drug "Convenia".

Convenia itself is known to often cause lethargy in some cats....because it's long-acting, it stays in the system longer, so (if she's having this reaction to it) you can probably expect that to continue for some time still.

If it's the herpesvirus that's causing her lethargy, then, the sooner you can get that outbreak under control, the sooner she'll 'recover'. (and, of course, it may be the combination of this and the drug that are keeping her 'under the weather')

Lysine is effective against herpesvirus. Effective dosing is seen at 500mg twice a day until symptoms wane, then decreasing to half that for several days and, for cats prone to periodic outbreaks/flareups, periodic prophylactic 'pulsing' is used. (Check the amount of lysine in those treats - I'd bet it's far short of the known effective quantity. They might be effective, though, as prevention.)

Plain L-lysine is available in pharmacies and health food stores - I use these capsules (mixing the powder in a small quantity of wet food): NOW L-lysine Capsules.

There's another simple remedy that's helpful with 'cat colds': warm humidity. I would seclude sick cats in a warmer room with a hot-mist humidifier. Some folks employ 'steaming': use a hot shower to steam up a bathroom and confine the cat there for half hour periods several times a day.

So long as Honey is otherwise stable, I'd say you're doing all the right supportive homecare.

I'd 'fire' the first Vet.....I'm not impressed with the second, though. I wouldn't have allowed the Convenia, thinking it inappropriate (at best!). I'd be looking for a competent feline Vet (the owners of 'cat-only' practices make great starting points in a search), someone with many years of experience and an affinity/dedication to cats/. You could also look through here, selecting feline-only for "Practice Type": AAFP - Find a Veterinarian - don't check "cat-friendly" bar at the bottom.

Now.........because you've been a lurker here, you already know that we just crave pics.........so, pay up please
.

 

[Rhall]

There's another simple remedy that's helpful with 'cat colds': warm humidity. I would seclude sick cats in a warmer room with a hot-mist humidifier. Some folks employ 'steaming': use a hot shower to steam up a bathroom and confine the cat there for half hour periods several times a day.

When we were in the thick of it with Oliver we did this. We actually found keeping him in the carrier and bringing a pot of hot water and placing it a few feet away from the door with a large towel over head very effective and clearing him up. When he was really sick I did this 4x per day.

Just want to add he is very healthy now!

 

[di and bob]

The lysine treats should be given daily until all symptoms are gone. One treat a day a day after for a while wouldn't hurt. I know some people say that Lyine doesn't test out great aaginst the Herpes virus etc., but it sure worked for my cats and always has! I give liquid DMG for felines too, to build the immune system up. Feline Nose Relief remedy on Amazon has worked well too. Even though Honey may not have showed it much, getting a new kitten put stress on her and teh virus, which I'm sure she was already carrying, flared up. Most kittens get it at a very young age. Some cats take weeks to fully recover. Lethargy isn't uncommon, especially when getting an antibiotic. If any one of them stops eating completely and starts hiding, THAT is the time to see a vet. Everything will get better in time..... PS our vet prescribed nebulizer treatments for my cat that was horribly stuffed up, we put him in a carrier and draped a towel around it (like explained above) and the nebulizer, it worked well!

 

[instantkarma]

Thank you SO so very much for all your helpful thoughts and feedback, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! I have jotted down so much information to research a little more as well. I ordered a humidifier, so I should have that soon and I am hopeful that will help! I read a few days ago that "steam" can help for cats with this, so I've been doing a hot, steamy shower with her as well. I love the suggestion of the boiling water pot, and draping the towel over her carrier just to help her breathe better. I will definitely try that.

Thankfully, our sweet little kitten, Sassy, has been doing great. Other than sneezing, she is as hyper and active as a kitten should be. She eats and drinks well. It's just my sweet Honey girl who has me worried.

I got nervous last night because Honey went into her carrier to sleep all night (highly unusual for her), but she was eating and drinking normally yesterday. But she slept in that carrier and she did not even want much attention from me last night; also very unusual for my normally sweet, affectionate girl. I can only imagine that having flu-like symptoms must make her feel so crappy she did not want to be bothered much. Thankfully this morning, she was her normal self, joining me on the bed to cuddle. She ate her breakfast normally so that was another relief.

I'm going to just pay very close attention to her symptoms through this week, and go from there. A few things to note: yes, that second vet did give her the antibiotic Convenia. Thank you for mentioning the side effects of this antibiotic. I feel so ill-informed all through this as I had no idea how potentially bad this antibiotic could be. Had I known, I would not have allowed for that antibiotic either. I want to make all the right choices for my sweet girl and I feel like she's not getting the best care from the vets I'm taking her to so I'm trying to do the best I can now with supportive care at home.

However, I desperately want and need to find a good vet for her that is competent and knowledgeable about feline health. The disappointing thing is that I did search that AAFP directory, and that second vet I took her to was a feline practitioner. There is only one other vet in my area who is a certified feline practitioner. And the cat only clinics are about 30 miles away which worries me in a situation where I might need to take her in quickly.

Does it seem like an overreaction to consider taking her in for a third opinion now, to the only other vet in my area who is a certified feline practitioner? I appreciate the advice everyone!

And I'm paying up with a few pictures of my sweet girl, including one picture of her cuddling with her new little sister (our black kitten, Sassy).

 

[CatLover49]

Hi all! I have been a lurker here for a while and I so very much appreciate all the wisdom that is posted and shared amongst cat lovers, it's been truly invaluable. I am in need of advice/reassurance/feedback regarding a situation with my sweet cat.

A little background: last month, my partner and I rescued a kitten from our local shelter. I already had a resident cat, an orange tabby by the name of Honey, and we kept the two cats separated for almost two weeks when we first brought our kitten home, to give them time to acclimate. Our kitten had a URI that had been treated at the shelter. Unfortunately, since I thought it was treated and had run its course, I didn't realize it was still so contagious and our vet did not warn us about this when we took our kitten for her first check-up. I regret being so naive and ill-informed at the time. Unfortunately, only a few days after our two cats started playing together, I started to notice that my older cat Honey had a raspy meow. Then we had a scary incident where she began to wheeze and cough. I got her into the vet quickly, and despite reminding them that our kitten had this URI that was still lingering, the vet thought that Honey had an asthma attack and had suddenly developed asthma. They didn't do any other tests on Honey, and they said her temperature was elevated but that was normal. The only treatment was they gave her a steroid shot. They didn't talk to me about any other possibilities, they didn't ask if I might want any other tests done, that was the end of it. This appointment was on a Friday, and through that entire weekend, she would still have occasional coughing fits, but what worried me most was that she was barely eating and she stopped playing completely. She was just not my cat anymore and I was so worried.

I decided to take her to a different vet for a second opinion. For my peace of mind, they did x-rays and thankfully her x-rays were great. The vet felt it was unlikely she has asthma due to the sudden onset, and due to our kitten having a lingering URI as well. For now, she believed the kitten had activated the feline herpes virus in Honey, and her suggested course of treatment was to do an antibiotic shot to treat any secondary infections (and she noted that the steroid shot from the other vet probably made it all worse unfortunately), and to give my cat these lysine chews to help boost her immune system.

So in the last few days, I've been feeding her very smelly food and she's eating great, which is such a relief. She's drinking well so I'm not worried about dehydration at the moment. However, she's still just not herself. She doesn't want to play, she wants to just sleep all day. She's extremely sniffly still and sneezing a lot. It's only been three days since our visit to the better vet, and I know it will take time, but I am just still so worried and scared for her health. I feel so bad for exposing her to this virus to begin with, and I just desperately want to make her feel better.

I guess I am just hoping maybe others have had experience with this? I am wondering approximately how long it will take for her to start feeling better? At what point should I consider either taking her back to that better vet I found or possibly even seeking a third opinion? I know I have to let it runs its course to some degree, I just hate seeing her like this.

Additionally, our kitten is still very sneezy. She is completely fine otherwise; she plays a lot, she eats and drinks just fine. Other than sneezing, she's fine, but it's now been two months since her URI and it seems so strange she's still sneezy.

Am I doing everything I should be doing? Should I be seeking more opinions from other vets? Are there any home remedies I can do to help in the meantime? Thanks for any help and insight you have!

I went through just about the same thing...Started last year actually...I already had a 10 yr old cat...hes 11 yrs NOW.... n wanted to get him a friend...so I got a kitten from THE local shelter...well the kitten had been had a URI...and the VET SAID it was SAFE to bring kitten home around my other cat....cause the necessary time to wait for it to NOT be contagious was OVER...Ok..So I bought the kitten home n kept in separate room except for slow introduction at times..This went on for aweek...and then I found out at my apartment management that could only have one cat or animal...Unless they were therapy animals...Ok...I had saw other people with more than one animal..a few..But either way my son took the kitten himself...I was so SAD...Dont THINK my 10yr cat then WAS SAD....But either way my cat started sneezing...runny eye just one..raspy meowing..Took him to VET n VET clinically says he has URI...N POSSIBLY FELINE HERPES..Never tested him..just clinically diagnose...Gave him antibiotic n eye ointment...it was terrible for my cat..And he didn't seem to get better..so VET gave him...Famiciclovor..compounded...I believe...And he started getting better..but his eye n side of face is STILL healing...hes 11yrs old NOW...So VET says being 10yrs when started..it could take awhile to heal...cause his immune system was down n his age...But my son says the kitten did fine...I would have kept the kitten if apt manager said I could..And it say in lease could have pets..but they changed it up to only one unless therapy animals...But look back on my older posts n you will see My cat Snowball pictures..of his problem..and as of today months later..he still has mild irratation around his eye..n on side of his face..only that eye...heres pic of him today

Now it was way way worse...Look back in my other posts as his pictures....