Herpes outbreak

[snugglecat]

I am sending you 30 fishmox pills, it will be put in the mail tomorrow. Is there a way you can get her to come into your house? Would that be a possibility? You would be in a better position to take care of her inside. 3 years ago I was in the same dilemma as you. My feral cat, muffin, had a bad URI that turned into a severe eye infection. Luckily, he ate food with antibiotics in it everyday for almost two weeks, and I was able to save his eye and cure the pneumonia that had begun to set in. I know exactly how helpless and worried we can get when one of our ferals is ill. If there is any way that you can trap or lure her to get her inside your house and put her in a room by herself where she could be safe and warm and well cared for, then give it your best shot. But only if you feel you can do it, because if you try to catch her and are unsuccessful, she may not want to come around for a few days. My prayers for you and your kitty. I wanted to add that you should talk to her, and let her know that you love her and want to help her, and that you want her to fight to live. I do believe it is possible to communicate our love and intention to our cats.

Thank you for your kindness.

I'm not able to bring her in and I have a lot of reasons why but the biggest issue is I don't have an extra room and I have an adult son who lives with me that is Bi-polar. You never know when he is going to have a horrible meltdown. Things being thrown around, yelling and cursing, it's not a pretty site.

She is better off outside where she can find a nice quiet spot to rest. The stress would be to much for both of us.

I don't think she will come around tonight but I'm hoping she will be out there in the morning so I can try giving her some more baby food and medication.

 

[snugglecat]

 
Just give her time.  Rest is so needed.  I have dealt with both indoor cats with the herpes virus and 2 of my outside ferals having an outbreak.  One handled it without any meds at all.  He refused the meds and the lysine, but after a few days he did begin to eat again.  He did nothing but sleep for days.  With an indoor cat it is a bit easier as you can syringe or pill the cat for the meds. 

Give her a few days and just offer a dish of food with medicine and one with just plain food (with lots of moisture).  She can choose what she needs.

I was surprised to see her here during the evening feeding. She only takes a couple licks of the baby food and walks away. I wanted to see what she would do if I offered her dry food and she ate that. Not much but she ate some.

She is now sleeping with her head hung down and you can tell she is not feeling well. I don't think she likes the baby food but she won't eat the canned food either.

Do you think I should keep trying the baby food? Do you think I should try another canned food? She did not like the Duck I bought and she won't eat the canned Friskies I give the cats.

I was trying so hard to stay calm but I'm getting stressed out. I don't know how to get some antibiotics in her.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Is there any way a vet you know would give you some liquid clavamox?  It is so easy to disguise in food. 

If not, then I would put out a few different wet foods for her.  Maybe one or two with the meds and one plain.  If she doesn't eat them, you can cover them, place in the fridge and reheat for later.  Sometimes when  a cat cannot smell, if you warm the food a bit, it helps to bring out the aroma.

You are doing the best you can for her. 

You are in my thoughts and so is Mama.

 

[snugglecat]

 
Is there any way a vet you know would give you some liquid clavamox?  It is so easy to disguise in food. 

If not, then I would put out a few different wet foods for her.  Maybe one or two with the meds and one plain.  If she doesn't eat them, you can cover them, place in the fridge and reheat for later.  Sometimes when  a cat cannot smell, if you warm the food a bit, it helps to bring out the aroma.

You are doing the best you can for her. 

You are in my thoughts and so is Mama.

Thank you for all your help. The vet won't give me anything with out seeing the cat. I already knew this but thought I would ask again.

She was on my porch this morning and she meowed at me when I was looking out the window to see if they were all there. I tried giving her some Wellness canned food I have for my cat, she ate a little more then she had been but I think she knows the antibiotics are in there. She ate about a 1/4 cup of dry food for me.

Her eye looks a little better. It is still swollen under her eye but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. She even had it open all the way. She walked around the front and back yard this morning after eating. I think she is starting to feel better. This evening I'm going to give her some canned food without anything in it to see if she will eat it. She is very picky when it comes to canned food and I don't think she likes the baby food.

Thank you for all your prayers, I think they might be working. I know I was doing a  lot of praying last night.

 

[shadowsrescue]

 

 
Is there any way a vet you know would give you some liquid clavamox?  It is so easy to disguise in food. 

If not, then I would put out a few different wet foods for her.  Maybe one or two with the meds and one plain.  If she doesn't eat them, you can cover them, place in the fridge and reheat for later.  Sometimes when  a cat cannot smell, if you warm the food a bit, it helps to bring out the aroma.

You are doing the best you can for her. 

You are in my thoughts and so is Mama.

Thank you for all your help. The vet won't give me anything with out seeing the cat. I already knew this but thought I would ask again.

She was on my porch this morning and she meowed at me when I was looking out the window to see if they were all there. I tried giving her some Wellness canned food I have for my cat, she ate a little more then she had been but I think she knows the antibiotics are in there. She ate about a 1/4 cup of dry food for me.

Her eye looks a little better. It is still swollen under her eye but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. She even had it open all the way. She walked around the front and back yard this morning after eating. I think she is starting to feel better. This evening I'm going to give her some canned food without anything in it to see if she will eat it. She is very picky when it comes to canned food and I don't think she likes the baby food.

Thank you for all your prayers, I think they might be working. I know I was doing a  lot of praying last night.

I am happy she seems to be perking up.  She may be getting just enough of the medicine or if it's just a virus, her body is fighting it off.  I will hope for continued improvement. 

I have a picky feral too and it's just awful.  He not only is picky about taste, but texture too.  I have to blend some of the food for him as he dislikes anything with chunks.  He also is a very slow eater while the others are so fast and will quickly eat all of his if I am not watching.  Fortunately my picky one really likes dry food and gets plenty throughout the day.  I just wish he would eat more wet as it's much better for him.

 

[msaimee]

It sounds like she's getting enough of the antibiotics in her to start showing improvement--improvement usually shows within a day or two.  The eye is the main concern, and it's encouraging that it looks better today.  The Fishmox I sent you should be arriving in a few days, so keep giving her the antibiotics.  It's very encouraging that she's eating again, even if not a lot. She's fighting to get better, which is so important.

 

[snugglecat]

@ShadowsRescue, @MsAimee    

Thank you again for all your help. Mama kitty is doing good. Her eye is back to normal and she is eating. She won't eat much wet food, she has done that before when I tried putting something in her food. She is eating a good a mount of dry food, she is not a big fan of the wet food anyway.

I wish I would have looked at the ingredients of the L-lysine I purchased from the vet because I wasted $30.00 that I could have used buying cat food. I didn't know there was Brewers yeast or soybean oil in it.

Those are 2 things I know for sure none of the cats can have. I noticed they were all digging and pulling clumps of fur out. Maddie's chin and mouth was swollen and so was Tiger's mouth. I knew I had not been giving anything new so I looked at the L-lysine ingredients and sure enough that was causing the problem.

I was in tears just thinking how I'm going to be short getting cat food this month and that I wasted money on something I can't give them.

I'm still putting a little pinch of antibiotics in Mama's food but like I said she won't eat much of it.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I am so glad that Mama is doing better.  I have a feral too that is just not a fan of wet food.  At least she is eating and her eye is clearing.

 

[msaimee]

Please continue to give her antibiotics in her food for at least a week or ten days. If you stop them after a few days, there's a real chance the infection will come back worse because the infection becomes antibiotic resistant. I know it's a hassle, believe me, I've gone through that with my feral a half dozen times, but it will be so well worth the effort. As long as she is eating and drinking something each day, she'll be okay.

We can only do our best with medicating ferals. Most cats do have allergies and reactions to certain foods and medications, just like people do, and we can only learn from trial and error. The L Lysine may have helped your cats with the viral part of their infections even if they had an allergic reaction to it. So don't consider it money wasted.

If you need help with cat food, you have a few options. Call your local Humane Society and explain to them your financial dilemma--they may very well likely offer you free food for the time you need it. A few years ago, after I had lost a job and was helping to care for 5 outdoor ferals in addition to my indoor cats, my local Humane Society offered to give me cat food. Also, if you call certain cat food companies and ask for help, they may send you 30-40 dollars worth of coupons for their products which should help (if you PM me I will tell you which one helped me).    

Your kitty is getting better and her eye is clearing up--feel grateful and happy for that fact and don't beat yourself up for spending money or giving a medication that may or may not have had a negative side effect.

 

[snugglecat]

 
I am happy she seems to be perking up.  She may be getting just enough of the medicine or if it's just a virus, her body is fighting it off.  I will hope for continued improvement. 

I have a picky feral too and it's just awful.  He not only is picky about taste, but texture too.  I have to blend some of the food for him as he dislikes anything with chunks.  He also is a very slow eater while the others are so fast and will quickly eat all of his if I am not watching.  Fortunately my picky one really likes dry food and gets plenty throughout the day.  I just wish he would eat more wet as it's much better for him.

Mama is just like your feral cat. She is very picky and she to doesn't like food with chunks in it. She eats very slow so she usually doesn't get to eat all of her wet food. Snickers (her adult daughter) eats really fast and then goes to mama's dish and eats her food. I can't keep Snickers away from the wet food because if I open the door the cats will run and the brave ones that come back are the only ones who get to finish the food in all the bowls.

I feed mama her dry food after everyone is done eating and I have to try and keep Snickers away from that. Poor mama would starve to death if Snickers had her way. The other cats leave mama's food alone and they don't push her away but Snickers, she is a handful when it comes to feeding time.

Mama is back to her old self again.