- Joined
- Jul 21, 2018
- Messages
- 129
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Wow, I haven't posted in awhile but I also haven't forgotten all of your kind advice and reassurance over the past year as I struggled with my rescue persian's myriad of health conditions.
I think I've spent over 5 grand on diagnostics, medications, and specialist visits this past year. I honestly thought we would never get things under control but I'm finally starting to feel optimistic. I'm a bit scared to feel optimistic too early so I need to know if it is logical to assume that we have FINALLY wiped our her infection.
We adopted her from a breeder a year ago who had assured us she was in excellent health. She was a retired breeding cat (about 10 years of age) and we were told that she did have a heart murmur but that it was benign. When we showed up, Mousse was at death's door. She had an ulcerated mouth and nose from calicivirus, he spay incision was deeply infected and the size of a gulf ball (and weeping fluid), she was emaciated and she smelled of infection. I couldn't leave her there so I took her straight to the vet. Over the next year we battled chronic diarrhea and weight loss caused by IBD, calicivirus, chronic and repeated upper respiratory infections, swollen gums and mouth ulcers, and a heart murmur which turned out to actually be severe HCM. She is followed by a general vet, board certified dental specialist, cardiologist, and internal medicine specialist. She has had ultrasounds, x-rays, blood tests, and swabs done.
Her severe HCM is stable (not progressing) on a cocktail of fortekor, plavix, and atenolol which she takes once a day. Since starting the medication, her energy has increased and she is happy, playful and alert.
Her IBD is controlled by once a week B12 injections, raw food diet, and s.boulardii probiotics. She has not had diarrhea in over 10 months and has gone from 5.1 lbs on adoption day to 8.4lbs.
The internal medicine specialist isolated mycoplasma felis in her nasal swab. It isn't the blood type but instead the type that causes upper respiratory symptoms. He felt it could be the cause of her oral ulcers and chronic congestion since the viral count for her calicivirus came back very low. We tried months of azithromycin. The reason for azithromycin is because she was tolerating it well and we were scared to try something that upset her stomach.
She would always do super well on it but a few days after discontinuing the medication all of her symptoms would return -- sneezing, chronic runny and stuffy nose, coughing, drooling from her tongue ulcer, etc. Finally, she became resistant to azithromycin. So, we decided to go ahead and try doxycycline even if it can be hard on the stomach. I was giving 1/4 tablet once a day for 14 days. To minimize the irritation, I'd wrap the pill in a bit of pill pocket dough, chase it with 5ml of water, and then feed her right after.
Well, after two weeks she was doing well. I figured she would have to go back on the doxy after a few days. Now, we are NINE (!!!!!!) days after her last dose and NONE of her symptoms have come back. No tongue ulcer. No drooling. No sneezing. No congestion (other than normal persian cat snorts). Every morning I wake up expecting to find a crusted nose and drool on her chin but every morning she is fine.
Is it possible the doxy cleared her chronic infection? We have been battling this thing for over a year. Would she have shown symptoms of relapse by now? Can I celebrate yet!?
I think I've spent over 5 grand on diagnostics, medications, and specialist visits this past year. I honestly thought we would never get things under control but I'm finally starting to feel optimistic. I'm a bit scared to feel optimistic too early so I need to know if it is logical to assume that we have FINALLY wiped our her infection.
We adopted her from a breeder a year ago who had assured us she was in excellent health. She was a retired breeding cat (about 10 years of age) and we were told that she did have a heart murmur but that it was benign. When we showed up, Mousse was at death's door. She had an ulcerated mouth and nose from calicivirus, he spay incision was deeply infected and the size of a gulf ball (and weeping fluid), she was emaciated and she smelled of infection. I couldn't leave her there so I took her straight to the vet. Over the next year we battled chronic diarrhea and weight loss caused by IBD, calicivirus, chronic and repeated upper respiratory infections, swollen gums and mouth ulcers, and a heart murmur which turned out to actually be severe HCM. She is followed by a general vet, board certified dental specialist, cardiologist, and internal medicine specialist. She has had ultrasounds, x-rays, blood tests, and swabs done.
Her severe HCM is stable (not progressing) on a cocktail of fortekor, plavix, and atenolol which she takes once a day. Since starting the medication, her energy has increased and she is happy, playful and alert.
Her IBD is controlled by once a week B12 injections, raw food diet, and s.boulardii probiotics. She has not had diarrhea in over 10 months and has gone from 5.1 lbs on adoption day to 8.4lbs.
The internal medicine specialist isolated mycoplasma felis in her nasal swab. It isn't the blood type but instead the type that causes upper respiratory symptoms. He felt it could be the cause of her oral ulcers and chronic congestion since the viral count for her calicivirus came back very low. We tried months of azithromycin. The reason for azithromycin is because she was tolerating it well and we were scared to try something that upset her stomach.
She would always do super well on it but a few days after discontinuing the medication all of her symptoms would return -- sneezing, chronic runny and stuffy nose, coughing, drooling from her tongue ulcer, etc. Finally, she became resistant to azithromycin. So, we decided to go ahead and try doxycycline even if it can be hard on the stomach. I was giving 1/4 tablet once a day for 14 days. To minimize the irritation, I'd wrap the pill in a bit of pill pocket dough, chase it with 5ml of water, and then feed her right after.
Well, after two weeks she was doing well. I figured she would have to go back on the doxy after a few days. Now, we are NINE (!!!!!!) days after her last dose and NONE of her symptoms have come back. No tongue ulcer. No drooling. No sneezing. No congestion (other than normal persian cat snorts). Every morning I wake up expecting to find a crusted nose and drool on her chin but every morning she is fine.
Is it possible the doxy cleared her chronic infection? We have been battling this thing for over a year. Would she have shown symptoms of relapse by now? Can I celebrate yet!?
), and keep snorting 
