Kitty Cold

laura mae

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So Jeffery the cat has been doing pretty good on his thyroid medication. I mix it in his food and sprinkle some fortiflora on it and he eats it up. I don't know if he accidently sniffed it, or if just acquired a URI at the vet. Anyway at his last check up, the vet prescribed doxycycline, 1/4 tab the size of my head (kidding) once a day. Well, the only way to get that to him is to mix it in his food (no go). He did accept it in a pill pocket twice but then rejected it.

So today I got him a humidifier. He didn't have a temp and so the doxycycline was one of those "just in case it's bacterial" things.

He's such a skittish cat that there is no chance of pilling him with a pill gun. Because of his congestion he doesn't really want to eat and so he's not getting his thyroid medication either. I've heated his food up to make it more appetizing and he eats a bit, but not much.

The humidifier seems to offer some relief as long as he's sitting near it. Other suggestions?
 

epona

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If he's refusing food, that's serious enough to consider a return to the vet - cats can only go without food 1-2 days before developing liver problems, so if he's not eating that is an emergency.
 
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laura mae

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He's eating the kibble, just not the food that I mix his medication in. The wet food seems to exacerbate the mucous thing going on. And...any food that doesn't have medication in it.
 

epona

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He's eating the kibble, just not the food that I mix his medication in. The wet food seems to exacerbate the mucous thing going on. And...any food that doesn't have medication in it.
That's good, keep an eye on it though as if their sense of smell goes (due to nasal congestion) they can lose their appetite.

I also have to say, I'm not a vet but I don't think prescribing doxycycline "just in case" is a good idea - it can cause oesophagitis (irritation in the oesophagus) and nausea - and that's besides any concerns about antibiotics being overprescribed and leading to bacterial resistances.
 
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laura mae

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That's what I was concerned about as well. I figure the only way to know for sure if it is bacterial is to test his snot. She didn't do that. And I worried about the caustic nature of the antibiotic as well. I've been heating up the wet food to make the smell stronger. He just ate some of his kibble. I normally don't provide much of that, but since he'll eat that, then I'll offer it to him. Naturally the cat who gets constipated wants to eat it, so I'm up and down a lot moving the dish around to make sure the wrong cat doesn't get it.

Could be my imagination but his breathing is quieter since I started the humidifier.
 

epona

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That's what I was concerned about as well. I figure the only way to know for sure if it is bacterial is to test his snot. She didn't do that. And I worried about the caustic nature of the antibiotic as well. I've been heating up the wet food to make the smell stronger. He just ate some of his kibble. I normally don't provide much of that, but since he'll eat that, then I'll offer it to him. Naturally the cat who gets constipated wants to eat it, so I'm up and down a lot moving the dish around to make sure the wrong cat doesn't get it.

Could be my imagination but his breathing is quieter since I started the humidifier.
I do think the humidifier is a great idea :)
 
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