Persistent URI

[Susanna72]

Well, your Vet said it's viral and that it would probably be contagious, but is it feasible that you would keep your cats separate for their entire lives? You did say you thought Oliver might have Herpes too since he sneezes a lot already. All I can say for certain is that many people here on TCS have cats with Feline Herpes, and as far as I know, they are not kept separated from their feline siblings.

Have you mentioned to your Vet that as soon as you stopped the magic mouthwash and nosedrops the congestion started up again? If not, I would do so, and if so, what did she say?

I took him this morning and she wants me to start up the mouth wash again. His extraction site is red and inflamed. She took out some sutures that were hanging out. He also had a little tooth by his canine that was extremely loose. She said it was fine when she did the surgery. She pulled it out. That's how loose it was. I thought his canines looked a little yellow, but she said they don't need to be pulled yet. Eventually, they will be, though.

I just let him out for a while and the boys are very distressed. He sneezed some reddish snot (ugh) so I gave him some nose drops and put him back in the bathroom for a while. She said the nose drops are going to be for life whenever he has flare ups.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Did she say it's ok for him to join the gang?

 

[Susanna72]

Did she say it's ok for him to join the gang?

Yes, she did. He's out and sitting on my lap right now. The boys are wary, but no fighting.

He got a little better today, but still sneezing. It's like when I started the nose drops and mouthwash back up on Monday, the snot got hard and yellow and had fresh blood in it. WEIRD. So the vet called in a script for doxycycline. They don't seem to have any answers. That said, I made an appointment for the day after Thanksgiving (earliest I could get) for a second opinion. I don't want to insult the vet, but it's been nine weeks and nothing seems to be better. I went to this vet initially for a free wellness exam that I got from the shelter. It's a VCA practice. Normally, I go to ANOTHER VCA practice 15 minutes away. I figured wellness exam was worth it, though. Then it just spiraled into surgery and many antibiotics and steroids and all kinds of stuff. So I'm just going to check in with my regular practice to see what they say. I should have gone there to begin with. I just didn't have any idea he had all these issues. I thought it was just a URI.

 

[fionasmom]

Don't worry about a second opinion being seen as an insult to the vet. Unless the vet is very unprofessional in his/her outlook, second opinions are not taken personally. I have taken both my dog and cats to specialists, a couple of those requiring a referral from the vet, so it was entirely out in the open that I was doing so. Going for the free wellness exam was not the wrong thing to do as you did not know that this was going to get complicated and you are being proactive now. Actually, the day after Thanksgiving is not that long a wait in the scheme of things.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

With doxy, if it's in pill form, just be sure you follow that pill with water or broth because it can cause damage to the esophagus if it gets stuck there. Our Vet doesn't like to prescribe it, but sometimes it's the only thing that works. I don't think you'll have an issue since it sounds like you're a pro at giving medication, but wanted to give you a heads up about following it with liquid.

 

[Susanna72]

With doxy, if it's in pill form, just be sure you follow that pill with water or broth because it can cause damage to the esophagus if it gets stuck there. Our Vet doesn't like to prescribe it, but sometimes it's the only thing that works. I don't think you'll have an issue since it sounds like you're a pro at giving medication, but wanted to give you a heads up about following it with liquid.

Good to know! Luckily they sent me to a compounding pharmacy and it’s a tuna-flavored liquid. It was so funny because I think he was expecting something yucky like the magic mouthwash and then he started licking his chops like “hey this tastes good..”

I can’t wait until next Friday to hear what the vet has to say.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all of your advice. This site is awesome.

 

[Susanna72]

Hi all! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I wanted to give an update on Benjamin. He is still sneezy sometimes, but the vet said some cats just have that chronic feline rhinitis. I'm giving him lysine morning and night. What I wanted to share is my sister and I had joked "what if this laid-back cat who is so quiet, calm and chill starts to feel better and turns into a maniac? haha."

Well....Benjamin is a plays-all-the-time maniac!!! lol. He just goes and goes. He always wants to play and runs up and down the stairs. He's three years old, so that might be normal. He's very kittenish. Who knows how long he was in pain, so maybe he's gone back to his kitten days and is making up for lost time. He definitely feels a LOT better. He cleans himself all the time, so his fur is all fluffy and soft now. Before his teeth were pulled, his fur was gunky and coarse. It obviously hurt him to groom.

Anyway. That's the update. Happy New Year, all!!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

What a wonderful update! So glad he's now a healthy, VERY happy boy .