Severe Flare-up Of Upper Respiratory Virus

[cosanegra]

Hello everyone - I am new to the group and look forward to exchanging information here.

First of all I want to say that I took our 10 year old cat to a Pet ER last night and am awaiting a call-back from his regular veterinarian. I am simply worried and wondering if anyone else here has had a similar experience that might help in calming my nerves.

For a couple of days our cat has been behaving oddly, waking me up earlier and more insistently than usual, yet didn't seem to want anything in particular. Yesterday he began to sneeze violently and then began to shiver, and later reject food and water. He has FVR, has had it for many years after exposure to a sick kitten. His fever last night at the ER was 105.9 and they gave him IV liquids, an antibiotic injection, and sent us home with Clavamox.

He has had occasional flare-ups before but usually just involving sneezing with green phlegm. This is the most serious flare-up I have ever seen. He is curled up in a ball in the floor of a closet, where he does not usually go, and is very persistent in remaining there. This morning he took a few sips of water but flatly rejected the canned food with a little extra gravy which normally he loves.

One option the vet offered last night was hospitalization but I rejected it because unfortunately, money is an issue. I hoped for the best with the treatment I could afford but am wondering if I should have done more. I know it can take five to ten days for the flare-up to run its course and I can get a syringe to force down some liquids but am very worried about the food. Can I manage this at home? My son will be devastated if the cat dies, and honestly he is an absolutely amazing cat, totally mellow and incredibly loving. Never any serious health issues besides this one.

I am sure it is stress that brought this on. We just moved back to the US after living abroad for a number of years. He has not been exposed to other cats and is our only one. Anyone with similar experience or thoughts? Thank you!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello? Welcome!!

How is he now?

Can you get a second vet opinion?

Maybe something here will help;

(apologies for any dead links you may encounter);
Financial Assistance – Day By Day Caregiver Support Inc.

Financial Aid for Pets

No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Yes, you can syringe feed him if necessary. Use the pate-style cat food...paste, no chunks or shreds. Mix with water into a loose slurry and draw it into the syringe or medicine dropper. Place the tip between his gum and cheek, and slowly, a bit at a time, inject the food. Allow him to swallow between bites. The side-benefit of this is that he'll get MOST of the water he needs like this, as well.

I hate that you and your baby are going through this, but the sad fact is that as our cats get older, things just hit them harder, and for longer...just as they hit us harder as we age.

Let us know how he is doing, please!

Goodness, where are my manners...although we hate that your boy is sick, we are most happy that you found TCS! What is your cat's name? When you have a moment, feel free to go here New Cats on the Block and introduce yourselves!

 

[Shenaaz clarke]

Hi I have 6 kitties who were all diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, after antibiotic injection and cortisone shot my kittens were back to normal. Few months later my Persian got the upper respiratory infection again and stopped eating for 2 days, my vet gave me zithromax and antibiotic and teracortil an antibiotic ointment that I use if they have infected eyes or start sneezing randomly cause I'm super paranoid. I bought glucose in the time she wasn't eating, mixed the powder with water and gave it to her in the syringe. After two days I bought her some KFC and she ate . Then she started eating her kibble and wetfood. And now my little girl is healthy. Hope this helps as I look to these groups for advice constantly.

 

[neely]

First, welcome to TCS! I'm glad you joined the site and came here for support. However, I'm worried that your cat is rejecting food. Here is an Article that may be helpful for getting him to eat again:
How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again

Also an Article about how to reduce stress in cats since you mentioned recently moving and stress being the antecedent:
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats

 

[cosanegra]

Hi everybody and thanks for your concern. Cat's name is Java and as soon as I get a moment I will go to the new cats on the block page and introduce ourselves properly.

I am really happy to say that his regular vet got the report from the ER visit last night and asked him to come in this morning for a visit. She showed us how to mix the canned pate with water and feed him with a syringe. She had the Hills Prescription Urgent Care catfood and we bought a few cans for the days to come. I am happy to say that he is already showing improvement. After last night's antibiotic injection and his first dose of Clavamox, when we arrived at the vet today, his temperature was normal.

After we force fed him with the syringe he gulped down water, and later showed a little bit of interest in a feather teaser. It is interesting. His reflexes are very slow, but evidently returning. I am hopeful.

And again, thank you everyone. I look forward to participating more here and sharing thoughts and information on other cat topics.

 

[Furballsmom]

. .

 

[stephanietx]

Hooray for improvement!

 

[She's a witch]

Great he’s feeling better. Do you give him anything to improve his immunity long term to prevent the flare ups? I have FHV and FCV cats and I manage their symptoms successfully with the probiotics (l acidophilus is allegedly helping cats with URI). Some people have good results with lysine. Good luck!

 

[cosanegra]

Hi again. Java continues to improve. He liked the taste of the food in the syringe from the moment the vet gave it to him. Just didn't care for the syringe and that was a bit of a battle, but that is improving too. Fighting less, lapping it up more willingly, though he still won't eat voluntarily.

Giving him the twice daily antibiotic pill is very hard though. If he won't eat, pill pockets won't work, and I think he's gotten wise to pill pockets anyway. So there's no choice but to try to toss it down his gullet, and no matter hard we try to restrain him, we end up getting scratched. Maybe I should crush it and mix it with water and do the syringe instead? It's a tiny pill but he really fights it.

I haven't tried lysine or probiotics, but why not? I don't want to stray into territory that is better covered by a vet, but may I ask about the dosage others have used?

Thanks also for the link to de-stressing techniques. We love to play with Java and now that he's starting to feel better, we'll do lots of that. And of course being older, the illness and stress hit him harder. I should have considered that.

As you can see I got his avatar photo up - promise to write something for new cats on the block but I'm exhausted after only a couple of hours of sleep last night and an incredibly busy day, running a million errands in between force feedings, or maybe force feedings with errands in between. Anyway...back later and thank you all for your concern and kindness.

 

[Libby.]

Yeah you can crush the pill and mix it with a bit of water and dose him that way. Just make sure you get all of the powder in the syringe.

 

[Shenaaz clarke]

I'm so happy java is improving my vet taught me to crush the pill put all the powder in the syringe and then draw water and shake in the syringe. Another thing he advised to improve there breathing is to use illiadin paediatric nose drops. It helped quite a bit but the glucose water keeps them hydrated while they not eating. My thoughts are with you.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I like to use a pill shooter. It is really easy to use. Some vets sell them at their office as well as some pet stores. I have this one, but there are many that are similar.

 

[cosanegra]

Java eating voluntarily this morning. Joy!

Not eating much but at least the syringe feeding seems to be over. I did use the syringe to feed him the pill after crushing it with a pestle (or is it the mortar?) in a piece of tinfoil to which I then added water, crushing it some more with the pestle to dissolve every last speck. Worked very well. Genius!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Yep, it's the pestle. WOW...I had to be offline for a couple of days, so I was so happy and relieved to come back and see that he's doing so much better!