Someone Tell Me Im Paranoid

[himawari]

I apologize for the long post but I feel like details are necessary.

I adopted a 7year old cat last year with history unknown, of course. I went on a trip a month ago and for that I boarded my cat into a reputable cat facility (not locked up in cages, plenty of room to roam, lots of other cats). After I got back (about a week or so), he started drooling, sneezing, and being eerily quiet. I took him to the vet and she prescribed Clavamox (1ml) & L-Lysine (500mg). The sneezing stopped after three days of L-Lysine and the vet told me to stop using it but continue Clavamox until it was gone. But he got really stressed out with the Clavamox since it's oral so I stopped it a bit after his drooling stop. Currently no drool but his sneezing resurfaced. And I noticed (this morning) that sometimes he would sound like he is purring but I don't feel any vibration from his chest which leads me to think that it's a congested nose...? Other than that he is normal, talkative cat who eats 80/90% raw food, poops every other day, cuddles with me, and etc. I don't think he's lethargic but he wasn't one to play with toys for very long. When I went to the vet, she told me that it could be URI or just inflammation of his teeth (he's always had dental issues) so I thought it was just that. But now maybe not...?

I put him back on L-Lysine (around 250mg I only put half of the scoop) as of today and no sneezing so far (tho I did just come home from work). Do any of you think it warrants another trip to the vet? Or am I just being paranoid?

I live in the west coast so it's fall so no really allergy season. He recently got used to using his hooded litter box (catit jumbo) and I use SoPhresh litter...could that be it?

And can someone tell me if he's got a runny nose. He has times when his nose is just wet (even back then) so idk how to tell.

 

[Antonio65]

Hi H himawari ,
the first wrong thing I noticed in your story is the boarding facility where all the cats were free to meet and play with each other. I wouldn't trust a cattery where cats do not stay in their own cages or rooms.
The risk is that an unhealthy cat poses a danger for all the others.

The second wrong thing is stopping the L-Lysine after such a short period. The bottle of L-Lysine powder I have at home says that it has to be used for a period not shorter than 30 days.
Even the antibiotics should be given for the whole course. Stopping them earlier could make the course vain.

Your cat has probably got a rhinitis from the contact with other cats at the facility.
If you cat has a runny nose you should be able to see something around his nostrils. A rhinitis usually involves the eyes to with wet eyas.

 

[neely]

I completely agree with everything Antonio65 stated above. Since cats are territorial whenever they are out of their normal environment, i.e. boarding facility, they can be stressed out. Stress can contribute to a URI or other health problems. I don't think you're being paranoid but I feel it is safer to follow the vet's instructions administering the proper dose and duration of the prescribed medicine. If you have any concerns regarding sneezing, lethargy or drooling it would be best to call and check with your vet. Good luck, hope he feels better soon.

 

[arouetta]

Stranger cats shouldn't be forced together because of the risk of fights and because there's no physical barrier to a disease being passed around.

Clavamox is an antibiotic and just like in humans stopping a course of antibiotics early can create antibiotic resistance, especially for the bacteria circulating in the cat's body already. Next time you or your cat or anyone else you provide health care for gets an antibiotic, definitely finish the whole course.

The lysine probably should have continued longer, but that's on your vet not you.

It probably is an upper respiratory infection. The boarding facility is brain dead in their housing arrangement but I doubt they knowingly took in a sick cat. The viral version of URIs can be in the cat's body for life and stress can lower the immune system enough for it to become active. That means the facility could have taken in a healthy cat and when the entire population got stressed it was passed around. Or it could mean that your cat had previously had an URI and had the virus lying dormant and the stress of boarding made it go active again.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

I would take the cat for a recheck at the vet's office and then follow his recommendations how to care for him.

 

[himawari]

Antonio65 I guess I should clarify: they got their own cage-room too, and the caretaker updated me everyday. He said my cat was mostly inside his "room" unless he was napping by the window. And he said that they check for a clean bill of health and FIV status... but you're right. It wasn't really the vet I spoke it, but the vet tech/receptionist? IDK And what should I see around his nostrils?

 

[Antonio65]

Antonio65 I guess I should clarify: they got their own cage-room too, and the caretaker updated me everyday. He said my cat was mostly inside his "room" unless he was napping by the window. And he said that they check for a clean bill of health and FIV status... but you're right. It wasn't really the vet I spoke it, but the vet tech/receptionist? IDK And what should I see around his nostrils?

That every cat had their own room is good to read, but there shouldn't be an area where they can all meet. As neely and arouetta said, cats are in an unknown, thus stressful, environment. They could fight for nothing and get scratched or bitten.
FIV, FeLV and other disease could be easily passed on each other. A check of the health of a cat isn't a guarantee that the cat is really healthy. They could have hidden disease.
It's never a good idea to mix cats from different situations.

Around his nostrils you could see something like this

Forgive me, but I'm not mother tongue and I don't know how you call that brown thing around this cat's nose

Of course I'm not meaning that your cat should have something to this extent, but something similar, even in a lesser scale. It usually happens when a cat has got a cold or a rhinitis.

 

[himawari]

Just thought I'd update this thread, in case someone who has a similar case finds it at a later date.

My cat is much better. Like I said previously, I started him on 250mg twice a day with only slight improvement. So then I upped than to 500mg once a day. He stopped sneezing but his nose did continue to seem wetter than normal -- no mucus though but I suspect he had a slight congestion. Then he started to meow less and if he did, it was low & quiet as if he has a sore throat though there were moments when he did "speak" normally. Otherwise he acted normal. But then he started retching as if to vomit/throw up a hairball but no actual vomit/hairball. He started to do that like once every three days... sometimes twice a day (that I could see anyway since I work & go to school). But he acted normal otherwise & the new vet I was eyeing was only available on the 2nd. The new vet prescribed him clindomycin (1ml twice a day) and continue the lysine (500mg twice a day, every 12hrs). He did get a senior blood panel since that was recommended & I've been wanting him to get one. No results yet, probably will get it Monday. As for my dear cat, he's more or less the same. No sneezing, eye discharge, congestion (he started chirping while purring). He's only retched once & that lasted less than the previous times. Although I did see a small dot that looked to be either a pimple or a sore near his lower lip on Saturday that isn't painful (still there today!) which I don't know if it's because he might have herpes that causes the URI or just feline acne (all his dishware is either stainless steel or ceramic). So I'll have to call the vet about that.

Whew that was longer than I thought. Oops.

TLDR: don't board your cat in a facility & lysine is great! (i wish i can tell that to my naive self)