Two Young Fosters With Gurgly Breathing

catman925

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howdy y'all, I've unfortunately found myself in yet another situation where what my vet is telling me does not match any research I can find.

I currently have 2 young fosters (unneutured males-they will be fixed soon don't worry) that along with other normal uri symptoms (sneezing, nasal and eye discharge) have a constant gurgling sound when they breathe. their breathing is also very labored. They are both sneezing so much that they are getting bloody noses from it and the size and density of their "snot-rockets" are immense (many bigger than anything I've ever produced and I'm a smoker of 25+ years). We've had them on clavamox multiple times and they just finished a round of azithromycin which we are going to do another round with starting tomorrow. The vet we work with says they tested positive for coronavirus, and she thinks they may have herpesvirus as well. problem is, all research I've done on coronavirus says that it is typically asymptomatic or has mild symptoms and nowhere have I seen the gurgling breathing listed as a symptom of coronavirus. that, and it appears that in high concentrated cat populations such as I deal with, testing positive for coronavirus is almost a given (up to 90% of cats in this population density will test positive).
the herpesvirus comes closer to being a possible cause for the gurgly breathing but they weren't tested for that. I've also seen calicivirus and even asthma as possible culprits. They've had this condition for over 3 weeks (at least as long as I've had them). the vet did say that their throats were swollen.

none of the rounds of the antibiotics did much. They seem to start to respond fairly well in the first couple days, but then for the remainder of the treatment, they stop improving and then they do a complete full rebound the minute treatment stops.

they are completely normal otherwise. normal appetites, normal activity levels, no lethargy, normal body structure and weight, no abdominal swelling.

their only symptoms are the eye discharge (darker color, "weepy-eyes"; sometimes thick lime greenish or whitish); sneeze attacks and bloody noses with thick, solid sometimes bloody, sometimes custard colored very large "snot-rockets"; open-mouth labored breathing with constant gurgling sounds. ...and swollen throats

my main concern right now is are we completely treating the wrong disease? I feel like we're simply throwing different antibiotics at the problem to see which one sticks when we should be testing and treating something else instead.

any suggestions, experience etc?

tia
-Art
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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I see you're getting some responses from the other thread you are posting in, but has your Vet checked for pseudomonas? It's possible that's what the issue is, and that takes several rounds of a very specific antibiotic - Zenaquin. Did they did a nasal swab on these two babies to try to see exactly what they are dealing with? Yes, they may have Herpes AND Coronavirus, but they could also have something additional. Poor babies.

Have you tried changing their litter, as someone suggested on the other thread. Also, you noted you are a smoker. Do you smoke in the house? That could contribute to their issues possibly :dunno:
 

duckpond

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I would want a culture done, its quite possible that they are not being given the correct antibiotics. This would be my first guess.

smoking, first, 2nd and 3rd hand can be bad for cats, but i dont think it would cause what you are describing. i wouldnt smoke around them though :) i would change the litter if you are using clay, maybe try a dust free non clay litter. Grass litter is popular right now. i use one, it is dust free, fragrance free and nice to use :)

I have a cat with Asthma, and a husband :( the cat does not have those symptoms, ever. He hacks if i use a dusty or fragranced litter, but otherwise you wouldn't know if the vet didn't tell me.

Best wishes to you guys, let us know how it goes.
 
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catman925

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I would want a culture done, its quite possible that they are not being given the correct antibiotics. This would be my first guess.

smoking, first, 2nd and 3rd hand can be bad for cats, but i dont think it would cause what you are describing. i wouldnt smoke around them though :) i would change the litter if you are using clay, maybe try a dust free non clay litter. Grass litter is popular right now. i use one, it is dust free, fragrance free and nice to use :)

I have a cat with Asthma, and a husband :( the cat does not have those symptoms, ever. He hacks if i use a dusty or fragranced litter, but otherwise you wouldn't know if the vet didn't tell me.

Best wishes to you guys, let us know how it goes.
I only smoke outside (they are always indoor). thank you for the info about your cat's asthma. when I was researching asthma, it didn't seem to match symptom-wise and it's good to know yoir cat hasn't shown any of these symptoms. I can at least rule that one out.

these guys pretty much had this when I got them, so I'm pretty sure this isnti environmental. I have 5 other fosters and actually a sibling of the sick 2 that do not have the same problems.

I agree with you that I think we're not using the right antibiotics. I'm going to try to contact the vet with your culture suggestion along with others who have responded.

thanks :winkcat:
 
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