Urgent! Advice Needed For Severe URI and Fluid In Lungs

[catsknowme]

Hello All! My cat Lance is having severe congestion and has fluid in the lungs. My regular vet is on medical leave. The other vet did Xrays and nebulizer treatments yesterday, today and plans to do so tomorrow. She sent Lance home with Cipro tablets and Clindamycin drops. Lance is semi-feral but inside only. He has chronic stomatitis so pilling him would be excruciating; I asked the vet to administer antibiotics via injection but she said she considered that but the one that is injected isnt good enough for this case. I tried a dissolved half tab with tuna juice but it made Lance scream & cry to have it syringed. Also, Lance takes the Clindamycin drops in his food at 1 ml every few months; this vet wants me to give him 2.5 ml twice a day.
Any suggestions? I have 12 hours before he goes back to the vet for another day of 3 sessions of nebulizer. Lance also seems dehydrated but that was not treated.
Do you know of any decongestants for cats? Lance's nasal discharge is clear but that could be a benefit from the nebulizer.
Furballsmom , Jcatbird , @DiandBob, Sarthur2 ...and anyone else...please share thoughts, advice, links ...Thank you in advance!!

 

[Jcatbird]

Lance? Oh poor baby! I just went through a round of kitties needing meds. The allergy prescription given was very effective and I have taken it myself. It made me sleepy but didn’t seem to effect the kitties that way. It is Hydroxyzine 10 mg.
My vet refused to let me put thesekitties on nebulizer. The reason given was that she felt this allergy medicine and Clindamycin was appropriate. The treatment she gave was effective. All the affected kitties recovered. We did have a second bout of the same issue though. I inquired about a possible virus but she still felt it was allergens.She also had me use a vaporizer. The vaporizers I bought allow for salt to be added to the water. The vet okayed that. It’s a very small amount of salt but that may have had some healing properties. Not sure. On my own I bought two air purifiers that are supposed to handle both allergens and viruses. This was in Feb. Bj is still having sneezing fits and nasal discharge at times but the pills are working. I actually found that if I put a single treat in front of BJ and let him eat a couple that way, by the third treat I could sit the pill ( they are tiny) on top of the treat and he eats both on his own.

I have had to work to keep pollen down in the house. It’s particularly bad this year and everything is blooming early. We have been dealing with an especially wet enviroment too. I am cleaning and mopping with dish liquid rather than any of the usual cleaning supplies. I was using Lysol first and then the soap but can no longer get that here. I always keep the cats shut away from any cleaning products until the area is dry and free of any scents. Even dish liquid carries a scent.

I know from personal experience that a nebulizer with a human does break up chest congestion and can lead to nasal discharge. If the discharge is getting a bit clogged in his nose, a bulb, like the type used to clear an infants nose is helpful. It’s gentle and will pull the discharge out. It has a slight suction ability. What meds is the vet using in the nebulizer? I have used one on my Precious doggie when he had lung cancer and it did keep him breathing more easily. Albuterol can accelerate the heart and make you feel a bit jittery but it certainly makes breathing easier. When I had pneumonia I was put on that and it helped. Sarah was on that for a great many years. I don’t have experience with it on cats though.

I have digestive issue myself and Cipro is something I can’t take. Maybe if you can give a probiotic?

 

[Chansera]

Hello All! My cat Lance is having severe congestion and has fluid in the lungs. My regular vet is on medical leave. The other vet did Xrays and nebulizer treatments yesterday, today and plans to do so tomorrow. She sent Lance home with Cipro tablets and Clindamycin drops. Lance is semi-feral but inside only. He has chronic stomatitis so pilling him would be excruciating; I asked the vet to administer antibiotics via injection but she said she considered that but the one that is injected isnt good enough for this case. I tried a dissolved half tab with tuna juice but it made Lance scream & cry to have it syringed. Also, Lance takes the Clindamycin drops in his food at 1 ml every few months; this vet wants me to give him 2.5 ml twice a day.
Any suggestions? I have 12 hours before he goes back to the vet for another day of 3 sessions of nebulizer. Lance also seems dehydrated but that was not treated.
Do you know of any decongestants for cats? Lance's nasal discharge is clear but that could be a benefit from the nebulizer.
Furballsmom , Jcatbird , @DiandBob, Sarthur2 ...and anyone else...please share thoughts, advice, links ...Thank you in advance!!

You can boil water on the stove, pick him up and walk him over to it. Stand close to it as the steam is rising. He will appreciate the warmth. Dont stand any closer than if you were cooking. I did this for my baby boy whenever he had congestion and rocked him. He always appreciated it. It helped tremendously to clear him up. If you can hold him like a baby on your hip that helps because he will face the steam if it's helping. I also would dab baby Vicks on my fingertip and hold it under his nose which would help. I hope your baby is OK. I created an account just to answer your question. Bactril and tons of rest was what it took to get my boy better when he had his worst upper respiratory infection. (I miss him so much.)

 

[Chansera]

You can boil water on the stove, pick him up and walk him over to it. Stand close to it as the steam is rising. He will appreciate the warmth. Dont stand any closer than if you were cooking. I did this for my baby boy whenever he had congestion and rocked him. He always appreciated it. It helped tremendously to clear him up. If you can hold him like a baby on your hip that helps because he will face the steam if it's helping. I also would dab baby Vicks on my fingertip and hold it under his nose which would help. I hope your baby is OK. I created an account just to answer your question. Bactril and tons of rest was what it took to get my boy better when he had his worst upper respiratory infection. (I miss him so much.)

Sorry... *Baytril.
As for the antibiotic injection, thank your vet for not giving your cat Convenia. It is meant *only* for skin infections and it is the drug that killed my boy.

 

[catsknowme]

C Chansera .... so sorry for your loss! Thank you for the suggestion about Baytril. I believe my regular vet will be back on Monday. The little Cipro that I got into Lance gave him the heaves which caused labored breathing.

 

[Sarthur2]

Why is the vet not giving him prednisone for fluid in the lungs? Also, ask about sub-q fluids. Sounds like he needs it!

The cipro is important. Let the vet techs give it today and show you how they do it. He may not like it but he needs it.

I sure hope he gets better soon!

 

[catsknowme]

Thankfully, I got a different vet yesterday who is really concerned about the dehydration. He agreed to hospitalize Lance for hydration and antibiotic therapy. This morning, the 3rd vet saw such improvement that she recommended that Lance continue i.v. treatment plus 3 more nebulizer treatments before coming home this evening. Since Thursday morning, I had been stressing that I was concerned about dehydration but when I asked on Thursday evening about some SubQ added to the antibiotics, that vet said that her concern was the fluid in his lungs. I can only move forward, though, and am grateful for the different vets.

 

[Chansera]

Hello All! My cat Lance is having severe congestion and has fluid in the lungs. My regular vet is on medical leave. The other vet did Xrays and nebulizer treatments yesterday, today and plans to do so tomorrow. She sent Lance home with Cipro tablets and Clindamycin drops. Lance is semi-feral but inside only. He has chronic stomatitis so pilling him would be excruciating; I asked the vet to administer antibiotics via injection but she said she considered that but the one that is injected isnt good enough for this case. I tried a dissolved half tab with tuna juice but it made Lance scream & cry to have it syringed. Also, Lance takes the Clindamycin drops in his food at 1 ml every few months; this vet wants me to give him 2.5 ml twice a day.
Any suggestions? I have 12 hours before he goes back to the vet for another day of 3 sessions of nebulizer. Lance also seems dehydrated but that was not treated.
Do you know of any decongestants for cats? Lance's nasal discharge is clear but that could be a benefit from the nebulizer.
Furballsmom , Jcatbird , @DiandBob, Sarthur2 ...and anyone else...please share thoughts, advice, links ...Thank you in advance!!

How is baby Lance doing? I'm so embarrassed that I never saw the replies. I'm sorry. I'm new here. I hope that he is back to health?

 

[catsknowme]

No problem - I have been absent for awhile myself! The cipro was switched to liquid which Lance ate in fish canned cat food. Sarthur2 was spot-on about the prednisone & it was added to Lance's i.v. Lance has recovered well & has been staying healthy. All my cats had either allergies or URI and he started up with congestion but it responded well to marshmallow root decoction altered with Homeopet Feline Nose Relief.

 

[Chansera]

No problem - I have been absent for awhile myself! The cipro was switched to liquid which Lance ate in fish canned cat food. Sarthur2 was spot-on about the prednisone & it was added to Lance's i.v. Lance has recovered well & has been staying healthy. All my cats had either allergies or URI and he started up with congestion but it responded well to marshmallow root decoction altered with Homeopet Feline Nose Relief.

I'm so glad to hear that Lance is doing much better. That's great news. Thanks for the update. All the best for continued good health.