Zena now possibly toxo pneumonia again!

[Kwik]

Update: Quinn continues to take the C in fish treats easily, fingers crossed. Zofran is still hard. I have to sneak up on him and wipe it on his mouth in the lick treat.

Xena is now a piece of cake for everything but he continues to try to eat Cinn’s medication and food and so does Quinn.

Cinnamon has become difficult and would not eat his medication this morning. I had to lock him in the bedroom with it all day while I slept. He also was giving me a hard time this evening, he only ate a little and I shut him in the bedroom again, but when I went there just now he had eaten it fortunately.

I think cinn only has two days left. I have to double check. I decided to medicate Zena and Quinn for the full four weeks since Zena has confirmed pneumonia and Quinn was coughing too. I am afraid to say anything else about it lest I jinx everything. Just hope my boys will be OK after all of this and we don’t have to continually worry about them dying from toxo pneumonia etc.

I continue to mourn Merlin very deeply, I am thinking about him all the time and missing him so much. I think now that he could’ve survived this had he been properly diagnosed, had not been sedated and had he been given the proper medication in time etc. or medication’s. Also if dvm had not ignored me telling them about what I thought was his sneezing early on, I even recall showing them a video long before he had pneumonia and they blew me off.
Ultimately I blame myself also because I didn’t switch to a better doctor a long time ago. After the only really good doctor I had retired. And did not get him right away to a better hospital if there even is one near me.

After I get them all through this, I’m going to revisit making complaints and even a small claims case against some of the Dvm involved in what happened to Merlin. And possibly for Zena too regarding what happened at f troop.

Here is a link for the Reveal treats…I found them at Walmart for $2.49

Reveal Pet Food | Cat Treats | Whole Salmon Loin

Reveal Whole Salmon Loin | A high quality treat - serve whole as a special snack or shred and sprinkle over food. Your cat won't enough of them.

revealpetfood.com

Another thing I forgot to mention was I think all three cats now have soft stool. Xena always has that, although he was briefly cured on the home cooked food for a few months, and Cinn has it once in a while, but Quinn usually has regular poops which are on the dry side. I assume this is from the antibiotic, and I’m just wondering if I should risk giving them a probiotic because I’ve had very bad results with that in the past. Or if I should just wait and let them recover naturally when the meds are done.

If they did not tolerate probiotics in the past it would be best not to start them on it now - even though probiotics can be very helpful to replace the good bacteria and can be beneficial when treated with antibiotics given their history Id nix that idea for the time being as that can possibly add to the issues of nausea and diarreah when not well tolerated

 

[Meowmee]

If they did not tolerate probiotics in the past it would be best not to start them on it now - even though probiotics can be very helpful to replace the good bacteria and can be beneficial when treated with antibiotics given their history Id nix that idea for the time being as that can possibly add to the issues of nausea and diarreah when not well tolerated

yep I agree, thanks Merlin ended up at the er a few years back after taking sb... also I read you are not supposed to use while using the antibiotic because it will kill the probiotic. I am not sure if that is true or not, for people I think, but I always take yogurt when I am on one. I think it depends on the timing too.

 

[Kwik]

yep I agree, thanks Merlin ended up at the er a few years back after taking sb... also I read you are not supposed to use while using the antibiotic because it will kill the probiotic. I am not sure if that is true or not, for people I think, but I always take yogurt when I am on one. I think it depends on the timing too.

Not true exactly- it is important to administer the anti biotic and the probiotics a couple of hours apart- the idea is to put back the good bacteria that the anti biotic kills along with the bad bacteria ( in simplest language)

I don't think it's worth considering as we've both agreed because of past issues for your babies though for some it's highly beneficial

 

[Meowmee]

Not true exactly- it is important to administer the anti biotic and the probiotics a couple of hours apart- the idea is to put back the good bacteria that the anti biotic kills along with the bad bacteria ( in simplest language)

I don't think it's worth considering as we've both agreed because of past issues for your babies though for some it's highly beneficial

Yes it’s timing. Merlin was the one that had trouble with it so I’m just wondering if I should try it for these guys? I don’t remember ever giving it to Quinn and I haven’t to Xena as far as I recall or cinnamon. I think after that happened with Merlin, I stopped using all of them.

forgot to add that I have switched them all to a better time slowly and we are now going to be medicating at eight to nine p.m. and eight to nine a.m. so hopefully I can sleep more close to my usual schedule. It was exhausting getting there today because I had to go out and do something and only slept like four hours.

But anyway, cinnamon only has three more days!
I thought it was gonna be done today, but I checked and I was very upset when it was still four more yesterday. It seems like never-ending exhaustion.

Zena & Quinn will be longer because I’m doing the full four weeks for them so I think Quinn is going to be done on the 26th and Zena on the 22nd. Xena is so easy now anyway.

Quinn did have a furball vomit yesterday and I was worried. But I managed to get him to eat some of the catlax in some canned food, which is a miracle because he hates me rubbing that on his mouth.

Tonight was amazing- because everybody ate their meds and food right away, even cinnamon. I think part of the problem with cinnamon is when Quinn and Xena tried to eat his food. He gets all worried and then eventually I have to shut him in the bedroom but tonight he just ate it all, and they didn’t bother him.

I think when cinnamon finishes, it’s going to be a lot easier because I don’t have to worry about them eating his medication and him getting put off by that. Assuming that Quinn keeps eating his in food. Giving him the Zofran is still extremely difficult. I give that to him after the clindamycin because if I do it before he’s going to be very upset and he may not eat the clindamycin. Then I have to chase him around till I can wipe it on his front of his mouth because he won’t eat it in food at all.

I have to think about making an appointment for all of them because this place takes a long time to get an appointment and I wanted to do the x-ray as soon as possible after they finish the medication to make sure they are clear and don’t need more medication.

I remembered that Quinn did have an x-ray a few years ago when he was still a kitten I think when he ate some desiccant. And he was fine for that. I hope Zena maybe we can do it without sedation too.

Cross fingers, etc. knock on wood etc. Xena is not coughing and neither is Quinn… Quinn occasionally sneezes every few days usually but that’s it. So I hope that means the clindamycin is working.

 

[Meowmee]

Not true exactly- it is important to administer the anti biotic and the probiotics a couple of hours apart- the idea is to put back the good bacteria that the anti biotic kills along with the bad bacteria ( in simplest language)

I don't think it's worth considering as we've both agreed because of past issues for your babies though for some it's highly beneficial

Lol, problem is it does not work for me- as a long time ibs, probiotics actually give me runs! Which is one reason why I eat yogurt when I am on an antibiotic, but it really doesn’t help me very much. Maybe it helps minimally.

I have read a report also and have been told by md that many people probiotics do not have any active probiotics in them. Yogurt will though.

Xena likes yogurt. I make my own, although I haven’t done that for a while because I’m trying to cut back on dairy, and he will often ask for a little bit which I only give him a taste of because I know a lot of cats have trouble with milk and he already has soft stool.

Sybil though loved to eat ice cream & cream, and she never had any problem with it. Luckily, she was not lactose intolerant. I wonder if it’s a coincidence that they are both long hair forest cats, Sybil was part NFC whereas Zena is dlh, but he is forest cat ish.

 

[Kwik]

Yes it’s timing. Merlin was the one that had trouble with it so I’m just wondering if I should try it for these guys? I don’t remember ever giving it to Quinn and I haven’t to Xena as far as I recall or cinnamon. I think after that happened with Merlin, I stopped using all of them.

forgot to add that I have switched them all to a better time slowly and we are now going to be medicating at eight to nine p.m. and eight to nine a.m. so hopefully I can sleep more close to my usual schedule. It was exhausting getting there today because I had to go out and do something and only slept like four hours.

But anyway, cinnamon only has three more days!
I thought it was gonna be done today, but I checked and I was very upset when it was still four more yesterday. It seems like never-ending exhaustion.

Zena & Quinn will be longer because I’m doing the full four weeks for them so I think Quinn is going to be done on the 26th and Zena on the 22nd. Xena is so easy now anyway.

Quinn did have a furball vomit yesterday and I was worried. But I managed to get him to eat some of the catlax in some canned food, which is a miracle because he hates me rubbing that on his mouth.

Tonight was amazing- because everybody ate their meds and food right away, even cinnamon. I think part of the problem with cinnamon is when Quinn and Xena tried to eat his food. He gets all worried and then eventually I have to shut him in the bedroom but tonight he just ate it all, and they didn’t bother him.

I think when cinnamon finishes, it’s going to be a lot easier because I don’t have to worry about them eating his medication and him getting put off by that. Assuming that Quinn keeps eating his in food. Giving him the Zofran is still extremely difficult. I give that to him after the clindamycin because if I do it before he’s going to be very upset and he may not eat the clindamycin. Then I have to chase him around till I can wipe it on his front of his mouth because he won’t eat it in food at all.

I have to think about making an appointment for all of them because this place takes a long time to get an appointment and I wanted to do the x-ray as soon as possible after they finish the medication to make sure they are clear and don’t need more medication.

I remembered that Quinn did have an x-ray a few years ago when he was still a kitten I think when he ate some desiccant. And he was fine for that. I hope Zena maybe we can do it without sedation too.

Cross fingers, etc. knock on wood etc. Xena is not coughing and neither is Quinn… Quinn occasionally sneezes every few days usually but that’s it. So I hope that means the clindamycin is working.

My Bella is a darling little Mama's baby ,she's a completely different entity at the Vets office,will scream ,hiss,struggle and resist anyone but me because shes so terrified in unfamiliar surroundings so I hold her the entire time for everything and she's just fine.She once needed xrays and I held her in place with no one in the room,she was calm & relaxed in any position even though she's frightened

Bella is well socialized,sweet friendly little thing in her own territory-she behaves as an unsocialized cat at the Vets office .... of course staff is worried about their own safety so they have to trust you have control- anyway,if you do then show them so they can see for themselves

Is that an option for you and Zena?

 

[Meowmee]

My Bella is a darling little Mama's baby ,she's a completely different entity at the Vets office,will scream ,hiss,struggle and resist anyone but me because shes so terrified in unfamiliar surroundings so I hold her the entire time for everything and she's just fine.She once needed xrays and I held her in place with no one in the room,she was calm & relaxed in any position even though she's frightened

Bella is well socialized,sweet friendly little thing in her own territory-she behaves as an unsocialized cat at the Vets office .... of course staff is worried about their own safety so they have to trust you have control- anyway,if you do then show them so they can see for themselves

Is that an option for you and Zena?

I think Zena has only been to the dvm once before F Troop, and that was for his neuter surgery, so he was sedated for that. I already knew that he needed to be sedated for that obviously, but he was very scared and was mildly fear aggressive/ hissing, spitting etc. when I first took him in. He was in a drop trap for a couple of days before he got neutered, but he never tried to bite anyone. He escaped from the drop trap before I got him to dvm for neuter.

He was so scared he was hiding under a rolling cabinet in my studio, and we had some boards and had sort of corner him back into the carrier as I recall. He never tried to bite anybody. I didn’t try to touch him at that point, he didnt even hiss then etc.

I thought I had brought him back to dvm before he went to F Troop, but that was not in the records if I did. But I remember the receptionist they gave me a hard time there saying that he had been there within a year so maybe I brought him back for vaccinations. they obviously have terrible records at that place.

It has been a very traumatic few years with many events going on and I don’t remember everything now, but I really thought I had brought him back once after his neuter, etc., and it went OK. But maybe not.

They never said anything about him being fearful or aggressive when he was neutered, he quickly turned into a big mush after recovering. he’s a love bug, which is why I was kind of shocked that he freaked out at F Troop etc.


So, I’m not sure if I could hold him… I mean, I’ve trained him to let me pick him up and stuff but he’s not a cat that really likes to be held a lot, or for long.

I don’t know how he will react in a normal dvm room, which is why I want to find out but then of course, I would have to bring him back to get sedated, if it doesn’t go well, which be a pain, and stressful for everybody. This dvm only does separate sedated visits and you have bring them in in the morning unfortunately, so it has to be a different appointment.

I don’t want him to have to be always sedated every time he goes to a dvm. It’s not really good way to examine them anyway unless they are untouchable etc., and he’s not a feral cat at all. The day he first showed up outside, he was obviously a tame cat who had just been dumped, but he was scared took me almost 2 years to get him inside because he was scared to come and eat food, he was meowing at me. And then my other outdoor cats, chased him away too. I thought he had vanished or died because he disappeared for a while, and then I saw him on my cameras, and I knew he was still coming to eat.

I tried to get him to eat in a carrier the first or second day because I could see he was a socialized cat who was in a panic when he showed up and that scared him away so that was a mistake. I probably could’ve gotten him inside sooner if I had just kept feeding him and waited for him to be less scared.

I brought Zena to the new hospital with Quinn after f troop who was examined. But I told the Dvm and I didn’t think we should try to examine Zena that day because he had just been through that stressful event, etc. so she said to come back for sedated x-ray with gas or a different med.

I’m going to have to call and talk to her about it in advance.

Zena could be calmer at that dvm, but I don’t know how he’s going to react. When he was there that day, I could tell he was pretty nervous, his eyes were huge when he was in the carrier so I didn’t want to stress him out again with him having pneumonia etc. I don’t know maybe I should just have let them try to examine him but I didn’t wanna have another repeat of what happened at f troop. Of course this was in a small room and there were no big dogs there barking, etc. lol

That’s great you can do that with Bella It must make life much easier. I would be quite happy to hold him down for an x-ray if he stays calm too or whatever they need. I would’ve done that for Merlin too, but they wouldn’t let me.

I remember once when I first brought Wizard to Dvm when I first took him inside, it was at my former Dvm, but I wasn’t going to them at that time, but the woman running a rescue I volunteered for used them and she paid for his treatment because we thought he was going to be put up for adoption.

Dvm was holding him and trying to put an IV into his leg at the same time to get blood work done at the same time. Wizard was not happy with that and started nipping at him so I think he had to do something else.

Wizard was the most sweet cat on the planet, but he didn’t like to be held either. But nobody freaked out in the end. Wizard didn’t actually bite anybody and they managed to get the blood somehow. I always had a hard time clipping Wizard’s claws, and stuff like that cause he just didn’t like to be held that way, but he never once nipped me etc.

Anyway, he ended up being fiv positive so we kept him thank goodness. I don’t remember if I brought him back there to be neutered. I guess I did.

I just don’t want Zena to have to be sedated every time he goes to a Dvm I mean there has to be a way to slowly get him used to it and just see what happens without just bringing him there always to be sedated. That’s crazy.

When I brought Merlin to the last DVM the time before he had pneumonia etc. I think and he hadn’t been there for a while- he started hyperventilating and crying and he got very nervous.

But by the time the doctor came in, I think he had calmed down. So I knew that I was going to give him gabapentin before next time.

so I’m just wondering if gabapentin would be OK for Zena, with everything going on, and if that would help him be calmer.

Plus Merlin had been there before to have an ultrasound and for another exam. The woman that did the ultrasound was great… I mean they didn’t even talk about him needing to be sedated or anything like that, so sedating him was crazy. I think Merlin did not like men and Zena might be that way too. But once he got used to men that he liked he was fine.

Merlin had also been to an ER because I thought he ate some string and they did x-rays on him and they didn’t have any trouble examining him. They even did some crazy treatment on them to try to get them to vomit and she told me she was tilting him or some crazy thing to try and make him vomit. Merlin was at an ER another time after taking S boulardi, and getting very bloated- they did x-rays and examined him and they didn’t have any problem there either. It’s just so distressing for me to think of this that there was absolutely no reason for them to sedate him to give him an x-ray that I accept that day except they were totally incompetent and terrible, lazy etc. and negligent.

Please see videos of Zena to see what he is like, a mush! Merlin was an even bigger mush too.

Zena will come up and sit right on my chest in bed and lick my lips, etc. he’s so affectionate. lately he prefers to sleep with cinnamon he’s fallen in love with cinnamon, so he’ll come on sit on me for a little while and then jump up and go into cinnamon’s room and Quinn takes over. Quinn is very jealous of Xena taking attention away from him so Xena won’t stay very long.

 

[Meowmee]

Videos of Zena

IMG_7378.mov

Zena asks for a munch

thecatsite.com

IMG_2146.mov

Zena gets a tummy rub

thecatsite.com

 

[Kwik]

Videos of Zena

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/media/img_7378-mov.425681/

[/URL]

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/media/img_2146-mov.425680/

[/URL]

They are just darling- beautiful sweet babies

 

[Meowmee]

So yesterday was Cinn’s last day of clindamycin for a 2 week treatment of non symptomatic toxo. Today, it went well with Zena and Quinn. But then I discovered at some point Quinn had vomited his fish up in the garage that had his clindamycin pill, I cut open the capsule, sprinkle it in and mix it.

There was one piece of dry food in it, which I had given them about 20 minutes after. He also had some canned food after the fish, but none of that was in it.

I’m just wondering when I should give him the next dose now because I don’t wanna wait too long cause I was a little late for the first dose today and I don’t have any way of knowing how much he absorbed. so I don’t want give it to him too soon.

But I don’t want to wait too long either since it was given late.

Quinn had his Zofran at about 7 AM and then the next dose of clindamycin that he vomited eventually was it about 5 to 6 PM. They had told me to give the Zofran once a day but I’m wondering if I should maybe consider splitting it. I will have to talk to Dvm. The problem is giving Quinn the Zofran is almost impossible. It sometimes takes me 2 to 3 hours to sneak up on him, and I have to wipe it on his mouth in a lick treat. He won’t eat it. It doesn’t really have any taste it’s a little sweet, but it does have a little bit of smell which I think he doesn’t like.

He has been doing OK with eating it in fish, so I didn’t call them this week about possible injections.

I decided I’m going to medicate him and Xena for the full four weeks since Zena had confirmed pneumonia, as confirmed as a can be anyway, and Quinn was coughing.

Due to everything that I have read- numerous materials about toxoplasmosis pneumonia infections, and how those & cns have a bad prognosis, I want them to get the full duration/ amount of medication recommended.

Thank goodness neither of them are coughing anymore. I’m hoping and assuming that means clindamycin is doing its job.

Dvm had said you only have to medicate until the symptoms go away, but I still want them to get the full four weeks.

 

[Meowmee]

Update: Quinn continues to eat his clindamycin in the reveal fish treats, Zena gets his in pill pockets I put in his mouth. I ended up stopping the Zofran because it was too hard to give it to Quinn and it seemed like they were vomiting after I gave it to them sometimes and they seem OK without it now maybe they have adjusted to the clindamycin.

Zena is done on Saturday I think and Quinn is done next week. I am cautiously looking forward to the end of medicating them hopefully.

I made an appointment for Quinn and Xena. I’m going to try and talk to DVM to see if we can give Zena the gabapentin and just see how he does instead of sedating him to do recheck x-ray.

The receptionist I talked to said if he can’t do it then I just have to bring him back for a sedated visit. I said that’s OK because I’m can bring him back when I bring cinnamon hopefully. Last time he stayed in the carrier and they didn’t charge me for him, Even if it’s going to be a hassle I would rather he not be sedated again, I don’t want him condemned always having to be sedated whenever he needs to go to Dvm.

I had another big thing with my brother having a dental emergency so that has taken up the past three days, and I’m even more exhausted, but I’m gonna start working on getting Cinn used to the new carrier I bought him. I haven’t assembled it yet, Quinn was very interested, and was already sitting inside the two pieces. I would really like to avoid having to trap Cinn to get him there if possible because he has been making some progress and that will set him back a lot prolly.

Today we had a big problem with ants, so I’m put those little bait traps down- that’s one of the things I do use pesticides for and sometimes we have them spray at the base of the house because we can have a horrible problem with ants depending on the rain that year. It was so bad they were all over some cat food that I left out for them. I couldn’t give them new food unless they ate it right away which they were not too happy with.

I think I’m going to need to sleep for a week after all of this is over because I’ll be hit by another wave of exhaustion from doing all of this.

 

[Meowmee]

Update:

Unfortunately Zena was coughing the day before yesterday after 3-4 days off meds so I put him back on clindamycin. Quinn has been off it for 2 days now, I am keeping an eye on him. He and Zena go back on Monday for a recheck. Haven’t managed to speak to Dvm yet about medicating him with gabapentin for the appointment and also about the fact that he was coughing and I restarted clindamycin.

I’m hoping that the coughing is not because the treatment failed for toxoplasmosis pneumonia but that maybe he has asthma…certainly asthma would be better than that although it’s not good. I remember the doctor at the ER hospital thought that he might have underlying asthma too although he was not coughing at all when I brought him inside. He started after Merlin was coughing and I thought they had an allergy from the cat litter. The worlds best cat litter is very dusty as it breaks down when they use it and my asthma is worse from that too.

The odd thing is that this is the first time he has coughed that I know of since 2 weeks before he went to the er with the paresis and spinning

Cinnamon is doing well. I have set up the carrier and I’m trying to feed him in it, but he won’t go in it when I’m there, although Quinn went into it and was sitting in there enjoying catnip and eating the food. I’m going to try putting it in cinnamon‘s bedroom and see if he feels safer there. Plus, I have investigated, the remote triigger available and using it with the transport carrier from my drop trap instead maybe.

My cat watch cameras are now demanding that I pay for a subscription to see any videos unless I use an sd card to watch them. I refuse to pay an expensive subscription and I don’t have time to take out a card and watch it all the time- that’s crazy, and I think it means you can’t watch in real time either maybe. I am not sure.

So I’m going to look into purchasing some better cameras since one of the other ones doesn’t even work anymore…it would be hard to remotely catch him if I can’t watch him all the time.

I haven’t made an appointment for him yet… I’m hoping that Zena will be able to have a regular appointment with the gabapentin and not need sedation.

I can’t remember if I posted it now, but Quinn I believe caught and ate another mouse. I stayed up for hours trying to save it but eventually I had to sleep.

I have confirmed now that once infected a cat according to what we know can not be reinfected, they develop immunity. However, as I have mentioned several times in various postings here, if it gets to the bradyzoite phase, some of those will go back into the muscle tissue, so, they can have another infection if they become immune compromised or something else like that happens.

Our pest control confirmed that the hole they blocked up is still blocked so these mice must just be the ones that are still living inside the house.

 

[Meowmee]

Update:

Quinn & Zena went back to dvm today and the good news is Zena made it through with flying colors allowing an exam and an xray. Let me take him out of the carrier and we went from there. I’m so glad that I found a Dvm who is willing to work with me and who has a cat that freaks out at the Dvm also.

I medicated him for two days with 100 mg gabapentin the second dose being about 2-3 hours before the visit.

The second good news is that Quinn has the all clear his x-ray was good and he’s looking good. He got his vaccinations, a three-year rabies and the three year viral one which I always forget the name of. The new dvm agrees with me that the three year rabies is better because it means less vaccinations.

The bad news is Zena still has a lot of inflammation in his lungs. But she said his xray looks better than before so there is improvement. He’s going to have to be on clindamycin for 3 to 4 more weeks. She’s also put him on a steroid inhaler using the now generic form of flovent- fluticasone propionate HFA 44 MCG two puffs every day, 12 hours apart.

She said that the clindamycin will help with the coughing, even if he still is not being affected by toxo because it has an anti-inflammatory effect. But she thinks the steroid will help clear up the inflammation and allow the antibiotic to work better for the toxo if it’s still that.

So he will go back for another x-ray in about three weeks I think and then if he hasn’t cleared up, she said then they would consider doing a wash of the lungs to see if they can figure out what is going on. They don’t do that there so I’m gonna have to take him to a specialty place, which worries me for a few reasons.

So I’m back to being all nervous again, or more so anyway, and thinking I’m gonna lose him. I’m very relieved that Quinn is OK now. I will still be keeping an eye on him of course for any future coughing.

I made an appointment for Cinnamon for a sedated visit for next week. Hopefully, I will be able to either get him in a carrier or remotely trap him in the drop trap transport carrier. If he proves to be OK then, because he will be getting an x-ray too, he can be vaccinated on that visit and they can hopefully see if there’s anything else going on with him.

I managed to find a bunch of old cat medications, which is great as well as Syb’s aerokat so I don’t have to buy another one.

I put it over his face. He seems a little bit unsure about it, but when I did it with Sybil, I never really trained her or did anything. We just did it with two people at first, and then she didn’t mind it anymore after a few times, and I could do it alone, but she never put her face in it herself.

She let me do it so I’m hoping that that’s what’s gonna happen with Zena also. I want him to get the medication as soon as possible, obviously.

I’m gonna try a little bit of the training. I watched a video where they used treats to get them used to having it on their face etc. I’m not sure what to do to simulate the hiss of the inhaler, but you’re supposed to do that before you put it on anyway.

I’m not sure which size mask to use because Zena has a pretty small face even in comparison to Syb. It seems like the smaller one may be good but I don’t remember which one I used for Sybil now either.

So now I’m back to worrying about him even more I just don’t understand how I could have two cats that have prolonged toxo pneumonia. She said she thinks it depends on how the immune system reacts to it.

And both Merlin and Xena were outdoor cats so they had a lot more physical stress. Although neither have any immune compromising viruses. But Merlin may have had cancer, which would have explained his severe infection.

On the other hand Cinnamon was outside for most of his life and he has fiv, but he doesn’t even seem to have any symptoms. It’s kind of strange.

I also worry if something else could be going on too. I’m hoping that a few more weeks of medication and the inhaler will clear him up. I was reading when Merlin had pneumonia that some cats end up having damage to their lungs after.

But Zena’s pneumonia was not as bad as Merlin’s. But he did also have CNS symptoms, which Merlin did not have, even though they said the infection was in his brain too in the necropsy report.

I got one inhaler for about $98 at walgreens with a good rx coupon. If I purchase three at once prescribed as a 90 day supply, it’s a little cheaper at $86 per inhaler, but there will be tax added as there was with this one because taxes added if it’s not for a human.

I’m thinking if he has to be on this long-term, I will investigate getting it through a Canadian pharmacy because it looks like it will be about $59 per inhaler. I got 180 more pills of clindamycin 75 mg for only $16.95 at Rite Aid with a good RX coupon and with the gold program which I signed up for. You can get virtual visits for yourself with the GoodRx gold program for only $19. Which could come in very handy if I can’t get to the doctor and I need something. If you sign up for that, though, you have to put your date of birth for your cat in order to get the extra discount. There was no extra discount with good rx gold for the inhaler though at any pharmacy.

Even though the inhaler is a generic of Flovent now, it still costs a fortune! Which is ridiculous. Dvm thought it would be cheapest at Chewy, but they don’t have it and another vet med site had outrageous prices of $200-300 for one inhaler!

I remember paying about the same amount years ago when I used to get it for Syb, and it was not the generic. I can’t remember what I paid when I got a new inhaler for her when she had heart failure. But I think I ended up using my own inhalers that time. I can’t remember because they said it was OK and then the cardiologist told me not to give it to her anymore.

 

[Meowmee]

I also need to know if anyone knows of a completely secure carrier. Because when we got home the door on Quinn’s carrier which is a top and front opening carrier I paid a fortune for at Petco a few years ago came out at the top! Tg it only happened at home. I am not sure how that even happened, but I’m going to be looking into getting better carriers for everybody, which the front door will not come out of. I don’t remember that ever happening with my older plastic carriers. So, they must’ve redesigned them in a crazy way.
The drop trap transport carrier is completely secure but it’s not so comfy and it’s on the small side. It is made of steel and nothing can come loose as long as you secure the door properly.

 

[Kwik]

The last plastic carrier I bought was only 2,yrs ago from Pet Supermarket to replace one I loaned out and never got back- don't know the brand but it's as sturdy as could be like the older ones- top and front loading

I'll see if I see a brand name on it

Also have a 24" Vibrant Life from Walmart- no problems,secure BUT honestly the top loaders with the plastic tops and handles make me very nervous even though the pins are metal becausd they slide into plastic so I use 2vinyl straps criss crossed like a wrapped gift to carry- I also have vinyl buckle straps they use for shipping when carrying ferals ( just in case)

 

[Kwik]

We are both nervous Nellie's,aren't we- An ounce of prevention is always the best practice- You might like the slide buckle straps too with quick release on the side- fast,easy and gives you peace of mind- so maybe you needn't buy a new carrier

When I recently took Timmy to the Vet the tech looked scared when she saw all the strapping- " What's in there"? She said......rofl

 

[Meowmee]

We are both nervous Nellie's,aren't we- An ounce of prevention is always the best practice- You might like the slide buckle straps too with quick release on the side- fast,easy and gives you peace of mind- so maybe you needn't buy a new carrier

When I recently took Timmy to the Vet the tech looked scared when she saw all the strapping- " What's in there"? She said......rofl

I don’t know if I could do all of that cause I’m usually in a hurry when I go there plus it would have to cover the front door so it would have to go around that way all the way around I think I’m just gonna have to get rid of this carrier…

one thing that occurred to me is that maybe they took out some of the screws because some seem to be missing after Zena escaped. I don’t know what happened then….but I think it’s still too risky because it could’ve happened when I was taking them out of the car and stuff like that, which would be very dangerous.

I vaguely remember that that might’ve happened once before, and I thought I had fixed the issue, but obviously not.

it’s long past the time when I can get my money back for that too.

 

[Meowmee]

The last plastic carrier I bought was only 2,yrs ago from Pet Supermarket to replace one I loaned out and never got back- don't know the brand but it's as sturdy as could be like the older ones- top and front loading

I'll see if I see a brand name on it

Also have a 24" Vibrant Life from Walmart- no problems,secure BUT honestly the top loaders with the plastic tops and handles make me very nervous even though the pins are metal becausd they slide into plastic so I use 2vinyl straps criss crossed like a wrapped gift to carry- I also have vinyl buckle straps they use for shipping when carrying ferals ( just in case)

The front door of this one just goes into four plastic holes. There’s nothing really securing it so I guess if it gets a little loose it can just fall out. I think I might’ve had the same or a similar problem, not with the top falling out with this one, but the lock came undone when it was supposedly locked, but at least the top on this one can’t really slide out the way the front door can.

 

[Kwik]

The front door of this one just goes into four plastic holes. There’s nothing really securing it so I guess if it gets a little loose it can just fall out. I think I might’ve had the same or a similar problem, not with the top falling out with this one, but the lock came undone when it was supposedly locked, but at least the top on this one can’t really slide out the way the front door can.

The front door on the Vibrant life is very well done with spring loaded lock design

Strapping takes all of 30 seconds but it's just a suggestion,whatever makes you comfortable -the moment I'm outside with a carrier or trap I'm never comfortable even after half a century.Ive never lost an animal due to faulty equipment though I've seen it happen quite a number of times and I don't ever want it to happen.....check out Pet Supermarket so you can see them in person on display or even Walmart -Im not impressed with what I've seen in PetSmart or PetCo,I'm always looking as you know with multiple cats it's good to have surplus ....hard to buy without seeing it

I have a large plastic dog carrier and have replaced those plastic screws with metal nuts,bolts and lock washers -I actually have a cheap little wrench taped to the side ,lol

 

[Meowmee]

The front door on the Vibrant life is very well done with spring loaded lock design

Strapping takes all of 30 seconds but it's just a suggestion,whatever makes you comfortable -the moment I'm outside with a carrier or trap I'm never comfortable even after half a century.Ive never lost an animal due to faulty equipment though I've seen it happen quite a number of times and I don't ever want it to happen.....check out Pet Supermarket so you can see them in person on display or even Walmart -Im not impressed with what I've seen in PetSmart or PetCo,I'm always looking as you know with multiple cats it's good to have surplus ....hard to buy without seeing it

I have a large plastic dog carrier and have replaced those plastic screws with metal nuts,bolts and lock washers -I actually have a cheap little wrench taped to the side ,lol

Thanks I’m going to look at those. I was just looking at a bunch on Amazon. There was a metal carrier I liked. It’s quite nice, but it was in UK, and it has a top loading. It’s kind of like the transport carrier I have but it has a top opening and it is not as heavy weight. I don’t think I can have that shipped here, and I can’t find it here yet. There are reviews of a lot of the different types on Amazon and a lot of people say they are all flimsy and their cat or dog escaped or it fell apart, which is alarming.

I’m going to take a picture of the one I’m talking about and you tell me what you think happened. I’m pretty sure now it’s because some of the screws are missing. Maybe I don’t know, but I remember that along time ago too, and I don’t know what I did to remedy it. I don’t know.p which brand it is. I remember I got it at petco.

The two I just got at Walmart have the same front door construction so it seems to be the new thing now maybe. But they’re not missing any bolts and they don’t have a top opening. I’m going to order some extra bolts with a little latches..

people said the ones which I assume are kind of like this one, that have those four whole thing where the front door part fits into. It’s not just a hole that it’s a hole in the plastic part of the carrier with no way of securing it, they said that the cage can buckle from the weight of the cat or whatever so if it gets a little bit loose, it can just fall out because the shape can actually change.

Which shows how flimsy they are, I guess they’re trying to make the plastic thinner to make it lighter because nobody wants a super heavy carrier.

The thing is my carriers from years ago. This never happened. I think I always had a smaller plastic carrier, though I think I may even still have one of them. I’m gonna take a look at it if I do and see how it’s constructed.

I will look into getting some type of strapping system too.