help our Cinder

[cindersmom]

Please pray for our little Cinder, we adopted her March 11 and she has been in isolation at our house ever since. I take her weekly to the vet for treatment. She was first diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection then ring worm, now possible cat herpes or pneumonia . She is being medicated daily but nothing seem to help. I want her to be able to play with our older cats and know the love of eveyone in our family.I also would like to take 1 step forward instead of 2 steps backword. Please don't suggest giving her back cause that is not an option for me,she needs us. She is only 5 months old and has her whole life ahead of her. Please add your prays to ours!!!

[Traci]

Cindersmom, please get your little one to a NEW vet promptly, preferrably a feline-only vet. Upper respiratory infections are treatable, as is herpesvirus, but if your vet hasn't specifically tested for those and confirmed them with cytology or swab tests, he is treating only symptomatically and probably not treating the cause. Ringworm can be difficult to treat and can take a long time to eradicate....make sure your vet did NOT put her on griseofulvicin, this is a drug that should be avoided.

Again, please get her to a new vet immediately, she should be responding to treatment, my guess is your vet is not treating appropriately.

[cindersmom]

thank you Traci for your reply. Cinder is on clavamox, amoxicillin, nose drops fungicide spray and nutrical supplement. She is eating, purring and does not act sick but is running 105o temp. The vet we are using is really excellent, I have used him for 20 years and has never steered us wrong. You may be right about fresh eyes though. The shelter suggested zithromax for 30 days. They e-mailed me yesterday and am waiting to talk to vet tomorrow, a.m.

[Traci]

Try to get a cytology (or western blot) done to rule out herpesvirus vs calicivirus. I would be concerned about the combination of both amoxicillin and clavamox, perhaps alternating a course with a break in between would be more appropriate. It would be best to differentiate bacterial vs viral infection first so that the vet knows which antibiotic is more appropriate for the condition.

What is the fungicide spray, and why didn't your vet suggest topical miconazole instead? The spray may be causing additional problems with her respiratory function, sensitivity, etc.

The temperature is concerning, your vet needs to be running a CBC, hydrating her, and ruling out bacterial infection somewhere.

[Cleo]

My prayers and best wishes are with Cinder for a quick recovery. Bless you for caring cindersmom.

[Guest]

Traci,
thank you for your input. Our vet tried to take a serum blood test but Cinders veins are to small in her legs and the neck wasn'T WORKING, HE HAD TO HAVE ABOUT 2CC'S and she was having difficulty breathing with her neck positioned for blood testing. The temp is now normal and her lungs are clear but she still has a lot of nasal congestion and discharge. Our vet did suction her as much as possible. We are to stop the nose drops and her ringworm is clearing up. Her weight is up to 3 lbs. I want to thank all for their prayers and please keep them coming we are not out of the woods yet but we have started seeing some sunshine.

[Traci]

Cindersmom, is your vet unable to do a quick swab on the nasal or conjuncitivitis exudate? I would think that could be done in lieu of bloodwork at this time. A swab cytology or culture may be able to help your vet determine if this is a bacterial infection, how to treat it, etc. I would also try ruling out a foreign body obstruction in the nasal cavity or sinuses. An obstruction is a possiblilty that would stand to reason why the medications are not working. Another possibility is food allergies, or environmental allergens. Lastly, a thorough oral health exam to rule out tooth abcess or infection in the mouth that could be leading to the sinuses.

You truly need to get this accurately diagnosed in order to treat it most effectively.....since nothing seems to be working, please, consider a second opinion promptly. While you feel your vet may be good, he may be missing something another more experienced vet may be able to pick up on right away.

[cindersmom]

Well it was confirmed Cinder has bartonella, seems there was an outbreak in the shelter and they were a little slow in notifying me. Thanks for all the prayers, Cinder is improving rapidly with the help of Zithromax as are our two older cats who caught it.Looks like Cinder is going to have a very happy and healthy life ahead of her.

[Ash]

That's very good news! I'm glad

[Traci]

Cindersmom, are you referring to bartonella henselae (cat scratch disease) or Hemo-bartonella, the rickettsial blood parasites? The latter requires aggressive veterinary care and monitoring, usually treated with tetracycline products or doxycycline. Again, hemobartonella must be treated aggressively and monitored extremely closely.

If you are referring to Hemobartonella, and you only talked to the shelter, I strongly advise you, you must confirm this with blood testing by your primary vet, this will include a hematocrit, blood smear, PCV, and if undetectable on these tests, then your vet must send in a serology to an outside lab for confirmation. I would also strongly advise testing Cinder and your other cats for FELV and FIV. Also be advised that Hemobartonella-recovered cats can remain carriers and can infect other cats, so you'll need to know that and exercise caution with any other new kittens or cats, and you'll want to monitor all of your cat's future health with more frequent vet checkups.