Hi
I'm new here, but I was hoping someone could help me with a few questions.
My cat is 11 this April. We adopted a second cat from the local humane society who ended up being very, very ill with what must have been an URI. Sadly, she died less than 24 hours of me adopting her. It was heart wrenching, and I still feel awful.
I tried to keep my other cat from catching it, but none the less he came down with an URI. My vet wasn't concerned, but knew that the shelter had a nasty strain that was hard to treat. So, she put him on a 5 day course of Zithromax. After he seemed worse within 3 days, I took him back in. They changed his treatment to Clavamox twice a day for 2 weeks and tobramycin for eyes and nose. Within 2 days my cat got really sick and my vet determined he was allergic to Clavamox, and put him back on Zithro. (we had previous issues, but this is the first vet who took the time to listen to us about Clavamox and my kitty)
He took Zithro for another 7 days. We finished up this past Friday night. He is MUCH better. I noticed that he seems to be sneezing still. His eyes look clear, his nose is ok. I still see a little booger once in awhile, but he washes it off if I don't get to it first.
Is this normal? I hate to drag him back in because nothing makes my cat more stressed than a car ride to a vet prodding at him. He just gets so upset. They never thought he had any secondary infection going on, so they were preventatively treating with antibiotics.
Is there a specific time frame with URI's? I'll take him in if the sneezing means more is going on. He started Zithro on the 28th of January.
Thanks for any advice or info. I've been reading about URI's for this whole 2 weeks and I think I've confused myself even more!!
Cathy
Cat URI Questions/help(kind of long)
Re: Cat URI Questions/help(kind of long)
I'm very sorry for your loss....how old was she, and had you had her seen by your vet? If she appeared healthy when you adopted her, and died only 24 hours later, this is not typical of a URI...unless it was the virulent strain of calicivirus. Without having had a complete vet exam, it could have been nearly anything.
In the future, PLEASE, when adopting cats from anywhere, get them immediately to your own vet for a thorough exam, testing for FELV/FIV, deworming, etc, BEFORE exposing the new cat to your resident cat. All new cats should be seperated from the resident cat(s) unless and until a through exam and testing has been done by the vet, including first vaccinations, etc.
As for your 11-year-old, you need to ask your vet to call the shelter and find out if there are ANY cases of "virulent" strain calicivirus, because if there are, the shelter should quarantine until the virus has been isolated, contained, and the situation resolved within the shelter. This not normal calicivirus, it is a strain that is much deadlier to kittens and older cats in particular. Symptoms start off by appearing as typical URI or calicivirus, but get worse over the course of a few days, fever, lethargy, anorexia, edema and other unusual signs usually develop and worsen considerably -- by the time symptoms are recognized, treatment is difficult, and many cats don't make it. So, it's imperative your vet or other vets in the area determine from the shelter IF there is a virulent strain of calicivirus circulating.
Otherwise, if your kitty is not current on his vaccinations, or has a poor vaccination history, then any older cat can develop serious symptoms of a URI, because they are already immunocompromised, making it easier to contract this from another infected cat. If he IS current on vaccinations, then perhaps the vet should investigate a bit further and rule out calicivirus (the typical form), check his mouth/esophagus for signs of ulcers, other typical symptoms of calicivirus or other respiratory infections. She should also differentiate calicivirus from herpesvirus, etc.
What were/are the "previous issues", and why do you think it was the clavamox that made him sick? What were the symptoms he had that led you to believe this?
The typical URI infection usually is self-limiting in around 7-10 days, that is, in healthy adult cats. An immunocompromised cat, or older cat, or any cat with no or poor vaccination history is of course, more susceptible to ANY infection, whether respiratory, viral, bacterial or fungal etc. Also, if there is a pre-existing medical condition, or underlying health issue already present, any infection (secondary) can develop, easily. Is your kitty fully evaluated with the vet yearly? When was his last full blood profile?
In the future, PLEASE, when adopting cats from anywhere, get them immediately to your own vet for a thorough exam, testing for FELV/FIV, deworming, etc, BEFORE exposing the new cat to your resident cat. All new cats should be seperated from the resident cat(s) unless and until a through exam and testing has been done by the vet, including first vaccinations, etc.
As for your 11-year-old, you need to ask your vet to call the shelter and find out if there are ANY cases of "virulent" strain calicivirus, because if there are, the shelter should quarantine until the virus has been isolated, contained, and the situation resolved within the shelter. This not normal calicivirus, it is a strain that is much deadlier to kittens and older cats in particular. Symptoms start off by appearing as typical URI or calicivirus, but get worse over the course of a few days, fever, lethargy, anorexia, edema and other unusual signs usually develop and worsen considerably -- by the time symptoms are recognized, treatment is difficult, and many cats don't make it. So, it's imperative your vet or other vets in the area determine from the shelter IF there is a virulent strain of calicivirus circulating.
Otherwise, if your kitty is not current on his vaccinations, or has a poor vaccination history, then any older cat can develop serious symptoms of a URI, because they are already immunocompromised, making it easier to contract this from another infected cat. If he IS current on vaccinations, then perhaps the vet should investigate a bit further and rule out calicivirus (the typical form), check his mouth/esophagus for signs of ulcers, other typical symptoms of calicivirus or other respiratory infections. She should also differentiate calicivirus from herpesvirus, etc.
What were/are the "previous issues", and why do you think it was the clavamox that made him sick? What were the symptoms he had that led you to believe this?
The typical URI infection usually is self-limiting in around 7-10 days, that is, in healthy adult cats. An immunocompromised cat, or older cat, or any cat with no or poor vaccination history is of course, more susceptible to ANY infection, whether respiratory, viral, bacterial or fungal etc. Also, if there is a pre-existing medical condition, or underlying health issue already present, any infection (secondary) can develop, easily. Is your kitty fully evaluated with the vet yearly? When was his last full blood profile?
..........Traci
Re: Cat URI Questions/help(kind of long)
How is he doing now?
I am sorry for your loss of the kitty
{{{huggggs}}}
I am sorry for your loss of the kitty
{{{huggggs}}}