I am a new member and let start off by saying that I have had now two sets of cats living into the 16-18 yo range, some 35+ years of cat keeping. I suppose that I have been lucky that I have never had so much as a sniffle or sneeze from anyone.
My cat family starts off with an indoor purebred silver tabby named Kevin (age 16) who recently lost his littermate brother to congestive heart failure. They had been lifelone pals and Kevin had been feeling very sad without his best friend. Kevin has been in good health, but is slow and deliberate - a senior.
I also have an adopted feral named Coby who showed up as a kitten three years ago, and lives out in an insulated shelter I built for him about 10 feet from my back door on my patio. Coby's a tough guy who hunts and never roams more than 100 feet from the house. He is a good eater, plumps up in the winter, and avoids wild animals at all costs.
Feeling sorry for poor Kevin, I contacted a silver tabby breeder who had a darling little kitten available (supposedly shy) who I thought might make a companion for Kev. This little kitten was placed in the back bedroom for a number of days where he hid in the curtains or under pillows. I noticed from the start that baby Kinney sneezed constantly, had a mucousy cough, and itched his neck all the time. I thought perhaps he was adjusting to the air quality here or something. Several days later, Kinney is out and making his appearance in the rest of the house. He absolutely idolizes Kevin and hangs around him constantly, eating out of his bowls, licking his chin, and trying out his litterbox.
Ten days after acquiring Kinney, Kevin is on his deathbed - refusing to eat, limping badly from a swollen rear foot, shaky on his feet. I take him to the vet immediately where a full CBC is done which reveals nothing unusual except that he has very high WBC count. By that first night, his rear foot swells up to twice its size. Apparently from fever, he starts to sleep spread-eagle on the basement floor. I begin giving him ringer's IV drip nightly, force-feed him baby food, and start him on Baytril. After several days where I thought for sure he was a goner, he resumes drinking and starts to eat the baby food off my finger willingly. Now a runny nose and puss-ey eyes develop or become his prominent symptom.
At the same time, I am noticing that outdoor Coby has stopped eating in the coldest weather when he needs the energy the most. I put his food out, I bring it back in. I am offering him more dinner selections than he ever had in his lifetime and nothing is working. He is also sneazing with puss dripping from his eyes. I think to mention that he had received a couple of the kitten's leftovers. Oftentimes he receives leftovers from the indoor cats, but never the reverse. One week later, Coby marches inside out of the ice storm - skinny as a rail. "Please Help Me"
Meanwhile, baby Kinney is put in solitary confinement back in the bedroom where he started out. I keep all three cats separated from each other with frequent hand washings between visits. I spend two weeks literally nursing my two resident adults back to life who now seem to be recovering. The kitten still is sneezing and coughing and itching, but does not seem to come down with symptoms. I am suspecting he is Typhoid Mary.
I have had talks with the breeder who first suggested that this was all some coincidence, then later told me her formula to eradicate Chlamydia (zithromax given once at the first sign of a sneeze) which she has used for years. She is reluctant to take back her kitten claiming that it was in perfect health when it left her cattery and that she had in fact given it the zithromax cure the day I picked it up from her(!?!).
This has been an ordeal that I could never have imagined. I am guessing that this was a classic combination of Chlamydia/Calici virus. We took a Bartonella test on the kitten, but have not received the results yet. I showed my vet the vacination records from the kitten (FELV IV) and he said it was given too early in life and the kitten is not immunized. Could this have just made him a carrier?
Anyone else with a similar tale? Any advice on getting the breeder to take her kitten back?
My cat family starts off with an indoor purebred silver tabby named Kevin (age 16) who recently lost his littermate brother to congestive heart failure. They had been lifelone pals and Kevin had been feeling very sad without his best friend. Kevin has been in good health, but is slow and deliberate - a senior.
I also have an adopted feral named Coby who showed up as a kitten three years ago, and lives out in an insulated shelter I built for him about 10 feet from my back door on my patio. Coby's a tough guy who hunts and never roams more than 100 feet from the house. He is a good eater, plumps up in the winter, and avoids wild animals at all costs.
Feeling sorry for poor Kevin, I contacted a silver tabby breeder who had a darling little kitten available (supposedly shy) who I thought might make a companion for Kev. This little kitten was placed in the back bedroom for a number of days where he hid in the curtains or under pillows. I noticed from the start that baby Kinney sneezed constantly, had a mucousy cough, and itched his neck all the time. I thought perhaps he was adjusting to the air quality here or something. Several days later, Kinney is out and making his appearance in the rest of the house. He absolutely idolizes Kevin and hangs around him constantly, eating out of his bowls, licking his chin, and trying out his litterbox.
Ten days after acquiring Kinney, Kevin is on his deathbed - refusing to eat, limping badly from a swollen rear foot, shaky on his feet. I take him to the vet immediately where a full CBC is done which reveals nothing unusual except that he has very high WBC count. By that first night, his rear foot swells up to twice its size. Apparently from fever, he starts to sleep spread-eagle on the basement floor. I begin giving him ringer's IV drip nightly, force-feed him baby food, and start him on Baytril. After several days where I thought for sure he was a goner, he resumes drinking and starts to eat the baby food off my finger willingly. Now a runny nose and puss-ey eyes develop or become his prominent symptom.
At the same time, I am noticing that outdoor Coby has stopped eating in the coldest weather when he needs the energy the most. I put his food out, I bring it back in. I am offering him more dinner selections than he ever had in his lifetime and nothing is working. He is also sneazing with puss dripping from his eyes. I think to mention that he had received a couple of the kitten's leftovers. Oftentimes he receives leftovers from the indoor cats, but never the reverse. One week later, Coby marches inside out of the ice storm - skinny as a rail. "Please Help Me"
Meanwhile, baby Kinney is put in solitary confinement back in the bedroom where he started out. I keep all three cats separated from each other with frequent hand washings between visits. I spend two weeks literally nursing my two resident adults back to life who now seem to be recovering. The kitten still is sneezing and coughing and itching, but does not seem to come down with symptoms. I am suspecting he is Typhoid Mary.
I have had talks with the breeder who first suggested that this was all some coincidence, then later told me her formula to eradicate Chlamydia (zithromax given once at the first sign of a sneeze) which she has used for years. She is reluctant to take back her kitten claiming that it was in perfect health when it left her cattery and that she had in fact given it the zithromax cure the day I picked it up from her(!?!).
This has been an ordeal that I could never have imagined. I am guessing that this was a classic combination of Chlamydia/Calici virus. We took a Bartonella test on the kitten, but have not received the results yet. I showed my vet the vacination records from the kitten (FELV IV) and he said it was given too early in life and the kitten is not immunized. Could this have just made him a carrier?
Anyone else with a similar tale? Any advice on getting the breeder to take her kitten back?