Timeline of a URI

Originally Posted by tdonline

I'm going to order Lysine in tube from Amazon but meanwhile I found it in capsule form for humans at the drug store. Can I feed this type to the cats meanwhile?

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I use casples too...500mg that I just have to open up and sprinkle it on food.

Originally Posted by tdonline

Tried the wet food trick today, but one of them wouldn't have any of it. She's sneezing a lot and has an eye infection, so I really want her to take Lysine. But she likes dry food.

And it's weird, both my kitties won't eat treats. None of it.

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Try sprinkling it on dry food.... It works for us.... I put 1/2cup food, in the bowl, sprinkle 500mg lysine on it, give it a little shake and all done. Kizzy eats it no problem.

Originally Posted by tdonline

Tried the wet food trick today, but one of them wouldn't have any of it. She's sneezing a lot and has an eye infection, so I really want her to take Lysine. But she likes dry food.

And it's weird, both my kitties won't eat treats. None of it.

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When my kitties had URI they wouldn't eat treats either.

When I was giving my outside kitties lysine I just mixed it with their dry food and a little water(so it would stick to the food and not go to the bottom as much). It's hard to be accurate. but some is better then none.

Are they on antibiotics? Just wanted to make sure, because someone else on this site got a shelter kitty with URI and he wasn't in antibiotics until he was taken to a vet.

Yes, when I brought them straight to the local vet from the shelter yesterday. They are still sneezing and have eye gunk, so they are on pill and ointment antibiotics.

I'm a little worried because Josie who used to eat like a horse has eaten and drank little since coming home. She's the dry food queen.

And Dory, the one who wouldn't eat for an eternity, is now eating like a champ. Mostly wet food, so I'm able to give her lysine and liquid probiotics. And though she is still sneezing, she's improved a lot. I think Josie would get a similar boost if she take in these things.

At this point, since she is eating and drinking a little, I don't want to go the syringe just yet...I'm afraid of stressing her out. I pilled her this morning and that was an awful experience and she was pissed with me. I think her eye infection is really bugging her, she's got it bad.

Damn, Dory is still sneezing but the discharge is becoming discolored again...

I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but the stress of being in the shelter, then coming home, then being back at the shelter & being sick, then coming back home is enough to make any cat sick, sick, sick! Stress is a major trigger of URIs. So it's no wonder that Dory is seemingly getting sick again. Most likely the infection really didn't totally clear up, so it's just reappearing.

I will tell you that we adopted a sick kitty from the pound 3 years ago. It took us SIX WEEKS of isolation, various antibiotics, running a vaporizer 24/7, lysine, TLC, patience, and more TLC to get her totally well enough to be integrated into the rest of the house. I was freaked out at the beginning and scared to death she was going to die on us. I'd already given my heart away to this precious little thing. She was a fighter, though, and with lots of love, patience, and frequent vet visits and calls to his office, she came through and is a very healthy and active 3 yo now.

Dory is eating though.

What can I do to get Josie to eat and drink? She used to eat like a horse and then poof, she has stopped in the last two days. I wonder if this particular antibiotic is bothering her appetite? Because I know she can still smell her food. But right now all she does is paw and her sniff the water but never actually drinks it. She'll sniff her food and again, not eat it. She's the alpha sister and I love her spunk but she's really stubborn. I have not resorted to force feeding because she seems to get really pissy whereas her sister, whom I had to force-fed at one is more docile.

Stephanie, what did you do during the six weeks with the kitty as far as providing basic nourishment?

The vet gave us an appetite stimulant, which helped her tremendously. We fed Hannah canned Science Diet a/d, which has lots of vitamins and nutrients in it, which she needed not only because she was sick, but because she'd been so malnourished and needed the extra nutrition. (SD a/d is like kitty crack! LOL) I'd warm it up a bit in the microwave to really bring out the stinkiness of it, which really attracted her, and she'd eat it a bit at a time. I didn't put down a full helping for her, but just a tablespoon or so and feed her frequently throughout the day. We left dry kitten food for her, too. As she got better, she'd eat the dry, too.

If Josie's not eating, force feed her or offer her the homemade kitten food found on the kitten page, http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46295 and plain Pedialyte. You can also try to entice her with plain (no onions or garlic) meat baby food, stage 2, I think. Also, call the vet as it could be the medicine. Whatever it is, you need to get nutrition in her so her little body can fight the infection and get well.

Oh, yeah! Hannah's the dominant one, too. VERY strong-willed and very "don't put that in my mouth"!! However, because she was so sick, she didn't have too much fight in her until she was on the road to recovery.

Josie here: Stupid human finally figured out that I wanted Friskies. That's what I was eating at the shelter...

Yippee! At this point in time, I'd be satisfied w/ her eating any kind of food. As she improves, I'd work on introducing her to whatever new food you want her to eat.

The girls are eating and drinking well but still sneezing away.

Tonight, Josie sneezed and her mucous had a bit of light in it. We have a follow up visit with the vet on Saturday but should I take her in earlier? I'm hoping the blood is a result of it being a bit dry today because I had the heat on last night...

I would just wait, unless she sneezes continually. Just watch for the normal sick indicators, loss of appetite, lack of playing, change in behavior, etc. If you think she's going downhill, then call for an earlier appt, but otherwise, keep an eye on her.

No blood today, I have the cool mister going full time, it has been unusually dry here. Even I had a bit of blood when I did my nasal washing this morning.

They are both doing well except for the sneezing and discharge. I have a followup visit with the vet this Saturday anxious that the sneezing is going on 3 weeks. They are finishing up Baytril in a couple of days.

I sound like a broken record here. I don't want to start a new thread so interested posters will have the whole story.

Well, I went back to the vet and told him the girls were doing well but still sneezing. He recommended another 7 days of baytril which would make it about a month on antibiotics. Again the girls did fine and the last day of antibiotics was on Friday and guess what, the girls are still sneezing. One of them is still getting eye discharge, though it's not too gunky.

And I've noticed that though they are still eating, the energy level has been decreasing and tonight they've been really low energy. They're not even fighting anymore. I was supposed to see the vet on Saturday but called to move up to Thursday.

What's going on? Can the URI still be around? Why is it so stubborn? I'm feeding them a combo of dry Evo/Science Diet and wet Evo/Authority. I give them lysine in both the wet and dry foods. And a liquid cranberry probiotic to boot.

It's possible that there is a secondary infection to the URI and the current medication isn't treating the infection. It initially helps with the symptoms, but then it's effectiveness wears off. I would ask the vet to do a culture and sensitivity test of the nasal passage or throat (or eye), wherever there's discharge. This will tell the vet exactly what type of infection you're dealing with and the sensitivity test will show exactly what med will treat it.

With my girl who's very prone to URI due to herpes, we've found that drops in the nasal cavity helps clear up the linger infection causing the sneezes. The last time she had medication, we were giving her Zenequin (antibiotic) and nasal drops. We continued the drops until the bottle was empty and I think it helped clear up her bacterial infection to just a trace, which is excellent and she's been sneeze-free, with no snot slinging or sniffling for about 2 months.

Have they been tested for herpes using the Idexx Real PCR URD test? That could be something else to figure into the equation. If they do have herpes, that suppresses the immune system and it makes recovery time a bit longer than normal. Also, if they have herpes, there's no cure for it, but it can be managed very well. Switching to a grain free diet will help as well as adding lysine to their diet.

If your vet isn't willing to dig further to find out why this is continuing, I'd look around for a different vet and get a second opinion. Or, you may need to do your research here and other places online and ask for certain tests and treatment options. I'd highly recommend finding a cat only doctor if there's one in your area and getting a second opinion.

Stephanie