Poor little Emily...

She's really sick with a URI. I've steamed up the bathroom for her, but it didn't seem to help much. The good news is that she seems to be eating, drinking, piddling, and pooping well enough.

Anything I can do to ease her discomfort?

If she's still in isolation, run a vaporizer for her. Get some eucalyptus oil and put it in the well of the vaporizer. Are you giving her lysine? I know that takes awhile to get in her system, but it can't hurt.

I don't have a vaporizor, but I'll check on one.

Know a good source of lysine?

You can get the tablets at Wal-Mart in the supplements section. Just grind the tablet up (I use 2 spoons "spooned" together and crush). Mix into wet food with a dab of water to help it dissolve.

I purchase the powder from the local health food store. I get the NOW brand in a huge jar (1 lb.). It's about $20. You can get it at iherb, too.

http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-L-Lys...454-g/653?at=0

I just ordered this yesterday from Amazon. $10.25 + $0.95 shipping, not bad!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...f=lst_llp_sl-0

The powder dissolves easily in water. I mix it with wet food and then add a couple of teaspoons of water to the concoction.

chicken broth in her water to ensure drinking

Awww, poor baby. How old is Emily? A couple of my foster kittens have URIs right now...I've found its almost ineveitable, especially when I take in strays. I have a humidifier that I run for them, especially now that the heat is on and the air is so dry, but when I've had ones that are really bad, I take them in the bathroom and just let it steam up really good. I use a cotton ball and warm water to gently wipe away any crust around the eyes and nose. Make sure not too much discharge builds up around the nose. I've tried plain saline nose drops...don't know if I was ever able to actually get any in the nostril so not sure if that helps lol.
And yeah, I just have a huge bottle of the lyseine tablets that i crush up with a mortar and pestle and mix with wet food. It doesn't have a strong taste and I haven't had a problem with my cats not wanting to eat it.

A couple of other things that you might want to consider if she's not eating well or stops eating. Warm her food up to enhance the aroma. If she's congested and can't smell her food, then she'll not want to eat. Elevate her food dish if she's really congested. The more she has to bend her little head down to eat, the less she'll want to eat because all that snot will want to run out her nose. Put her bowl up on a stack of books or something like that.

I have also used Baby Vicks, just a little dab on top of the nose out of the reach of the tongue.

Lysine works for herpes, i'm not sure it works for calicivirus or any other virus. But calicivirus is so awful that we give lysine to our chronic calicivirus cats anyway, just in case it DOES work. We force-feed crushed tablets in AD because two of our cats do not like the taste.

I have given saline drops in the nose. I used the instructions from Anitra Frazier's "The Natural Cat." I mix up the fresh salt solution in warm water, put the kitten on his back, nose pointing up, and put in one drop at a time, slowly. No, he didn't like it, but he was a gentleman about it. Little Noses in a no-preservative, no-additives saline formula would work, too. But I feel a warm solution is nicer for the cat.

If it works, your cat will have a nose-clearing big sneeze or two, so keep a tissue handy.

The other thing I've tried is soaking a few very small sponges in warm water and pressing them very gently over the top/bridge of the nose, periodically, to loosen anything in there. Cats aren't crazy about this, either, but mainly because they can't figure out what you're doing. Don't cover the nostrils, obviously, just warm the nasal passages.

A vaporizer can make a dramatic difference in the humidity of the room, and will do a better job than a humidifier, I think. If you have soft water, read the directions about adding salt to make more steam.

If she has calicivirus, watch for limping or other signs of muscle pain. If her meow is very hoarse or she has lost her voice, her throat may be inflamed, or she may have mouth sores. There's not much you can do but administer pain meds, antibiotics in case of secondary infections, and offer softer, blander foods (my cat insisted on eating kibble when his throat was a mess, and he never eats kibble, go figure).

A gently heated or warm bed would probaby be a welcome comfort, too. This didn't occur to me during our outbreak, and I could kick myself.

Good luck! It's tough nursing cats through a URI so it's a relief when you can figure out anything that actually helps the poor thing.

Good idea on the saline drops. If you end up having to administer eye drops (if her eyes get really goopy), you can also use them in her nose. Let's hope you don't have to do that. My DH is the nose-drop giver in our home. His aim is excellent and he's gentle and quick.

No online advice can replace direct veterinary intervention. If you suspect that your cat may be ill, please contact your vet immediately. You are welcome to look for advice in the health forum while waiting for that appointment, but never delay proper veterinary care waiting for Internet advice. Remember that cats, and especially kittens, are very adept in keeping pain to themselves and delaying treatment may cause irreversible damage.

The advice given here cannot take into account your cat’s previous history, and nobody here can give your cat a physical exam to check for any abnormalities. Please feel free to get opinions here, but take your cat to the vet, and discuss any possible solutions with your vet to get their expert, medical opinion first.

I would really agree with the recommendation about getting a vaporizer. I bought mine for $15 (Vicks brand) and it's been a great investment that has helped a lot of cats with URI. I use it with Vicks Vapor Drops which works wonder. It's menthol drops that you add to the water and you can actually feel it easing congestion. With cats that have a hard time breathing I use the vaporizer to create a sort of home made nebulizer. You put kitty in a carrier that you place on a chair with another chair in front of it. You put the vaporizer on the floor below the carrier and drape a blanket over the front chair and the carrier to keep the vapors in. You sort of make a little tent. This can make wonders for a sick kitty. I've had cats that would start eating again after having spent some time above a vaporizer with Vicks drops.

Remember to keep checking Emily's skin elasticity to see if she is at all dehydrated. They easily become dehydrated when they have URI and it really seems to bring them down more. If that's the case getting her some sub-q fluids will work wonders.

Another thing I do just to make the sick kitty a bit more comfortable is to put a heating pad under his bed to make it warm and cozy. They really like that and I think it makes them feel a bit better.

That's all the advice I have. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do for URI. You just have to make the kitty as comfortable as possible and wait it out. I hope Emily gets better soon.

Well, so far she's been eating and drinking pretty well.

I would guess she's about 10 weeks old, but maybe as little as 8. It's always hard to tell on a stray.

Ooops, I meant vaporizer, not humidifier, like everyone else has said. I got a pretty cheap one at the drug store that works really well. Yeah, strays can be very hard to age, I've had several that are actually much older than they look because of poor nutrition, illness, etc.

mrblanche, I also use NOW foods L-Lysine... The tub has 822 doses of 500mg, and it is VERY versatile - In here I mix it in the water for everybody, plus Bugsy gets extra in his food...

Here is a couple of options for you:
From Amazon:
L-Lysine from Amazon
From iHerb:
L-Lysine from iHerb:
L-Lysine from iHerb (* [font=&quot]Use coupon code VES097 to save $5.00 off your first purchase)
Currently Amazon has better pricing, BUT, if you need to get any other vitamins, by all means, IMO iherb is the best place to buy supplements, so take advantage of the coupon to combine orders and you might save $$

Anyways, I have tried the fancy paste from the vet, smashing pills from CVS, and this powder - this so far is the easiest, and the most well received form by all kitties...
Hope this helps some!

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Little Emily seems to be improving, but she's still sneezing and coughing quite a bit. She's starting to play some, and she's not so willing to just lie on your chest and purr.

At what point can I be pretty sure she's not contagious any more?

Did she ever get checked by the vet?

If she's having nasal discharge and it's colored (yellow, green, or some combination of the two), then she's still sick and contagious. As long as the nasal discharge is clear, you're good to go.

She's never really had a nasal discharge. Clean nose, in fact. Just a lot of lung congestion, sneezing, coughing, etc. She's feeling a lot better, pouncing and playing in the bathroom, but she's still wheezing a little.

The wheezing & congestion are enough to concern me. I know you're fostering her, but I think she needs to be cleared by the vet before integrating.

She's getting steadily better, but like you, I'm pretty reluctant to expose the other cats to her virus, whatever it might be. We clean our hands before we touch the other cats and are keeping stuff completely separate.