TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Cat Health › Kitty has a cold
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Kitty has a cold

post #1 of 22
10/20/10 at 8:29am
Thread Starter 
So I adopted my Kismet last week and noticed he had a bit of a runny nose - it has gotten worse and he is now also sneezing.

I had him to the vet on Saturday - to give him a wellness check and address a few things - (( the cold, possible ear mites and anal gland expressing as well as a weigh in and general checkup )).

I was told to keep an eye on him, but as long as he is eating and drinking as well as pooping he should be ok.

How long will it take for this cold to back off? (No cats of mine have EVER had a cold before lol )

His eyes are watering a bit but nothing outrageous.
He is not wheezing or having issues with his breathing.
So far it is just drippy nose (clear mucus) and sneezing a lot.
Reply
post #2 of 22
10/20/10 at 8:42am
If it were me, I'd call the vet and tell them he's worse and get something for the upper respiratory infection to nip it in the bud. You don't want him to get any sicker. Make sure he continues to eat and drink normally as well as use the litter box.
Reply
post #3 of 22
10/20/10 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
Ok so I spoke to my vet - she still thinks it is nothing to worry about as he is still eating, drinking and playing like normal. However she gave me some Lysine (( I will pick it up tomorrow after work )) and see if that helps. If not - We will go back in and actually get something strong for it.

In the mean time I need to rename little Kismet to "sneezy"
Reply
post #4 of 22
10/20/10 at 7:45pm
While I'm a big advocate of lysine, I don't think that's going to help as it takes several days to really work and you have to give it twice a day to keep it in their system.
Reply
post #5 of 22
10/21/10 at 5:28am
Thread Starter 
I am going to get the flavored stuff - my guy hasn't turned away from any food yet so I have hopes the twice a day dose won't be a problem. ( I can also mix in a small treat to attract him more if need be. I will wait till Sunday and see how he is doing if no better he will go in Monday. He is showing no signs of distress other than sneezing and sniffly nose. Hopefully this will help - poor litte guy has already been to the vet twice in 1 week.
Reply
post #6 of 22
10/21/10 at 7:25am
If he continues to be stuffy, you can turn on the shower to get the bathroom nice and steamy. Take him in there with you and sit with him until the steam dissipates. This helps open up the nasal passages and he'll be able to breathe better. If he gets too stuffy, he'll not be able to smell his food to eat, so keep an eye on that. You can warm up wet food in the microwave for about 8-10 seconds to help enhance the aroma of the food to entice him to eat.
Reply
post #7 of 22
10/21/10 at 5:00pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks - yup I am already doing all those things and have been for a few days now.

Unfortunately my little one took a turn for the worse today and his little eyes are horrible. He is miserable and wanting to just sleep. We have an appointment with the vet for 8:30 am and I plan to demand meds.

I convinced him to eat - not a LOT but no less than usual per say at one feeding - by offering wet food with a bit of water added and microwaved... then I brought the dish to where he was laying and he DID eat

He then also went to use his kittybox. So at least we have that on our side!

He got poop all over himself though so I had to hold him down and clean him up with wet wipes - he wasn't pleased about it but we got through it.

I need to have him sleep in his room tonight which will make him feel shunned but that way he gets a good solid sleep and is right near his litterbox if needed. We will get up and head to the vet and hope for the best.

I need to try and firm his stool up again - He came to me on IAMS and I have been working to swap him to blue buffalo but I may have to retreat back to iams for a few days till he is feeling better. (( I would stick to the blue buffalo wet and just use the iams dry instead of mix iams/bb dry. ))

I hope to have better news tomorrow after we go see our vet.

Once he is on meds, how fast will he start to feel better? Ballpark it?
Reply
post #8 of 22
10/21/10 at 6:19pm
It depends on what type of medicine he gets, but generally within 48 hours. Sometimes my cats have gotten a shot to help them feel better within 24 hours, but then I still give them daily meds. Both of my girls have had the Convenia shot, which is a long acting antibiotic shot so you don't have to give daily meds. I don't like that because with both of them, they are different ages and weights, they were zombie-like for about a week.

If you need to force feed him, you can use a syringe and/or try stage 2 meat only baby food (no garlic or onions). I've also boiled a chicken breast in plain water, shredded some and added a bit of the broth to it to make it chicken salad consistency, and offered that with success. You can also give him plain pedialyte to help with hydration. Do you know how to check to be sure he's not dehydrated?
Reply
post #9 of 22
10/21/10 at 6:34pm
Thread Starter 
Luckily I can still get him to eat... I add waer to his wet food too. Usually he drinks a lot so I will see if he continues. Yup I Know how to tell if he is dehydrated thanks! I will monitor his food intake as well as water for the next few days.... make sure he is eating and drinking. I do have syringes though - just in case.

I need to keep an eye on his poops now too. Which makes poop more firm wet or dry food? I want to help him get a bit more solid asap.

I sure hope he gets some GOOD meds tomorrow. It kills me to see him this way My velcro kitty doesn't even want to snuzzle. I just got graced with a 15 minute snuzzle - which I made sure to enjoy. ( I have a towel on my lap so he can snuzzle poopy bum or not! There is also one on my wheelchair, he likes to lay on my cushion).

I will have him in his own room tonight - which may make him sad but that way he sleeps better and if he has an accident it isn't such a big deal.

Poor little man.

Thanks for helping keep me calm and sane through this.
Reply
post #10 of 22
10/21/10 at 7:31pm
Thread Starter 
awwwww and on top of it all he is teething! I just found two teeth in his kibbles! Poor guy!
Reply
post #11 of 22
10/21/10 at 7:38pm
Oh wow! That could be causing everything! When Tumbles was teething, he had some fairly loose stools. He wasn't sick or anything, but just inconsistent poops. Make sure you mention the teething thing to the vet tomorrow.
Reply
post #12 of 22
10/21/10 at 7:53pm
Thread Starter 
yeaaaaaaaaaaa thats what I was thinking! Babies too - have all sorts of issues when they teethe! The vet knows he is teething cuz she commented on his baby teeth.

Thanks for confirming that could be the issue! Maybe I will keep him on the crappy dry iams until he is done teething? And the wet BB?? then when he is done teething put him back on dry bb?
Reply
post #13 of 22
10/21/10 at 8:03pm
Once he gets over the runny poops, you should be okay to switch, just do it very, very gradually.
Reply
post #14 of 22
10/21/10 at 8:14pm
Thread Starter 
Yea I think so too. I was doing it super slowly - but I guess with teething and being sick it just was bad timing. We will try again in a week or two

He just played for about 10 minutes! It was nice to see! Now he is exhausted on his tree napping again.

I have decided to let him sleep with me - I haven't got the heart when he feels so LOUSY to toss him out of my bed. I plan to cover the bed with a hospital blanket and then some towels... and if he gets a little poo on them or me? well, the world won't end. He needs his snuggles.
Reply
post #15 of 22
10/22/10 at 10:16am
Thread Starter 
We are home from the vet

Kismet is on a liquid antibiotic (( which he hates so I put it into little pill pockets rather than force his mouth open and squirting. It works - he eats about 6 to get the full dose, and he is to take it with food so it's a twofer.... Luckily the pill pockets are not like 20.00 a pack tho

He is also on some probiotics for the tummy issues - he has no problem wolfing down food with that mixed in (( I also had them shave his bum and part of his tail by his bum, to help keep him clean until his tummy is better ... I am using wetwipes but with his long fur it can get messy - so for now this will be a good thing. He looks a bit silly but so be it. ))

He is also now on the Lysine... he hates it but if I put it in the wet food he will eat it. (( I tried offering it on it's own, no dice. I tried putting on nose or paw as instructed? He refused. He walked around with it on for ages so I finally wiped it off for him lol now he is stained yellow. I will just put it in his wet food... he eats it without issue that way )).

He took his morning dose of all - with minimal fuss and then even let me snuggle him for a few minutes. USUALLY he is all about the snuggles but he feels so lousy he wants no part of them. So I took what he offered snuggle wise.

With some luck the 10 days of meds will go smoothly and he will feel better really soon!
Reply
post #16 of 22
10/22/10 at 5:02pm
So glad you've gotten him to the vet and that he's gotten some meds. How's he doing tonight?
Reply
post #17 of 22
10/22/10 at 7:14pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks!

Believe it or not he is PLAYING... has been for about an hour or two! I have gotten 2 doses of the antibiotics into him, 2 doses of the lysine and ONE of the pro-biotic. I can't imagine how it made a difference so fast but it seems to have with energy levels and good mood. Now we just need to wait for the sneezes and yucky eyes to go away.

I had a hard time getting his antibiotics in him the second dose, I have enlisted mom to help this weekend to make it a bit easier.

His bum is still super yucky - but hopefully the pro-botics will make a difference soon? I wet wiped his little bum a few times today but he did VERY well with it now that it is shaved he doesn't seem to care. I suspect it was me cleaning the fur more than the bum that was bugging him.

I hope he learns to clean his own bum soon.

As it goes I am much calmer today seeing him acting somewhat like his normal self
Reply
post #18 of 22
10/22/10 at 7:17pm
That's good to hear that he's already showing improvement. It's such a relief when they start acting normal again. The better he feels, the more he's likely to not want the meds, but just keep giving them to him.
Reply
post #19 of 22
10/22/10 at 7:42pm
Thread Starter 
hah I got sneaky tonight and mixed all 3 into his wet food - and took away his dry free food He gobbled it up. Thank god he is a little piggie, I pray that never changes because it is a life saver. Luckier even still all 3 say to take with food. *snorts*

I figured it would take till the end of the weekend to see any change.. I am really impressed.



He is even drinking loads again now
Reply
post #20 of 22
10/27/10 at 7:32am
Thread Starter 
We are on day 5 of a 10 day course of his antibiotics.

His sneezing only happens a couple of times a day now and they aren't huge the way they were.

He is LOADED with energy now - for most of the day and then has lots of small hard naps.... he is very kitten like now

He is still being bothered by one eye but hopefully that will clear up in the remaining 5 days!
Reply
post #21 of 22
10/27/10 at 12:06pm
Hooray! Glad he's responding well to the meds. Keep an eye on the eye problem. He might need an eye drop med for that to totally clear up.
Reply
post #22 of 22
10/27/10 at 6:58pm
Thread Starter 
Yup! I will see how it is when the antibiotics are gone. He is sure having a blast playing - once he gets going. He is still a lazy butt for a kitten though! I need to find new ways to get him playing.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Cat Health
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Cat Health › Kitty has a cold