Need some advice for my Aunt's sick cat

Hello TCS! I am in some real need of advice. About 5 weeks ago, my aunt adopted a cat from the animal shelter I volunteer at. The cat is female, 7 years old, declawed, is incredibly overweight, and all black. She figured the odds were against her for adoption, and she appeared healthy, so she adopted her. Unfortunately, I did not believe she was fully ready for the responsibility and cost for a cat, and it looks like I was right.

About a week after she adopted her, Cuddles' (cat's name) eye started to run and she started to sneeze. After a day, she had stopped eating completely, and was coughing and sneezing pretty bad with a bad, runny nose. Her eye was bad too. So, we took her to the vet. The vet diagnosed her with an upper respiratory infection and conjunctivitis, and prescribed her clavamox and some sort of eye cream. The clavamox cleared her up quick, but the eye never completely got better. It improved a lot, but after stopping the medication after 2 weeks, the eye got bad again. We called the vet, and he prescribed her the same eye meds, but to be given for an additional two weeks.

Well, now, both eyes are running, and my aunt says the cat is sneezing again. What could this be? She has until Friday to give her the eye medicine (not that it's doing much good), and she said she is only able to take her back to the vets then (which is 5 days away). What could this be? Is there anything specifically the vet should test for? The shelter tests for FeLV, and she was negative, but she has not had a FIV test done. Although, this really doesn't sound like FIV to me. And unfortunately, my aunt can't afford to do extensive blood work, which worries me.

I am so ANGRY at my aunt it isn't funny. I KNEW she wasn't ready, I knew it. But she insisted, and my mom was on board with the idea, and well, now, we have a poor 7 yr old, and very overweight, cat that isn't quite getting better with limited resources. Obviously, the most responsible thing to do is for my aunt to return the cat, but she is refusing. She doesn't want to give up on her, but this just seems so cruel to me. I mean, ATM, the cat is still eating and drinking and being active, but it just sounds like it's starting all over again. Any advice on this would be very much appreciated! I'm so frustrated right now, and feel so sorry for poor Cuddles.

No offense, but you think the best thing for the cat is to be returned to the shelter to be put to death??? =/

Well, if she can't afford the vet care for the cat, and the cat is living in constant illness, is that really any way to live? She doesn't have the money to take the cat to the vet yet, so the cat is going to be sitting sick all week long. And if this next vet visit doesn't get results, it will be another month until my aunt can take her back in. Is this any way to live? Trust me, I hope this works out. But, there are worse alternatives to death, and being constantly ill is one of them. It's also not a 100% death sentence if she were returned, but her odds really aren't that great either. I just don't know what to do in this situation, which is why I came here asking. My aunt keeps talking to me like I'm a vet and have all the answers, and I don't. It's really starting to stress me out, and I feel very bad for this cat and I'm just looking for some insight into what this might be. It may help being able to go back to the vet with some ideas.

Actually, it most likely had the outbreak due to the stress of the adoption and new home. I wouldn't "blame" the situation on your aunt. As you know, many kitties adopted from shelters get an URI when they go to their new homes, so I'm sure it's nothing your aunt did or didn't do.

I would recommend adding Lysine to the cat's wet food. Just get the tablets at the drug store in the supplement section, crush between 2 spoons, and mix in. They have no taste, so the kitty should just gobble them down with the food. Also, run a vaporizer 24/7 where the kitty spends most of its time and/or steam several times throughout the day in a steamy bathroom. Just sit in the bathroom with the kitty until the steam dissipates. Warm up wet food to enhance the aroma and elevate the eating surface for the kitty so that she doesn't have to bend her head down as far to eat. Lots and lots of TLC will help. Also, she may need another round of antibiotics or a different antibiotic. Lastly, a feliway diffuser might help decrease the kitty's stress level.

Thank you! We'll have to give that a try. And she will be going back to the vets on Friday, and I'm sure they'll put her on another round of antibiotics. But, why isn't the eye clearing up after almost a month on the eye medication? May this not be conjunctivitis?

And I'm not blaming my aunt for Cuddles being sick. I know it's common for animals to leave the shelter with an URI. What makes me angry is that she adopted this cat knowing she couldn't afford multiple vet visits if something went wrong. THAT'S what makes me angry. The fact that she keeps calling me everyday that it's getting worse, but can't take her to the vet, THAT'S what makes me angry. I don't blame her for Cuddles being sick, but I do blame her for getting herself into a situation with a living creature that she was unable to properly care for.

I was going to say it sounded like it might be a feline herpes flareup due to stress. The eyes are kind of a clue, but not infallible. The lysine works wonders, and it's cheap.

The runny eye could very well be a herpes flair up. The lysine will help with that as will reducing the stress level in the home. We have a herpes kitty and there are many things that can be done to promote health and keep the flare ups at bay.

Yeah, and antibiotics don't do anything for a herpes flareup, since it's a virus. Lysine supresses the herpes virus so it can really help. I'd give that a try rather than more antibiotics.

Also, what brand and kind of food is she on? That probably won't help with the runny eyes and sneezing but feeding at least 50% canned food and restricting access to dry food can help with weight loss.

Make sure she keeps giving the lysine for at least several days after the symptoms clear up or the problems might return. Lysine can work wonders for runny eyes as well as runny noses.

Following is a post made by Hissy in another thread which may be a big help to you. Hissy is one of our oldest and most knowledgeable members here at TCS. Her advice is gold.

Just for your information- at a recent AVMA conference there was a seminar done on the shelter cats and the URI that are so prevalent in overcrowded (and stressful) conditions. They narrowed the culprit down not to the calicivirus or feline herpesvirus or even the cat flu- but a bacterial microbe that the cats pass easily one to the other. Doxycycline cures this bacterial infection the study goes on to prove. Might talk to your vet and give that a try. Clavamox isn't as strong as Doxy so that might be the turning point for you.

On the L-Lysine if you can get it in Australia be sure it is the pure form- no propylene glycol in it- nasty stuff they use it to make anti-freeze.

Oh wow, thank you everyone! I looked up some stuff on feline herpes and that does sound like it could possibly be it. Everything seemed to match it exactly. But, my aunt has a vet appointment now set up for Friday at 2:40, so I suppose we'll find out then. And thank you for the L-Lysine advice! Would this be alright? http://www.walmart.com/ip/Spring-Val...50-ct/10315363

And let me please clarify, I really do care about this cat and want her to get better, and of course I don't want her returned to the shelter where she'd likely be put to sleep. I'm just worried about her, and think it's awful for her to have to be sick all the time and have to wait so long for vet care. If this keeps going on, then I really don't think my aunt can afford it. She'll just be sick for a month at a time, until she can get the money together to take her in. But hopefully, after this visit, we'll finally get some answers. And my aunt also does really care about this cat, and had a good heart in adopting her, but she was not prepared at all.

Originally Posted by Willowy

Also, what brand and kind of food is she on? That probably won't help with the runny eyes and sneezing but feeding at least 50% canned food and restricting access to dry food can help with weight loss.

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She's feeding Cuddles a half cup of Max Cat Indoor Weight Control a day (split into 2-3 feedings). The vet told us that would be alright. My aunt tried to give her canned food on several occasions, but she keeps throwing it up. So, my aunt stopped trying with the wet food, and is still feeding all of it dry.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Following is a post made by Hissy in another thread which may be a big help to you. Hissy is one of our oldest and most knowledgeable members here at TCS. Her advice is gold.

Just for your information- at a recent AVMA conference there was a seminar done on the shelter cats and the URI that are so prevalent in overcrowded (and stressful) conditions. They narrowed the culprit down not to the calicivirus or feline herpesvirus or even the cat flu- but a bacterial microbe that the cats pass easily one to the other. Doxycycline cures this bacterial infection the study goes on to prove. Might talk to your vet and give that a try. Clavamox isn't as strong as Doxy so that might be the turning point for you.

On the L-Lysine if you can get it in Australia be sure it is the pure form- no propylene glycol in it- nasty stuff they use it to make anti-freeze.

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for this information! We'll definitely have to ask the vet about the Doxycycline.

The lysine will be fine. Just crush between two spoons, mix in with wet food and add a bit of water to help them dissolve. If she doesn't like wet food, try plain meat baby food (no onions, no garlic). On the wet food, try something without fish, as many kitties seem to have a problem with that.

Don't forget the Feliway diffuser if you can find one. That will help with stress.

Thank you again everyone for such great advice! Today was Cuddles' vet appointment, and it actually went very well. The vet listened to her lungs and said that they sound great, her temperature was good, and since Cuddles is still eating and drinking, she didn't think that she had any sort of secondary infection so she just prescribed her Terramycin for her eyes. She also gave her a very large syringe filled with a brown paste that she said is the same thing as the L-Lysine (I think it was Enisyl-F), as she agrees it looks like it could be feline herpes. The Terramycin has to be given 3-4 times a day for 2-3 weeks, and the Enisyl-F is twice a day for 2 weeks. I am REALLY hoping this does the trick. Cuddles has a follow-up appointment set up for two weeks from now, so by then we're hoping to see some improvement! And apparently Cuddles has stopped sneezing as of yesterday (and I didn't hear her sneeze at all today at the vets), so here's hoping that she's not getting another URI, and the previous sneezing was harmless!

If anyone has any further advice as well, please share! My mom, aunt and I really want to get this girl better. She deserves to finally be able to settle down. Poor girl.