I am so worried!!

About a month ago, we took in a stray who had taken up residence under the shed of neighbor who is in the process of selling her house.

We took him to the TNR vet (not our usual vet) in for a health check, neuter, and vaccinations. He tested negative for diseases, but had bad ear mites and what appeared to be a throat infection with enlarged neck glands and was unable to use his voice.

The vet gave him a 10 day antibio shot along with the vaccinations. He's been doing well, is eating and drinking and has gained almost 2 pounds. We were going to find a home for him, but that has proven to be impossible. And, since we are both getting very attached to him, we decided to keep him.

Fast-forward to today. Had to take one of the other kitties to our vet and while there, mentioned the little stray. I told her that his neck glands are still enlarged, though a bit smaller than before, and that I want to bring him in so she can check his mouth because he has really bad breath and I am not sure the throat infection has cleared up completely. He does have his voice back, which is good.

Well, come to find out, with strays you are supposed to keep them separated from your other cats even if the first FELV Test is negative, because it has a latency period and the cat should be re-tested after 60 days. The TNR vet did not say that, as a matter of fact we were told "he is healthy and you can take him home, just make sure the other cats don't chase him until he has recovered from the neuter surgery".

I am totally worried now because he DOES still have very enlarged lymph nodes and if he tested negative though he is really positive, he has been with the other cats for almost a month. We though there was nothing to worry about once he tested negative as that is what the TNR vet said.

Have any of you had a cat with enlarged neck lymph nodes due to anything except FELV? He does have a red line along his gums, I googled that and came up with Bartonella. I am taking him to the our regular vet on Monday but, of course, we will still have to wait another month to re-test for Felv.

Almost any infection can cause the enlarged lymph nodes. Bartonella is not a bad guess, however.

The vet disagreed with me when I mentioned bartonella, but I will bring it up again on Monday. It sure seems possible, given the red line along the gums. There does not seem to be any tartar build-up or dental problem that would explain the line, his teeth look quite healthy. I am hoping the vet is just being alarmist and overly cautious, which is okay considering what a nasty disease felv is. However, I did more research last night and this morning, and read that it is quite rare for a first test to be felv- and a subsequent test to be felv+.

The latency period is an issue really only if he was treated for a bite wound when you first took him in.

Bartonella causes anemia. I don't know what site you were looking at or what "red line" you're seeing... but if he's got bartonella for at least a month, most likely his gums would look pretty white (also anything else on him that should be pink if not otherwise pigmented - paw pads, nose, etc.). Cats can have gingivities without plaque build-up - maybe it's that?

Whatever he's got, sounds like he needs some medical attention.

One quick question - was he treated with some form of dewormer and flea treatment - like Revolution? I'm assuming so, especially because of the ear mites. But to treat for internal parasites (always wise with rescue kitties whether or not stool samples show parasites), he needs to be treated with Revolution (or Advantage Plus) three weeks after the first application, and even best to give a 3rd treatment (again, three weeks after the 2nd one).

LDG, no, he did not have any bite wounds, just a wound behind his ear from scratching due to the ear mites. In your opinion, is it unlikely that after testing negative on the first test, he would test positive after 2 months since there weren't any bites?

Yes, he was treated for fleas, I am not sure what they used. It was some type of topical though. I think they probably wormed him, he does not have diarrhea and has gained almost 2 pounds since we've had him.

He definitely does not have anemia, his gums are a nice, healthy pink and so are his nose and paw pads. He does not have any mouth ulcers from what I can tell, he is pretty good about letting me poke and prod him. I will mention de-worming to the vet on Monday and ask if we need to do it again.

He did get a 10 day antibio shot because of his enlarged glands the day he was neutered, but it does not seem to have made any difference re. gland size. Could be that he needs a different antibio. He still shakes his head and scratches his ears off and on.

The reason the TNR vet thought he had a throat infection was because he did not have a voice when we took him in, he could not even meow. Now, he is able to meow and quite vocal.

If he tested FIV- and FeLV-, while it is a possibility and it's worth testing again just to be sure, but as the vet said, no point in testing until after two months.

There are so many things that could cause swollen glands. Obviously he's doing well and feeling well, so maybe it's just some kind of allergy causing this?

If he's still shaking his head and scratching his ears, it seems to me something like a treatment of Revolution is in order even if he was already treated. It treats for internal parasites and ear mites.

But as to the glands... I'd just do your best not to worry, as you're at the vet tomorrow. Right now, getting him to the vet for a look see and another opinion is really all you can do.

Please let us know how it goes!