Help! Gasping Kitty Cat

Hi everyone, i need some advise.  My 15 year old cat has Horner's Syndrome and now has a horrible respiratory virus -- she isn't sneezing, but her head is so congested that she is gasping for breath when excited (like after i give her the antibiotic pill) and isn't eating or drinking.  She's been to the vet 3 times, as late as yesterday and was given another month of antibiotics. 

I've read several threads here and will use the Afrin Baby Nose Drops for her and a humidifier, but I guess what i really want to know, is whether that gasping is normal.  Also, she cannot "meow" and is making horrible "gravel" sounds even when still. She had a chest xray for pneumonia yesterday and that was clear, along with her blood work.

Just worried and think she is a lot sicker than the vet seems to think. How long can a cat go without eating or drinking? It's been 2-3 days.  

-A Worried Mom 

Did you tell the vet she wasn't eating or drinking?  That's very serious after 2-3 days. If you did, they should have given her subq fluids and advised you on syringe feeding her.  Not eating is normal for a cat who can't smell anything but I'm concerned about her not drinking water. Either she is so nauseated from not eating that even water nauseates her further, or she is so congested she can't even lap water.

You can do the subq fluids, and she will feel much better for them. You can syringe feed her at home also. Since she is so very congested, this won't be easy. Give her steam treatment first to make her nasal passages more open and give small amounts (about 2cc)  with at least a minute rest in between each pump from the syringe. Can you give frequent feeds, such as 6-8 times a day, so the feedings are small?

I know some on this forum don't trust the Convenia shot but for a cat who goes into respiratory distress after pilling, a single shot might be best.  See if an anti-viral will help more than antibiotics. My Bee has a terrible chronic URI with so much discharge she will gag over her food when trying to eat and I can hear her breathing from another room. We pulse treat her with Famiclovir, an anti-viral, and it works as none of the antibiotics did.

Cats often get really hoarse when they have a bad URI, such as with the calicii virus.
 

This is what I did after my 3 kitties caught a nasty uri, (upper respritory infection). Go to wal mart or any place that sells vitamins and get 1,000 mg of L Lysine. Ground it up and give the full amount to your kitty for 1 week. After that, reduce to 250 mg a day for the rest of her life. Boosts immune system, keeps the virus from replicating and if it does reappear, it will not be as severe. For the eyes, buy some saline solution and gently dab the eyes with seperate cotton balls so not to spread the infection. Place a drop or 2 on each eye 3 times a day. It clears up pink eye if they have it much better. Go to a health food store and buy some ORGANIC apple cider vinegar. Saturate a cotton baill with it not diluted, part the fur on the back of the neck and rub the vinegar into the skin. YOur kitty will lick it off but that's what you want it to do. Make sure it's eating and drinking. If it's not, get a hi caloria cat food like Hills critical care and you may need to force feed. If it's not eating the immune system will not be strong enough to fight the infection. Do this 3 or 4 times a day but just a few bites at a time until the litty is able to eat on it's own. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO DO 3 OR 4 TIMES A DAY....run the hot water in your baroom from the tub or shower and wait till it's good and steamy...straight hot water. Sit in the bathroom with your cat for 15 minutes 3 or 4 times a day. YOu may want to get in anti biotic from a vet to make sure it doesn't get a secondary infection from the uri. The anti biotic will not help the primary infection but it could save your cat's life from pneumonia. Be consistent. It took 8 weeks for all 3 of my cats to get completely over it but after $300 in vet bills, this worked the best and I got the info on a forum like this one. Good Luck. It's a scarey thing to see your cats so sick. Just remember, she has to eat even if you need to force her and she has to breathe so do the bathroom trips with her.

Sharon

If you give her drops in her nose, I do not recommend both nostrils at the same time. Do one nostril for 3 days, then the other nostril for 3 days and back and forth. Otherwise, when she is better, her little sinuses will need to heal from the drops and she won't be able to breaths easily because of the irritation. At least this way she'll have one nostril to get air.

Steam her in the bathroom to help open up her nasal passages.  Just get the bathroom nice and steamy, turn off the water, and sit in there with her until the steam dissipates.  You also need to force feed her.  Get a syringe without a needle from the feed store or pharmacy.  Get some really stinky canned pate cat food.  Add some plain pedialyte to dilute the mixture.  Then suck it up in the syringe and squirt it in her mouth.  She MUST eat or you'll be dealing with fatty liver disease.  You also need to make sure the vet understands that she's had nothing to eat and she may require some fluids or nourishment via IV. 
 

They cannot go but a day without drinking especially. If you believe your kitty is sicker than what the vet says, you are probably right. She has to eat and drink but it's easier to get food down than water. She will still get water from the CANNED cat food so try to get some in her. You can use a syringe for water. But you need to act now.

Thank you so much. The Vet didn't really seem concerned about her not eating and gave her a B-6 shot.  He also gave her appetite stimulants.  I do think it's because she can't smell the food or is afraid she can't take a bite without gasping.  Where do I get the Famiclovir you mention? Does that come in an oral suspension?  

Is there any other vet you can take her to? This doesn't sound right to me that he's not too concerned like that. As the others said, it's very dangerous for them not to eat and I am in agreement that He probably can't smell anything and maybe can't even swallow it for all we know! 

Cat's don't fear quite the way we do. While we would be worried about not being able to breathe if we eat when congested because we are thinking it through, cats just try it and if they can't, they don't. It's more likely she isn't eating because she can't smell the food or because she already has the beginnings of fatty liver disease. No amount of appetite stimulant is going to make a cat eat when they have fatty liver and that can start after only a few days without eating.  When did he give the appetite stimulant?  Was it Mirtazapine?  They work very quickly so if it is going to work, you would know by now.

But, it's really up to you. Get feeding syringes, Hills AD or Royal Canin Recovery cat food from the vet, and feed your cat.  Go very slowly because she will struggle and the swallowing will be more difficult for her with a URI.

I don't know if Famiclovir comes in a suspension, I use pills.
 

Get some really stinky canned food, ad a bit of water to it until it's thick like oatmeal.  Warm it in the microwave for a few seconds or in a water bath.  Warming will enhance the aroma of the food.  Also, put her dish on a raised surface, such as a stack of books, a brick, or something like that to get it up off the floor.  That way she won't have to bend her head down all the way to the floor to eat.  When she bends her head down so far, the snot in her head probably runs out her nose so she lifts her head and stops eating. 
 

I'm sorry to share that my Amber passed away on Thursday night.  I got home from work and was trying to give her her meds and she started frothing at the mouth and gasping.  And the breathing issues continued for about 5 minutes...she was throwing herself on her side, back and forth, gasping for breath.  I scooped her up to take her to the vet, but she essentially suffocated on the way to the vet and died right before i pulled into the vet parking lot.  Her tongue and lips were blue..I think she either had a constricted windpipe, or had heart failure.

It was just awful, but I'm so thankful for the advice for my dear kitty.

I have two other cats (Bella and Cinnamon) so I'm certain to stay on the forum.

Missing my baby...

Oh my gosh, I am so very, very sorry!!!! I too lost my Alex in the car on the way to the vet. She did not make it to the ER. I know exactly how this feels. I'm thinking of you and sending you big hugs. I'm so sorry. 

I'm so sorry for your loss. may she rest in peace.

I will now close this thread. :heart2:

When you feel up to it, please start a memorial thread in the crossing the bridge forum.