Sick Kittie - Need advice please!

My baby is 9 yrs old, 12 lbs and I adopted her from the humane society about a week and a half ago.  She was doing great the first few nights but last Saturday night she started feeling crumby.

She was drooling excessively, sneezing, coughing and very lethargic.  I took her to the ER on Sunday and long story short they said she has a URI and gave her an injection for antibiotic.

She was not eating or drinking and was just hiding under the bed so I took her again to a vet on Tuesday and they recommended that I leave her the night so they could have IV fluids and pain meds.  I left her the night and she started seeing drastic improvements - she even ate for me when I visited her!

Unfortunately, I have spent over $1000 on her in the first week we have been together and now I am drained on money so I needed to take her home on Wednesday after 1 night in the hospital.  The Doc was ok with this but recommended I leave her longer (and I simply didnt have the money)

When I took her home, she seemed so much more comfortable with her environment and ate again for me on Wednesday night (even though it wasnt much).

It is Friday morning now and she hasn't eaten or drank anything again since Wednesday night.  This worries me.  Here is a summary of her symptoms and what I've done to try and help her:

Symptoms:

Not eating or drinking, lethargic, trouble breathing, clogged nasal passages.  (she is not breathing through her mouth and her fever has gone down to the best of my knowledge)  Her drooling has stopped and her sneezing / coughing is much less frequent than it was earlier this week

Remedies I've done/tried:

Shes on a 2 week antibiotic via injection.  She was in the hospital over night on fluids / pain meds / appetite stimulants.  I have oral pain meds and appetite stimulants but I cant get her to swallow either so I've given up.  I've tried steaming up the bathroom and bringing her in there for 10 minutes and she was ok with that but didnt see any improvements.  I've tried having her in the bathroom with me while I showered and she HATED that.  I've tried 2 different wet foods (microwaved), tuna, ham and turkey but she wont eat any of it since Wednesday.  (planning on baby food tonight).  I don't have a humidifier nor can I afford one for at least the next day or so but will purchase one over the weekend if I get paid in time.

First thing is first, I've given her a ton of TLC and an adequate amount of "alone time".  Even brought her on the bed to sleep with me last night and she stayed the night.

Sorry for the long post - my question is:  When is enough enough?  Should I back off for a few days or do I need to keep trying to help?  I fear that more vet visits, poking and prodding, picking her up and trying to force meds and constant trips to the bathroom are adding stress to her that is not necessary.  I'm trying to be the best Dad that I can for her - do I back off or try more remedies?  I've never had a cat with a URI so I'm new to this - any advice is appreciated. 

Thank you

Will she swallow at all for syringe feedings or just pills etc?  Or will she just plain not swallow, period?  Bc you could try processing some wet food and water and give it to her.  

Well, it sounds like you're doing all the right things (putting her in the bathroom with steam , heating up tuna to make it smell stronger, etc.  Just make sure it isn't too hot (that's the only thing I can think of that might prevent her from eating, but I'm sure you already thought of that) 

Now, I've never had a cat with  URI, but why the pain meds?  Don't think I've ever heard of a cat with  URI getting pain meds?  Anyway, you can pill a cat rather than trying to get her to "eat" them.  It's easier if they eat them in their food, but pilling them isn't that hard, if you know how to do it.  There are tons of YouTube videos on how to pill a cat, or try searching here on this site, as I know there are many people who have posted their successes in giving pills to their cats.

As far as getting her to eat...what did she eat at the Humane Society?  Have you tried giving her some of whatever that was, just to get her to eat?  (something familiar)  You may, indeed, need to start syringe feeding her with a soupy mixture of canned food blended with water if she doesn't eat soon, because cats cannot go too long without food or else they develop Hepatic Lipidosis (sp?), which is NOT good. 

for your girl.  Keep us posted on how she is doing

Thanks for the replies.

Sheeshshe:

*I finally got her pill (appetite stimulant) and her liquid pain meds to go down about 5 minutes ago.  Huge sigh of relief.  Hope she will eat something tonight!

mrsgreenjeens:

*The pain meds were prescribed because her gums are red and teeth look like they are not in the best shape.  The thought was maybe pain in her mouth is also stopping her from eating so this was just an additional precaution.  (Although I don't think that is the root of the issue because she was eating fine until she got sick)

*I was able to get the pill down, with a little practice and research.  Thank you for the advice.

*As far as her food - The humane society fed her dry food, generic Sam's Club brand.  When I took her home I gave her Blue Buffalo brand dry and wet food.  She was eating her full plate of wet food every day until she got sick but not sure exactly how much dry she may have eaten.  She was given a "buffet" of wet food while in the hospital and i took home a couple cans of the one she ended up eating (Science Diet, seafood flavor)

Today was the first time I successfully administered her pain meds and appetite stimulant so we will hope that she eats on her own tonight.  Otherwise I guess I need to syringe feed her.

Other thing I noticed is that she didnt urinate from Wednesday until Sunday when I first got her.  How often should cats uriniate?  She has done so twice since coming back from the vet 2 days ago, but she was on IV fluids.  Not sure how else I can monitor her drinking water besides checking the litter box?  I gave her 0.3 cc of water via syringe right after giving her pain meds.  Should I continue to force feed her water?

Thanks again for your help.  Any continued support and encouragement is greatly appreciative.  Once she is eating and drinking on her own again it will be a huge step.

URIs take time to heal, unfortunately.  They're also very common about 2 weeks after bringing home an adopted kitty.  She's not eating because she's all congested and she's not peeing because she's not drinking.  Having nursed a few through severe URIs, here are a few things to try.

Get some meat baby food (no ham, no garlic, no onions, no veggies) and some Fancy Feast canned food.  Mix a small portion of the meat baby food with a small portion of the canned food.  Add a bit of water or plain baby Pedialyte until it's a thick oatmeal consistency.  Warm the food in a water bath or nuke in the microwave for just a couple of seconds to warm it up.  Warming up the food enhances the aroma and entices the kitty to want to eat.  Try putting some of the food on your finger and see if she'll lick it off.  It's so very important that she stay hydrated and eating or else you'll end up with other problems.  If necessary, get some syringes from the vet's office, a feed store, or the pharmacy (without needles) and force feed her by squirting it into the side of her mouth in small batches.

Elevate the food dish so that she doesn't have to bend her head down too far to the bowl.  The snot in her head will run down her nasal passage and then she'll lift her head up and eventually get tired of trying to eat. 

Steam her in the bathroom to help decongest her.  Get the bathroom nice and steamy, take her in there and sit with her until the steam dissipates.  If you have one or you want to buy one, get a VAPORIZER (not a humidifier) and run it 24/7 in the room where she spends most of her time or near where she sleeps.  This will help break up the congestion.  You can add a bit of eucalyptus oil to the water which will help open up the nasal passages, but do NOT put the oil anywhere near where the kitty can get to it as it's fatal if ingested.  You can also put on a large pot of water to simmer on the stove and add the eucalyptus oil to that.  Steam her several times a day. 

You can put plain saline drops in her nose to help clear out the congestion as well.  I have used Little Noses (a children's brand) or plain saline nose drops and a dropper. 

Pick up some L-Lysine from the store.  It's found in the supplement section and comes in tablets.  Look for 500 mg tablets.  Crush 1 tablet between 2 spoons and add to her wet food twice a day.  Do this until she's over the URI.  The lysine helps boost her immune system.

Lastly, and this is the hard one, don't stress.  I know, easier said than done!  She will pick up on your stress and that will just stress her out more and slow down her improvement. 

Once you start getting some food and water into her, she should perk up and you'll see more output in the litter box.  If she got the Convenia shot, she might sleep A LOT for about a week or so.  Of course, her body is also doing all it can to fight the infection which depletes her energy.  Time, patience, and TLC is the best thing to help her get well.  You'll start seeing small improvements like grooming, becoming more active, starting to play and those are indicators she's feeling better.

I hope this helps!  Wishing you the best with your kitty.

Thank you so much for the advice stephanietx.  Here is the latest

She ventured out to the living room last night and sat on the couch with me which is a drastic improvement in "attitude".  I was able to give her appetite stimulants last night and this morning but still no sign of eating.  She did urinate in the middle of the night again and this morning I was shocked to find her drinking water from her bowl and she has been there for quite some time now!  Good news that she is drinking but still havent had any luck with food.

I am on my way to buy a vaporizer and some baby food and L-Lysine to try to get some nutrition in her.  Her nose congestion seems to be the biggest problem that i can see at the moment but cant figure out why else she might not be eating.  Maybe she is picking at her dry food when I'm not looking but she hasnt had any bowel  movements since she got home on Wednesday.

Just having her out and about in the morning is shocking as shes spent almost the last week just chillin in the closet.  I'm taking this as a very positive sign that shes feelin better.. or extremely bored

I guess the next steps are trying to get her to eat so I will try baby food and using my finger / dabbing on her nose and eventually force feeding her.  Any other advice to get the poor baby to eat is greatly appreciated!

Thanks again for your help and support

Hooray for her socializing and drinking water!!  That's fantastic!  Now, as you said, you just need to get her to eat something.  If she had fluids recently (Thurs maybe??), it's very common for kitties to not be hungry after fluids.  Also, her tummy may be a little upset (indigestion) from the medication.  Just getting her to eat something is better than nothing and might help settle her tummy.  Nursing a kitty through an illness like this can be a very bonding thing.  I hope this is true for you and your new kitty.  Do the steam treatments frequently.  That will really help her.  I call them "spa treatments" when I have to put Hannah in the bathroom with me to steam her.  LOL

Well I bought humidifiers this morning and they have been running through the house for 8 hours now.  No signs of improvement from my little girl.  She still looks visible congested and very uncomfortable. I left her food "buffets" out in both her eating areas (since she is new to the house I am putting food in her "safe room" as well as the kitchen) but she hasnt touched them.  As far as I can tell there has been no sign of eating since Wednesday night and even though I can't hear her breathing from 10 feet away anymore, she still doesnt look like shes feelin any better.  I am out of the appetite stimulants and she hasnt eaten even though I have been giving them to her the last 2 days.  I really don't know what else to do at this point.  I could take her to the ER tonight or tomorrow or give it until Monday to see her primary vet.  Should I start thinking that another vet visit is in order or continue to have patience and try home remedies?  The only thing I know of that I haven't tried is syringe feeding her and I've already spent now over $1200 on her in less than 2 weeks and its become a real financial strain.  I would prefer not to spend money that isnt necessary but willing to spend more if it will ultimately be in her best interest. 

PS - I also just tried to get some saline into one nostril for the first time but I dont know how much got into the affected area.  Yet another procedure that I'm very new too.

Still confused and worried

Well I bought humidifiers this morning and they have been running through the house for 8 hours now.  No signs of improvement from my little girl.  She still looks visible congested and very uncomfortable. I left her food "buffets" out in both her eating areas (since she is new to the house I am putting food in her "safe room" as well as the kitchen) but she hasnt touched them.  As far as I can tell there has been no sign of eating since Wednesday night and even though I can't hear her breathing from 10 feet away anymore, she still doesnt look like shes feelin any better.  I am out of the appetite stimulants and she hasnt eaten even though I have been giving them to her the last 2 days.  I really don't know what else to do at this point.  I could take her to the ER tonight or tomorrow or give it until Monday to see her primary vet.  Should I start thinking that another vet visit is in order or continue to have patience and try home remedies?  The only thing I know of that I haven't tried is syringe feeding her and I've already spent now over $1200 on her in less than 2 weeks and its become a real financial strain.  I would prefer not to spend money that isnt necessary but willing to spend more if it will ultimately be in her best interest. 

PS - I also just tried to get some saline into one nostril for the first time but I dont know how much got into the affected area.  Yet another procedure that I'm very new too.

Still confused and worried

Try the steam treatment in the bathroom, especially if you have a smallish bathroom.  I usually get some result from that more quickly than when I use the vaporizer. 
 

I still can't get her to eat.  She hasn't eaten since Wednesday night so we are starting day 4 with no food today.  She has been drinking water though.

I feel like I've tried everything.  I've tried tuna and at least 6 other flavors of wet food, one dry food and some people food (ham, turkey and cheese).  But nothing interests her at all.  I've tried putting a little dab on her nose and that didn't work.  I've heated up every meal to "warm but not hot".  I've left 4-5 different choices of wet food out in her two feeding areas.  Tried offering her food when I wake her up.  I've tried putting it on my finger and offering it to her, tried raising her dish by 1-2 inches.  Tried putting a dab on her tongue.  Twice I've "tried" to syringe feed her but at best I can get about 0.2 ml of food in her.  Figured the taste or substance in her stomach would help kick start her but it hasn't.  She was even on appetite stimulants for 2 days with no avail and I've had humidifiers running throughout the house for 24 hours to help her congestion hoping her sense of smell would return.  Nothing has worked.

I'm out of ideas.  I'm defeated.  I have no idea where to go from here.... What do I do?

(PS - She had a bowel movement last night, only about 1 inch long.  Could this be from what she ate on Tuesday / Wednesday?  I was truly shocked to see it because I have no seen any evidence whatsoever that she has eaten.  Is it normal for their digestive system to take 4-5 days before producing a bowel movement after eating?)

You need to force feed her!  She cannot go without eating for 4 days.  If worse comes to worse, she needs to go to the ER vet.
 

Agreed! Please please please force feed her with a syringe. Little bits on your finger is nowhere near enough. She will start to develop fatty liver disease pretty soon and then you are really up the creek! She'll need to be hospitalized for sure! She's not eating because she can't smell her food. Do you have a syringe? you can get one from the drug store, a medium sized, 10 ml one. 

After 3 weeks of syringe feeding my kitty, I have some good experience LOL

Get a nice thicker tipped syringe or the food will not move through easily.  blend up your canned food with some liquid.  wrap her in a towel so she won't claw you, bc she'll probably be ticked off at you.  push the tip of the syringe in the side of her gums until she opens her mouth and squirt a little in.  let her swallow.  repeat over and over and over again.  again, she'll probably be ticked off at you, but she needs it.  even if you have to try again in 5 min, do what you can to get it in there!

Hey guys -  Thanks again for all of your help and support thought this.  Here is our progress today:

So this morning I called the Humane Society for advice.  They were so kind, got their supervisor on the phone and invited me in immediately for a free checkup.  The first thing the doctor told me after reviewing paper work from her vet visits is that she was given the wrong antibiotic a week ago - so she has been fighting this w/o meds all week  They also said that she for sure needs dental work but we need to kick the URI first and her mouth shouldn't hinder that at this point.

So after a visit with the doc they brought me to the fostering department and two very nice ladies helped me out.  They gave her more fluid under her skin and showed me how best to give her the pain meds and syringe feed her.  We got the meds in her and about 1/4 can of cat food.  When we were wiping her off she decided to empty her stomach out She's got good aim - she got my sunglasses, car keys, shirt, pants and shoes in the process!  We figured she either had an upset tummy from the meds or a combination of stress + upset tummy from not eating in days in conjunction with all the post nasal drip shes been swallowing.  

So they gave me some tummy meds too.  Gave her 1 dose at the clinic and sent me packing with a good knowledge (and practice) on syringe feeding her food and meds.  Gave me 2 cans of Rx cat food (like $8 per can), 2 weeks supply of antibiotics (the right ones, doxycycline), powder L-Lycine to mix in food (immune system booster), 5 anti-nausea bills (so she can keep the meds down which taste crappy) and a syringe to feed her with.  The total cost of the doctor + training + all the stuff to take home = $0.00.  What a wonder bunch of people they have over there.

New game plan is keep her confined to the walk-in closet and bathroom (they are connected) - 1 humidifier in each room.  Frequent warm towel cleansing from her snot.  Antibiotics 1x per day with tummy meds.  Syringe feed her 4x per day (1/2 can worth of Rx food (called a/d critical care) minimum, mixed with water if she isnt drinking and always mixed with 1/4 her daily dose of L-Lycine).  Offer her food first so if she eats on her own, no need to syringe feed her.  This will last at least a week we think until she is feelin a lot better.

I was able to give her the antibiotic when we got home and 6ml of food.  I know its not too much food but didn't want to upset her stomach again so the plan is to take it at a pace where she can eat enough throughout the day without getting sick.

So the doc is in the house, well trained and with a sound game plan.  Let's hope for the best as I nurse this beautiful girl back to health!  Thanks again for all of your advice and support!

Is your cat still getting the appetite stimulant.  It takes several dosages before it kicks in and makes them eat.
 

No she isnt.  She was on it for 3 days (that was all they gave me) and the 2nd and 3rd days she was on it she wasnt eating  I'll ask about going back on it if she doesnt start eating again on her own within a few days.  Thanks for the heads up, I didn't realize it took a few doses to kick in.

Just want to say you sound like an amazing cat daddy!!!! Keep up the good work
 

Thanks!  Your words of encouragement go a long way!  This past week or so has been very trying on both of us and I really need the moral support to help keep me going - it's so painful to watch her cough and sneeze and struggle just to sit some water

Thank you for trying to help her.  Keep up your efforts.  I am s ure once the antibiotic kicks in and she starts to feel better, she will eat on her own.

Did you call the original vet and let them know the prescription you picked up was wrong?