sick kitty

Is it safe to use VICKS vaporizer humidifier to treat my cat's URI symptoms?

I have been reading mixed suggestions about that...

Stormy has seen the VET and we have put her on a cocktail of antibiotics and medicines.  They are unsure what has caused this onset of horrible congestion and discomfort but they are in the process of narrowing things down. 

In the meantime, I was desperately to relieve her discomfort. NOT irritate it.

I took the vicks vaporizer part out and I am just letting the steam come out.  There is still some residual vicks air.  She seems to like it but I do not want it to come back to haunt us.

Anyone have experience with this???

~m

I wouldn't add any more Vick's to the thing, but a steam vaporizer is excellent to help stopped up kitties.  I have put eucalyptus oil drops in a pot of steaming water on my stove top to help with stopped up kitties before with no bad side effects.  Is she sneezing?  If so, what color is the discharge?  If there's discharge and it's colored (green or yellow or some combination of those two), ask the vet to do a culture and sensitivity test on it.  The culture tells the vet what you're dealing with and the sensitivity test tells the vet which med will best treat it. 

Have things been stressful in your house recently?  People visiting, change in routine, did you go away for Thanksgiving?  Those stressful situations can bring on URIs. 
 

She seems to be doing better.  Still having sneezing attacks but seems to be breathing a bit better and more comfortable, in general.  Her eyes are watery but not necessarily a discharge of any thick sort.  This sickness come about two times now.  She is only about one and a half.  Both time a fever of very HIGH proportions(107-first time, then 106 this past time) was the initial attention getter.  A slew of millions of other issues have risen.  Right now the two antibiotics are helping greatly.

My other cat, on the other hand, has not left my bedroom since Stormy returned from her overnight VET stay.  She is eating and responding to my attention and touch.  Although, hiding in the closet for the LARGE majority of the day.  I have been bringing her food and her litter box is now in the room with her too.  She has come out but very uneasy, looking over her shoulders to see if Stormy is coming.  They met eye to eye once (that I observed) and it was almost like they were scared of one another or didn't know one another.  Very strange.  I feel like the non sick kitty, Fatoola, knows that Stormy is very sick and is staying away from her- either she doesn't recognize her and her sick smell OR she knows that she is very sick and wants to remain healthy.

So hard to know what is happening.  I want her to be healthy and happy.  $1500 later, two vet stays, tons of medicines, many viles of blood taken and one urine analysis later and there are still no answers.

No big environmental changes either.  I am in the process of moving, but it has been gradual.  New boxes to pack things into have come into my home.  They were actually used boxes.  I got rid of them, as well, for fear that perhaps they had some weird foreign smell, allergen or worse, a poison like pesticides in the boxes that use to contain food.

ahhhhhhhhhhh.

absolutely crazy.

But thanks so much for responding.

I am hoping to have answers SOON.

I will keep you posted.

Have you had a realPCR test done to determine exactly what kind of URI virus is causing her to be sick? If the antibiotics she is on now do not clear everything up I would definitely recommend that as the next step.

My kitten had very similar symptoms and it turned out she had a whole slew of URI viruses and infections that only that test was able to determine, thread is here if you want to check it out for yourself: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/250364/new-kitten-with-calicivirus-and-resident-cat-help she is in 100% health now after getting the right medications.