Sick kitty

My big "baby" Kaiser has a cold but his nose looks so awful. The vet gave him some fluids yesterday and an antibiotic shot as well as a pain/fever reliever. His sweet little nose has me in tears. I have never had a cat get a cold before so I was hoping someone could please tell me what to expect. I lost my black cat on July 12, 2012 suddenly and I am afraid Kaiser will die from his "cold". He seems so sad!  Please... Has anyone out there have advice for me???

I'm sorry your kitty is sick. You could sit with him in the bathroom and run the hot shower. The steam will help loosen his congestion. L-lysine can be purchased at the pharmacy or grocery store where the vitamins are. It is a safe, natural amino acid. My vet recommends it in addition to any needed antibiotics. You can give your cat 1000 mg while he is sick. It can be very helpful to cats to prevent and treat a cold. Both of my cats take it.

Is he eating okay? Make sure he keeps eating while he is sick. Put food into his mouth yourself if he stops eating. If he gets to that point we can tell you how to do that safely.

Welcome to TCS and I hope Kaiser is feeling better soon

I forgot to add that you can open the capsule and put it on his food. No need for him to swollow the capsule. Mine eat it just fine.

He ate a little bit yesterday. But I forgot to mention the vet pointed out he has a little sore on his tongue. So it might hurt to eat?  I finally caved and cried. He's so helpless. :-(  I took him to the vet yesterday and he said he will be okay but to see him sitting there like that breaks my heart. I will try the shower thing. My cats are all inside cats too, so maybe it's too dry in here?  Can I put something on his nose?  I just feel so bad!!  (Thanks for your reply btw)

If he has a sore tongue you could try feeding him wet food mixed with a lot water or baby food that is just meat and no onions or garlic. Beechnut or Gerber will be okay. It might be easier on him to lap it up and it has protein too. My kitten had a really bad URI when he was 8 weeks old.He couldn't even meow. No sound came out. He took antibiotics and he was fine. I think Kaiser will be fine too. When did he start the antibiotics?

The vet gave Kaiser an antibiotic injection yesterday... He said it was good for 2 weeks. I just hate this. It's so unfair. He's just a kitty that thinks he's a human. :-( he talks to you when you talk to him, he sleeps on the bed with our son like a person! He actually crawls under covers and sleeps with his head on the pillow lol. My husband found him and his sister when they were 3-4 weeks old. Vet didn't think they'd make it, but they did! Kaiser just became a person while Sylvia became a prissy kitty! She knows how to manipulate my husband like a woman! She's got the coloring/markings of a snowshoe while Kaiser is all tabby. Sylvia bats those blue eyes and has a special meow for my husband- it's crazy how she works him for extra treats!

But my poor baby is just so sad looking with his little nose all scabbed up. The vet actually did try to get Kaiser eat some baby food yesterday and said give him what he will eat and that amounted to maybe 5-6 bites of a chickfila sandwich.

He had the fluid under his skin like camel yesterday and seems to have absorbed all of it. The vet wanted to make sure he didn't dehydrate. I think I will make him some chicken broth to get some fluids. Ugh. He's such a sweet heart.

He is a sweetheart .Try the L-lysine too, it can make a big difference.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

The Convenia shot that he got yesterday may make him very sleepy for the next 7-10 days, so don't freak out.  As long as he's eating, drinking water, and using the box, he's okay.  However, you do need to look for any signs of a negative reaction to the shot and/or if he gets worse.  Get him to the vet immediately if you notice him going downhill.  Not sure what you could do for his nose because anything you put on it will be licked off.

The ulcer in his mouth and the nose problem could actually be related.  I once had a cat who developed mouth ulcers and we had to give her a pain med every day for 2-3 days.  It wasn't fun, but we found adding some warm water to her canned food and making it the consistency of semi-runny oatmeal increased her appetite and willingness to eat.  

I also suggest the Lysine.  Get the 500mg tablets in the supplements section at Wal-Mart or a pharmacy.  Crush one between two spoons twice a day.  It's important you give him the Lysine twice daily as it will be eliminated from his body as he urinates.  For the Lysine to help, it needs to stay in the body.

If you don't see an improvement in eating habits within 48 hours, I'd contact the vet.  The fluids may also make him not want to eat.  Steam him in the bathroom and maybe run a vaporizer if you have one close to where he's sleeping.  That will help him breathe better.

How long have you had Kaiser?

Warming up his food should help him smell it better, which might make him want to eat.  I don't blame him for being sad right now, simply because he doesn't feel well.  But there isn't any reason that he shouldn't get better , poor little guy.  

Did the Vet say there ws anything you could put on his nose?  (but I agree that pretty much anything you put on it he will probably just lick right off ).  I wonder about Colloidal Silver.  have you ever used that?  Here's just one recent thread on the use of it in the mouth, which might be similar to the nose.  There are lots of threads regarding the use of Colloidal Silver if you just search at the top of the page.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/252037/colloidal-silver-for-gingivitis-stomatitis

stephanietx said:

The Convenia shot that he got yesterday may make him very sleepy for the next 7-10 days, so don't freak out.  As long as he's eating, drinking water, and using the box, he's okay.  However, you do need to look for any signs of a negative reaction to the shot and/or if he gets worse.  Get him to the vet immediately if you notice him going downhill.  Not sure what you could do for his nose because anything you put on it will be licked off.

The ulcer in his mouth and the nose problem could actually be related.  I once had a cat who developed mouth ulcers and we had to give her a pain med every day for 2-3 days.  It wasn't fun, but we found adding some warm water to her canned food and making it the consistency of semi-runny oatmeal increased her appetite and willingness to eat.  

I also suggest the Lysine.  Get the 500mg tablets in the supplements section at Wal-Mart or a pharmacy.  Crush one between two spoons twice a day.  It's important you give him the Lysine twice daily as it will be eliminated from his body as he urinates.  For the Lysine to help, it needs to stay in the body.

If you don't see an improvement in eating habits within 48 hours, I'd contact the vet.  The fluids may also make him not want to eat.  Steam him in the bathroom and maybe run a vaporizer if you have one close to where he's sleeping.  That will help him breathe better.

How long have you had Kaiser?

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Wow! You know your cat meds!! Lol! We have had Kaiser since he was 3-4 weeks old. The vet wasn't sure he or his sister would make it but we bottle fed them for 2 weeks per her recommendation and then weened them on to moist and then on to dry food.

Kaiser is not aware of the fact he is a "c a t". He's a person lol. We joke that one day he will stand up and start saying words! He does a lot of human like things- picks stuff up with his paw (uses a claw like a finger!!) to feed himself. I could go on and on. I love this little guy and his sister so much. I have a closer bond with Kaiser than Sylvia his sister- he's very finicky. Kaiser answers with different meows too- like how you learn a baby's cry.

I made a chicken for dinner tonight and boiled the gizzard, liver and neck to make a broth and he drank a little of that but actually ATE like a starved little thing, the chopped up liver and meat. A paper plate- slightly smaller than a regular dinner plate, full of liver and meat. I was so happy to see him eat!! He ate till he was full and then took a nice nap in the window with fresh air and a little sunshine.

I see improvement and then it seems like a step back, and then a little more improvement. I felt really relieved when he ate though. He did seem like it was the nose issue that was preventing him from eating- didn't like me dabbing the drips off. He will let you do anything to him without a fuss so it was sad to see him in pain still.

Sorry these posts are so long- I just love this little guy as much as my biological kids lol. So smart, loving, trusting, just an awesome little guy.

mrsgreenjeens said:

Warming up his food should help him smell it better, which might make him want to eat.  I don't blame him for being sad right now, simply because he doesn't feel well.  But there isn't any reason that he shouldn't get better , poor little guy.  

Did the Vet say there ws anything you could put on his nose?  (but I agree that pretty much anything you put on it he will probably just lick right off ).  I wonder about Colloidal Silver.  have you ever used that?  Here's just one recent thread on the use of it in the mouth, which might be similar to the nose.  There are lots of threads regarding the use of Colloidal Silver if you just search at the top of the page.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/252037/colloidal-silver-for-gingivitis-stomatitis

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I will go read those posts right now! Thanks!!!!

I was a little worried- just as an after thought. The vet gave Kaiser some medicine that I googled and every post I read said that it was a dangerous medication and caused death or arf. I don't want him to be in pain, but I also don't want him to die.

The vet was very thorough and compassionate and I am sure he knows what he's doing after 26 yrs in practice. The medication is for pain/fever and called metacam (?). Any thoughts?

If you search for metacam here, you'll see many of our regulars are opposed to it.  It's often used as a one-time thing, but should never be used a second time during the life of the cat.  Others can give you more info.
 

There's just so many "bad" side effects for Metacam and so many other pain meds that are just as good that I have Metacam on my "do not administer" list for all my  kitties. 
 

I wouldn't give any cat Metacam. A vet prescribed Metacam for my cat Stubby, as he kinked his short tail. Then a few days later
his kidneys were going bad, blood in his urine etc. etc. After days of IV's and antibiotics he pulled through. I know how you feel
about your kitty....I am the same way. My vet now prescribes a liquid that is dark brown liquid called Vita-Torb which is vitamins
with torbogesic. 1cc twice daily if needed. I always have it on hand in case he kinks his tail or just hurts.

Awww poor baby!! I am glad he made it!!!

Kaiser is much better a week later. His nose got so scabby and bloody but the scab came off today! He still meows a little funny so it must still be sore a little... He's eating again and I did not give him any more of the medicine. Hopefully those 2 doses didn't do any damage.

Thanks for the support- I love him as you can tell and felt helpless! Thanks again !

So glad he's improving and, best of all, EATING!  So weird about his nose, but at least it's getting back to normal. 

My nose is normal!!!!

Hooray!  He looks so much better!
 

stephanietx said:

Hooray!  He looks so much better!

 

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Thanks!! He does still do one thing of concern... It seems to be getting better each day but not sure why he's doing it...

Shortly after he eats, like maybe 2-5 minutes he makes horrible faces like he's gonna cough something up, but then settles down and is fine. It only happens after he eats something. Drinking water doesn't make him "gag" like that. He's still kind of picky about his face being rubbed where his nose had been sore. (His favorite spot to scratch is the top of his little nose and between his eyes. Next to his stretching belly rubs he likes)

It is getting better as in less frequent though. His nose still seems slightly runny at times but then other times its fine.

The fam is giving me grief about him being a big baby lol. Saying I pamper him more than them when they are sick! Well... He's nicer to me! He is the sweetest kitty ever. So trusting and I swear he knows when you're sad or upset. I could go on and on lol. I fear I shall be the cat lady someday!! [emoji]128563[/emoji]