Botan's Recovery Story (Pseudomonas!!!)

yumisan

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My poor cat, Botan, has been through so much. For what seems like almost a year, he has been suffering from terrible sinus problems. Every vet I took him too, they would just give me a new antibiotic and send me home. Some vets, would just give him a steroid shot and, again, send us home. 

It was so frustrating to me to hear him struggling to breathe through his nose, snoring and coughing at night, not to mention his loss in appetite since he could not properly smell his food. My healthy kitty went from 10lbs to skin and bones of 6lbs. You could literally feel his bones when you pet him. 

In June I adopted a new kitten, his name is Katsu. My local shelter is awesome and a woman there who was Katus's previous foster mom started to talk to me about this amazing vet near by who specialized in cats. I took Botan the very next day. Needless to say they were amazing. I felt like he was the Dr. House of cats. (If you know what show I am referring too) They took xrays, bloodwork, went over every aspect of his homelife with me (food, other animals, water intake, food intake, other medicines). They ruled out diabetes, thyroid, fluid in his  lungs..everything. His main concern was his weight loss. He put him on an antibiotic and a new steriod. At first I was thinking "here we go again" but he only wanted to see if it would improve in 5 days. That Saturday night, 4 days after, I found myself  at the 911PetDoctor at 10pm. Botan was having so much trouble breathing and he was so weak he could not move. They had to put him on a fluid bag and forced some vitamins in him. 

As you can see by now I was at the end of my rope, but it was the weekend so I had to wait until Monday to take him back to his regular vet. When I phoned in on Monday, they told me to take him in right away. We went in, the doctor was really worried so he decided to take another xray, but this time of his head and sinus only. I had to leave him there all day, when I went back the doctor informed me that his right sinus was much more dense than the left. While they  had him under, he went ahead and flushed out his sinus cavities and said "so much gunk and stuff came out it was disgusting" I felt better knowing that he did that. They took a swab of his inner nose and sinus to send to be cultured. I had to wait another 6 days. 

I finally go the call that what my poor kitty has is the worse bacteria any cat can get. Pseudomonas. Apparently this bacteria is so fierce, there are only a few antibiotics that can kill it. I was at least THRILLED that the doctor had finally pinpointed exactly what was wrong. 

Now Botan is on a very strong antibiotic called Veraflox. Poor guy, the first night he took it, he threw up, but he seems to be doing okay  now. I have to give him a swab or two of Viralys and he is on prescription diet a/d food (good god that stuff is stinky though, my whole bedroom restroom reeks!!!) 

I felt I had to share this story, I wonder if anyone else here has had their cat diagnosed with Pseudomonas and had them make a full recovery. I need hope for my beautiful boy. 


That is him when he a healthy weight. =) 
 

vball91

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I am so sorry to hear of Botan's health issues. I'm glad you found a great vet who finally got him the help he needed. I have no experience to offer, just lots and lots of vibes for a quick recovery for your boy.
 

stephanietx

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I have a kitty who was diagnosed with Pseudomonas in 2008.  It took two 30-day rounds of antibiotics (Zenequin) to get her levels to within normal range.  She's not had a flare up since that time, but remains sneezy.  She also has feline herpes, which also accounts for the sneezing.  Lots of TLC, patience, and persistence will pay off.  Give the meds time to work, too.
 
 
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yumisan

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Oh that is so great to hear. Thank you to both of you for the "vibes." I have a feeling that he will always be a sneezy kitty, but I am doing my best. This guy is a fighter, so I know he will pull through. He is asleep here on my desk as I type and go through some work. I actually can sense from him that he does have some relief, I can see it in his body and eyes. Now, I just need him to eat more so he can get more strength! I am going to go see if there is any other food he might like. He doesn't like the A/D food too much...
 

stephanietx

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You can add some plain meat baby food to the a/d and it might help its appeal.  Also, warm it up a bit in the microwave (just a few seconds) or in a water bath.  If that doesn't work, then switch him back to his old food.  It's best if you can feed grain-free, as that might help with the sneezies because he might also have herpes.
 
 
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