Newly adopted cat doesn't seem to be getting better from URI. Any advice?

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum, and joined because I could really use some insight on this issue:

My boyfriend and I adopted a 2 year old orange tabby from a PetSmart here on August 31st (her name is Lana). She was housed there for a week, but prior to that she was being handled by the local SPCA, so all of our adoption stuff came though them. When the employee got her out of the cage, we played with her for about an hour, and she was really loving and playful. I instantly fell in love with her, so we decided to take her home with us.

Here's a little backstory first before I go into details about her being sick: We have another cat (1 1/2 years old; male) and we knew to keep them separated before doing the big face to face introduction. So we kept her in the bathroom while our other cat, Bailey, was outside. Originally, we were going to keep them separated for 4-5 days, but my boyfriend felt it'd be okay to let her out after 2 days. She didn't seem to like Bailey, and would hiss at him if he got too close. Bailey was very chill throughout all of this, and seemed merely just curious and wanting to play. (that was the reason we got a second cat, as a companion for him).

Later on, we noticed she would be a little sneezy. We thought maybe she was just irritated by something in the air, or something in the carpet. That sneezing was soon followed by her acting lethargic. We called the vet for advice, and they mentioned to be on the lookout for open mouth breathing and to bring her in if that happened. Sure enough, she started breathing from her mouth, so we took her to the emergency vet office, and they diagnosed it as an Upper Respiratory Infection caused by a virus. They also noted she was dehydrated, gave her a fluid shot, and prescribed her Clavamox (2x a day; 10 days) and Viralys (2x a day; 10 days). We were told to bring her back in if she didn't get better within a week.

Within the past 5 days, she's been experiencing a variety of ups and downs. One of the more notable events was that we found her drooling quite a bit 2 days ago, with an accompanied very slight head jitter. Called the vet about this, and we took her in to get her glucose levels tested, but everything was fine. They suspected it might be something neurological, and told us to wait out the antibiotic treatment. She's very off and on, health-wise, earlier this morning she was fine (energetic and meowing) but now she seems lethargic again, and seems to have a very stuffy nose. She didn't eat her wet food this morning or evening like she usually does, so I gave her some grilled tuna canned food, and she got all of that down. We've even been taking her into the bathroom while the shower was running to try and clear out her nostrils, and get her breathing a bit better.

Long story short, we're not sure if she's actually getting any better, or if this is all what one might expect with a cat dealing with a URI. This is my first time caring for a sick cat, and I'm at a loss and generally feeling like an overly worried mom. So, we were wondering if anyone had any advice, or similar experiences, that might help us feel more secure in her well being right now.

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By the way, she is current on all of her shots, and tested negative for FelV/FIV on 8/21. She was also spayed on 8/23. She's 6 lbs, and kind of a scrawny cat, but we're working on upping her weight more.

Hi.  I have a cat with a URI (aka Feline Herpes). There is no cure for it.  Cats will often experience f'lareups which include stuffy nose, runny eyes, lack of appetite, no energy, etc.  URIs are very common in cats and cats with the illness will often exhibit different sets of symptoms and varying degrees of how bad the flareups are. Some will have lots of flareups and others will have maybe one initial flareup and then never have a flareup again.  From what I understand, usually the first flareup is the worst.  When I adopted my cat I did not know she had this condition until after I brought her home and she starting getting a very runny, snotty nose.  I emailed the shelter about it and they put me in touch with the vet tech who then informed me that my cat, Twinkle, has the virus and they were hoping once she was settled into a new home her symptoms would settle down and remain dormant (in other words, they were hoping I wouldn't notice it...yeah right)  When I met her at the shelter she seemed healthy and fine.  It wasn't until a day or two after I brought her home that she starting showing symptoms.

Anyhow, just letting you know you are not alone and this is a manageable illness.  Once your cat recovers, she may not experience another flareup again, or she may have repeated flareups.  Can't say for sure though, as I said it's different for all cats.  My poor kitty suffers lots of flareups, especially in winter. Her nose gets so congested which forces her to breathe through her mouth.  One thing that is important for cats with this illness is to keep them in a low stress environment.  Stress can often trigger a flareup. Also. the amino acid supplement Lysine is highly recommended. It can help minimize the number of flareups as well as the duration.  I just took my cat to the vet the other day because of chest congestion and, like your kitty, she was prescribed Clavamox.  I also plan to start her on Lysine again very soon.  I had tried in the past but had trouble getting the suggested daily dose into her.  It can easily be mixed into wet food but Twinkle isn't a big wet food eater, so I kinda gave up on it and questioned whether it would really help anyhow,  I'm now learning that it's highly recommended for cats with feline herpes and have been reading about others who treat their cats with Lysine and seem to have good success, so I plan to try it again. Even the vet suggested it to me. Actually, I believe the Viralys you were given is a Lysine paste.  I'm considering trying that for Twinkle if the powdered form doesn't work for her.  They also make Lysine in treat form that many cats seem to like, however my cat won't eat any kind of treats, so I'm hoping I can successfully use either the powder or the paste for her.

Taking her into the shower is a good idea.  I do that with my cat too when her nose gets bad and it does help break up some of the congestion.  Just have patience and keep a close eye on her and keep things low stress and she should eventually recover from the flareup. Not sure what the head jitter may be about but I do know drooling is sometimes a symptom of the URI illness. I certainly wish you luck with her!

So sorry Lana is sick.
I have several cats with the herpes virus/URI. The best medicine combination I have found that works is doxycycline and famvir (famcyclovir). If the eyes are involved as well, we add idoxuridine. Famcyclovir is an anti-viral medication, doxycycline is a different antibiotic.

If her symptoms persist, your vet can send off a respiratory panel which will tell you exactly what virus you are dealing with (herpes, calicivirus, mycoplasma, etc...)

Hope she feels better soon!

Another owner with a herpes kitty here in the DFW Metroplex!!  (Hello neighbor!)  My kitty came to us sick as well with a lot more than an URI, but that's a different story.  It sometimes takes awhile for a kitty to fully get over an URI, even after antibiotics.  If she's eating, using the box normally, cleaning herself, and not hiding, I'd say she's mostly over the URI and needs a bit more time to clear up the rest of the "junk".  One of the things we did for our herpes kitty was to transition her to a grain free diet, keep up with the Lysine (enisyl) as keeping the kitty as healthy as possible is the best way to keep herpes at bay.  We also try to keep our house as stress free as possible.  We try to stick to a regular routine and run Feliway diffusers 24/7 to help with the stress.  You can purchase the powdered Lysine at most health food stores in a 1-lb container or online.  Just 1/4 t is 500mg, so I'd give 500mg twice daily until she's over this.  I also give my kitty a daily antihistamine.  We give plain Claritin (loratadine is the generic name), 1/4 to 1/2 of a 10mg tablet once a day.  Also, your kitty may be reacting to the dust and ragweed we've been having lately.  Many cats have airborne allergens and the antihistamine can help.  Lastly, she may very well need a re-check and a different antibiotic, so don't be afraid to call the vet and ask for a different antibiotic or to take her back to the vet.  I was at the vet's or calling them at least once a week for about 6 weeks when my girl was so sick. 

The drooling could be from something she ingested.  Can she get into any plants or cleaners? 

btw..just wanna add that if a cat is have URI flareup, it's very much like a person having a bad cold...it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for recovery depending on how bad the flareup is.  Given the symptoms you've described, it definitely sounds like URI to me and being that it's her first bout with the virus and is something new to you I can definitely understand your concern.  So long as she's eating SOMEthing, and, most importantly drinking I would continue with what the vet has prescribed for her and just hang in there with it.  Dehydration is always my biggest concern when a cat is sick.  Luckily, my URI cat is a hearty drinker, even though she definitely has days when she doesn't eat a lot.  Cats with this condition often lose their sense of appetite because they cannot smell their food with their clogged stuffy noses.  Lethargy is a very common symptom and normal for the condition.  My cat has days when she is up and down energy-wise as well, and when she has a bad flareup she pretty much sleeps all day.