Multiple Cat Issues- Volunteer at a Shelter and I am the 2nd crazy cat lady there

Daphne: She has multiple scabs all over her body, much like you would see with a cat with flea allergies. However, there are no fleas. The vet also did a skin scrapping and found nothing. It does not bother her. I also tried a grain free and chicken free food for her, no change. It is not contagious as she has been around NUMEROUS other cats and no one else has developed anything. She does not mind other cats at all, so they are not stressing her out. What else could I try? Could this be her way of saying she doesn't want to be in a shelter even tho being there does not seem to bother her at all?

Jibber: Bites at his back end. Flea treated 2 weeks ago. BTW this one is a foster of mine and is in my home and not at the shelter. He had really bad fleas to the point where a lot of fur was missing. The fleas seem to be disappearing but could the rear end sensitivity be due to the remaining fleas? He also stretches his back end quite a lot. When I say a lot he has to stretch his back legs every 2-3 minutes. He is very sweet and wants to be petted but has "mouthed" me when I mess with his back end. He has been combo tested and is quite fine. I don't see any rippling to indicate FHS either.

Misty- this is my cat, she is what I call a puker. She has no signs of illness, she eats and drinks normally. Over the past 2 years she has vomited almost daily. She is not dehydrated. She loves to be petted and seems to have no other issues. These are not hairballs, I have many experiences with hairballs and these are not hairballs. DO you think laxatone will be beneficial to her? Or is there another treatment? And yes I have accepted the fact that she just may be a puker.

Whitey- this one is mine as well. He has had a constant URI. He has been treated numerous times. His sister was hospitalized with the same issue and even the emergency vet after 3 weeks could not get rid of it. I have tried lysine, and it does not seem to work. He has had every antibiotic under the sun with no luck. Does anyone know of any new research to get these constant infections gone? I know its a virus but I am not paying a vet to tell which virus because in the end a virus is a virus and not much can be done either way and even with a name attached to the virus they are treated the same way. I do take him in the bathroom while I shower to use steam to help loosen things up but that doesn't even seem to work for him. The feral colony he came from and another feral colony I dealt with seem to just have URIs. One cat died when the virus ate through to his brain. 2 others were euthanized because it became to hard to breathe and I knew that I could no longer keep them here for my comfort and had to do what was right. I want to avoid all this with him. Vets are telling me there are no "decongestants" for a cat. There is no way to rid him of this. There is no way to bring him relief. I feel HORRID because I know how cranky and crappy I feel when my nose is stuffed up. I just, at least, relief for him. Does anyone have any ideas on what to try next?

Thanks and I appreciate all the help in advance!

1.) Daphne could still be suffering from allergies. Either another protein or possibly environmental. My Max is allergic to Beef and Rabbit. One of my fosters is allergic to Venison and all things Chicken (including chicken fat which is a common preservative in many foods.) She could be allergic to the detergent used at the shelter. Max's dermatologist said that house flies and roaches are common causes for feline allergies.

2.) I suppose Jibber could still be suffering from the fleas. Any chance he could have nerve damage to the hind area? May give him the "pins and needles" feeling we get when our feet begin to go to sleep. Could explain the constant stretching??

3.) IMO, it is not normal for a cat to vomit on a daily basis. Could she have IBD, food allergies or Reflux??

4.) I disagree that it is not worth while to run a PCR Upper Respiratory Panel to get a proper diagnosis...esp when Meds have not been beneficial. With that being said, if it is Viral, antibiotics will not cure the infection, it just treats secondary infections that show up. Have you tried Famcyclovir?? It is an anti-viral medication. I have had Great results when using it in conjunction with the antibiotic doxycycline to treat Herpes infections and Calicivirus.

1)  Agree with CatPack re possible other allergies w/  Daphne.   it does sound like it may be an allergic thing.   I have a cat that sometimes gets that and it seems to be an allergy to flax seed that is in some cat food.

2)  if there are  more fleas or he is still suffering from flea bites and he's allergic to the flea bites that might cause that irritation and senstivity.   I remember when my dad's cat had a flea allergy she was given not just a flea treatment but some anti inflammatory shot  ( and in her case she also got an antibiotic since some of the area was infected from biting  at it).

3.   Misty.   I agree with CP on that too.  I don't think it IS normal for a cat to puke every day.   but there are too many different causes to answer,  and we don't really know any details.    Is it that she eats too fast and then regurgitates very soon and it's undigested food?   Or is it digested food?  Is there any blood in the vomit?   Is it stomach acid  ( usua;ly would be like clear/ foam) 

4)  Whitey.

 A.   How much Lysine  did you try?    if you're only giving like 250 or 500 mg a day,  you might increase the amount if he will eat it.   My vet has said to give 1000 or even   2000 mg a day during a bad outbreak.   ( should not give that dose daily as maintenance forever ) 

B)  Another thought is inhalant treatment.   

I found some general links about it 

  http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/vetmed/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/608394

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_pneumonia_management.html

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=3471&S=4&SourceID=62

http://www.revivalanimal.com/articles/Nebulizers-and-Nebulization-Therapy.html

http://kmvet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/NEBULIZING-YOUR-ANIMAL.pdf
 

 Also search online for info on making a homemade nebulizer chamber for pets.  

1. ty

2. I think there might be something more with jibber, but as he is getting to know me he is seeming to have less of an issue with me touching him there. But he does still stretch it a lot. Once he gets more settled, I will have it looked at by a vet.

3. Ok is not daily but often. It is un digested food. She was dumped on me because she always vomited. I just simply clean it up unlike the previous owner. She has her own food bowl now near her, and in the last  3 days she has only vomited once. It hasn't made her dehydrated and stools are normal.

4. He has been to numerous vets and they all say there is nothing that they can do. I didn't know there was a antiviral out there to try, I will be bringing this up with them. They wanted me to take him to a specialist... The lysine in any dose has not worked. I will try again at the higher dose after talking with my new vet.

Thanks guys I appreciate it!

1) Even grain free and chicken free foods may still have other allergens like peas, potatoes or fish. In addition, to truly rule out food intolerances/allergies you neeed to try a truly limited ingredient diet for up to 6 weeks.

2) Flea allergies could be an issue.

3) Does she eat fast? That could be the cause of regurgitation. If you are only feeding her dry food, I would try to feed her a meat only wet food and see if she has the same issue. Wet food is actually much better for cats in general (www.catinfo.org for why).

4) Agree with CP as well.

Misty doesn't eat fast. And she does not like wet food.... such an odd kitty...

I am looking into other options for whitey now. after I talk with some people I will update!