Stray Kitty I love has nasty symptoms, but $ is problem, Im desperate!

rorienicole

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I've started caring for 2 stray cats, Big Girl & Lil Boy ( named them that for now for obvi reasons :) and for the past few months Big Girl & I have gotten close, i've noticed some symptoms of hers that I am VERY concerned about. I know something is going on, but I don't know what.

Here's Big Girl's symptoms: sneezing, I mean ALWAYS... fat juicy sneezes. Not regular once inawhile cat sneezes. When she sneezes she sometimes blows green discharge chunks on me, I wipe her nose often to get discharge off her nose, face. When I am fluffing out the blankets in the lil bed I made for her, I can feel wet spots were her nose or mouth has drooled. when things get real bad for a day or two I'll hear gargling noises when she breaths and will cough like humans do when we are conjested and full of flem, I can hear liquid in her nasal and throat passages and she snorts, etc. And she does random swallows when she is not eating or drinking anything, like she has a something caught in her throat  ( like a human would if we had "a frog in our throat" to clear out)

But heres the deal :  she is VERY active & energetic. She is a lover, cuddle bug and when I'm outside gardening she will run around behind me and follow me everywhere, theres times she is so excited she will run quickly in front of me as Im walking and I'll trip over her! I can say I never see her lethargic.

She eats and eats and EATS. Hence the name I have for her "Big Girl". Seriously, she will finish her food and if Lil Boy leaves his food unattended for just a moment, Big Girl will eat his too. One evening she seemed so hungry and kept pestering me for more,so i let her have what she wanted and she killed 3 cans of cat food in a row. She can eat anytime no matter if she just ate a million course meal. lol. And she drinks plenty of water. I'll see her take several trips to her water bowl and stand there for 5 minutes at a time lapping it up. 

 she seems uncomfortable or annoyed will all her symptoms, but not so much pain. But it pains me so to see her like that, so i know its bad, but my mom had extra antibiotics from the dogs and we did research and its the same as humans and cats use. So i sprinkled into her food and she seemed better when she was taking them,  her symptoms reduced by at least half, but she still had symptoms. I finally ran out and  its been 2 weeks since any medication and she has symptoms still but not nearly as awful as they were.

What the heck? People say I should really be worried when she is lethargic and loses her appetite, but thats so not the case. I know I need to get her in to a vet, but my situation is this- ive taken a leave off work, moved back in with my parents and getting back on my feet.( they have a feeling im about to ask them for a loan for the 2 cats ive brought on to their property :)  I don't have the means but I care for them so much i need to get them checked out I just think for Big Girl its imperative I get her in first ASAP.  in the meantime, is there anyone at all that can give me some information on what it could be? Upper Respitory Infection? or worse? Any words of hope? Or any info on vet services that could help me with this kind of situation?

she is a bodacious,voluptuous long haired gorgeous babe of a cat with big ol paws and pads and I love her, Im desperate!

thank you all 
 

catwoman707

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I just LOVE your description of her!!

She has an upeer respiratory infection, and she needs antibiotics, strong one like clavamox, possibly with doxycycline added.

It sounds like a good one, so she may even need to rounds of that to get completely well.

Not sure how familiar you are with the vets around you, but there are a few here and there that will help with the costs because they are/were homeless and need meds.

There are also rescue groups you can find who can get her seen for their cost.

I know because I do this for people too.

She sounds wonderful! Aside from the green snotrockets that is :)
 

jcornman

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I agree, completely with catwoman707.  In addition I'm concerned about the amount of food she is eating, it seems way over the top.  I have some good sized cats (compare my avatar, Johnny, to the chairs he's next to)   and there are 6 of them.  Big Girl ate as much as they eat combined plus some.  This could be parasites or possibly a metabolic problem like diabetes.  I'm sure there are other possibilities. These things don't usually fix themselves.
 

stephiedoodle

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She sounds like one heck of a girl with an appetite to boot. Though I agree with jcornman about her appetite sounds like parasites to me possibly some form of worm. So I'd see a vet asap if I was you a lot of vets will also help with payment plans and such when you are in a tight spot. Ring around a few locals and see if any could help you out. Hope Big Girl gets better soon 
 
 
 
 vibes for big girl and hugs for you. And if needs be and you have to ask your parents for help I am sure they will understand.
 

catwoman707

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She may have parasites, you can often times tell by her poop btw.

However they wouldn't cause her ferocious appetite. You don't mention her size really but I am assuming she is a big girl, and if she is a VERY big girl, she will be able to consume a good amt of food, especially canned.

Not as an ongoing daily thing, she will sort of catch up now but will taper off a bit, sometimes quite a bit.

An adult cat on average, but for average sized cats with a good sized appetite, is about a cup of dry food a day, maybe a little canned too, or if an all canned, would eat 1 can (5.5 oz size, like friskies) and maybe a small palm full of dry.

Not sure how long she has been regularly eating the volume she is now, but if it's given daily for 3 days in a row and is not tapering down, she might eat for psychological reasons.

As long as she is not overeating then vomiting, I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

What I would def. be working on is getting her some serious antibiotics. Just take some time, sit down with the phone and call around. Ask the receptionist who answers if they work with rescue groups, if she says yes, then proceed, tell her there is a homeless cat you have been feeding who is very sick and needs antibiotics, but she is not your cat, or anyones, and you want to help her, but you don't have the money.

Many will say they can't help you, but you WILL come across one who will say they will.

They may ask you to pay half, or just half of the cost of antibiotics for her.

If you do not find a vet who will help, call the humane society and/or rescues. You will be suprised the help that's out there, it's just not announced publically since they would get every pet owner in 100 mile radius asking for help!!

Good luck.

Be sure you say she is an unowned/abandoned cat, which she obviously is or she wouldn't be so glad to follow you around :)
 

thevegancuddler

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It's always worth calling around to see which vets can help you. I've gotten a lot of assistance on cat-related things this way. I agree, sounds like an upper respiratory infection, and the appetite thing is worth asking the vet about while she's there. The good news is, as far as the infection, is that it's not as expensive as other things. I mean, you're looking at the vet visit and the meds, but it could be a lot worse - like x-rays and surgeries and what not.
 

stephiedoodle

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I agree with thevegancuddler as lets face it a consultation and antibiotics is going to be a lot less expensive than a surgery xrays and pain medication for a broken femur (what my lovely kitty has just had to go through in the past week) very expensive but in a way so worth it as she provides us with so much love and cuddles.
 
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rorienicole

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Thank you all for the feedback and support. I've been so worrysome over this and she is just a doll and so loving. She knows I love her too. I can just stand there and she will go in circles around my legs and back n forth  loving on me , its like she cant get close enough to me so she starts to just step on me while she is going in circles spreading her scent on me ... back and forth back and forth. she never stops. Then when I sit down she will try to sit on my lap.... I say try because part of her legs and big ol paws dangle off, she cant fit on my lap! But she tries...I'll HAVE to take a picture one time and post it.  If she is sitting on or next to me and i'm not paying attention to her she will bend her head back and look up at me to see what I'm doing. I'll look down at her and she will look at me lovingly and nuzzle her head on my shoulder as a person would do ( put their head on your shoulder). She blows my mind. Lover 24/7! I have to get her well.

 I've talked to my family and I'm thinking that my Dad is going to cave and help me get her to a vet.. BUT I'm calling our family vet first and doing some calls around the city to see about payment plans or any help first and if last resort I think Dad may help, otherwise he is going to see me being upset over her health on the daily!

She is a VERY big girl ( well Ive always had small cats so she is the biggest Ive had around) and I try to keep her and lil Boy on a feeding schedule and try not to over feed but sometimes she is so amped up that every move I make she will look around on the ground to see if I've left her more treats or food! LOL. I was thinking she eats so much because of her size, but this is something I will definately take up with the vet when I get her in. I haven't seen her stools ( I swear she is lke a lady in that department, she keeps that part of her life away from me. NEVER once have I seen her potty. For all I know she never does it! jk) 

Taking her to the vet will give me peace of mind because I start spinning at times when she sneezes or I witness any of the symptoms she has... i will start thinking of all the things that is wrong with her. Its terrible. Thank you all again and I will keep you posted! :)
 

thevegancuddler

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Thank you all for the feedback and support. I've been so worrysome over this and she is just a doll and so loving. She knows I love her too. I can just stand there and she will go in circles around my legs and back n forth  loving on me , its like she cant get close enough to me so she starts to just step on me while she is going in circles spreading her scent on me ... back and forth back and forth. she never stops. Then when I sit down she will try to sit on my lap.... I say try because part of her legs and big ol paws dangle off, she cant fit on my lap! But she tries...I'll HAVE to take a picture one time and post it.  If she is sitting on or next to me and i'm not paying attention to her she will bend her head back and look up at me to see what I'm doing. I'll look down at her and she will look at me lovingly and nuzzle her head on my shoulder as a person would do ( put their head on your shoulder). She blows my mind. Lover 24/7! I have to get her well.

 I've talked to my family and I'm thinking that my Dad is going to cave and help me get her to a vet.. BUT I'm calling our family vet first and doing some calls around the city to see about payment plans or any help first and if last resort I think Dad may help, otherwise he is going to see me being upset over her health on the daily!

She is a VERY big girl ( well Ive always had small cats so she is the biggest Ive had around) and I try to keep her and lil Boy on a feeding schedule and try not to over feed but sometimes she is so amped up that every move I make she will look around on the ground to see if I've left her more treats or food! LOL. I was thinking she eats so much because of her size, but this is something I will definately take up with the vet when I get her in. I haven't seen her stools ( I swear she is lke a lady in that department, she keeps that part of her life away from me. NEVER once have I seen her potty. For all I know she never does it! jk) 

Taking her to the vet will give me peace of mind because I start spinning at times when she sneezes or I witness any of the symptoms she has... i will start thinking of all the things that is wrong with her. Its terrible. Thank you all again and I will keep you posted! :)
She sounds like such a cutie pie! Don't worry - respiratory infections are highly treatable if you get her into a vet. She'll be just fine. :)

As for the payment plan, it is ALWAYS worth checking, as some vets will do you a solid and help out. But I think they usually reserve payment plans for existing clients who are in good-standing, since they know those clients and know they won't bail on the bill. But like I said, it's worth a try.

I'm confused about the stool, though. Is she an indoor cat? You should be seeing her stools in the litter box, which you are presumably scooping... unless she goes outside?
 
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