Good Vibes For Monty

Asking for good vibes for our new little man Monty.

A day or so after we brought him home, he had a few sneezes that we assumed were just getting used to new smells in the house.  On the 3rd day we had him seen by our local vet who said he had a very mild URI.  After 10days (today) of the Clamavox we are still sneezing and this morning, for the very first (now second) time .. he sneezed a very pale amount of blood

Our vet was able to squeeze us in at 3pm, and from reading others' experience here it appears I need to ensure they C & S the fluid.  She mentioned on their follow up call this past Monday that an antihistime may be needed to but he's only 4mos old.  I think I'd rather try another antibiotic.  Geeze 3pm can't get here quick enough.

I've been using warm bath rag compresses to clean his nose; however, he has had little to no crusty build up.  But his breathing sounds like he has a really congested little head.   On all other counts .. eating the same, same litterbox habits, played like crazy with his big brother this morning and napping as he has been every other day.

Just wringing my hands.

Awww poor little Monty.  The antihistamines can help with the congestion which is probably why your vet recommended it.  I am dealing with a chronic respiratory in my boy Munchie he's on his 3rd antibiotic (different each time), he's on Zeniquin which is a powerhouse, if it doesn't take care of it then we will culture it.  He's also taking Lysine daily which helps with respiratory issues.

Sorry to read that. What a worrying thing to have happen when you want to be just relaxing and enjoying the new arrival. How old is sweet Monty?

At least he seems in good spirits otherwise. Hoping that you have a quiet and speedy resolution for the wee man.

cprcheetah - how strange - I have a senior kitty named "Murchie" (so similar to your kitty's name Munchie) who also has chronic URI issues (my vet and I call him a "snuffler" kitty). Despite the snuffling, Murchie never lets this get him down. 

Murchie has been on antibiotics on and off over the years, Lysine and recently I've been putting him in the shower with me - I wonder if putting Monty in the bathroom when you shower might help unclog Monty? I think that Zithromax is supposed to be good for URIs.

Scarlett 001 said:

 
Sorry to read that. What a worrying thing to have happen when you want to be just relaxing and enjoying the new arrival. How old is sweet Monty?

At least he seems in good spirits otherwise. Hoping that you have a quiet and speedy resolution for the wee man.

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He's 4mos old now Scarlett.  Just lost his first two milk teeth 2 days ago. 

Definitely going to ask about the Lysine (hopefully they have it there) and if not get it ordered online STAT.

Is there a specific brand?

There are lots of different brands you can get, some people get human capsules.  I use Viralys powder which is for veterinarians, I got it at the Veterinarian I used to work for.  It lasts for quite a long time.  The new vet I work for doesn't carry it.  But you can find it on Amazon or through google.

Vet's offices charge a lot for Lysine paste etc. in Canada where I live. So I buy Lysine from a human health food store, open up the capsule and put it on food (flavorless powder that can blend into soft food). You'd need to make sure it is pure Lysine etc. There may be cheap ways to get Lysine online as well.

cprcheetah said:

 
There are lots of different brands you can get, some people get human capsules.  I use Viralys powder which is for veterinarians, I got it at the Veterinarian I used to work for.  It lasts for quite a long time.  The new vet I work for doesn't carry it.  But you can find it on Amazon or through google.

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Thanks so much!   I had googled and come up with the human capsules but of course have no idea how much to administer.  Hopefully the vet will have what I need.

Scarlett 001 said:

 
Vet's offices charge a lot for Lysine paste etc. in Canada where I live. So I buy Lysine from a human health food store, open up the capsule and put it on food (flavorless powder that can blend into soft food). You'd need to make sure it is pure Lysine etc. There may be cheap ways to get Lysine online as well.

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Thanks to you too Scarlett!  Will definitely be purchasing some. 

The recommended doseage under 6 months is 125mg twice a day, over 6 months is 250mg twice daily.

Finally back from the vet.  She said that his little eyes looked better, and lungs sounded much better, than when we took him in 10days ago.   He had no eye discharge since Day 3 of Clamavox and she said his nose, other than the two light bloody sneezes looked very clear.   He never did have any nasal discharge other than clear and only when he sneezed.  Of course she also explained about the blood and the capillaries, and that since he has sneezed several times overall with only two episodes containing a scant of blood that she believes it to just be a hard sneeze that broke a capillary.   She did recommend a steroid injection of Vetalog in hopes that it would kick the rest of the ongoing issue/infection.  If not, we will be back in for a culture.  

Glad to hear little Monty is OK! I was thinking that he probably just burst a tiny vessel but it is never a bad idea to have it checked out.

peaches08 said:

Glad to hear little Monty is OK! I was thinking that he probably just burst a tiny vessel but it is never a bad idea to have it checked out.

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Thank you!  Of course it scared the living daylights out of me and I could not believe they felt he was fine enough to wait until 3pm CST to see him.  Over-react much?  He's our baby! 

Hoping a nice Cabernet will help soothe momma's nerves over dinner, but just extremely glad to hear she thinks he's on the mend.  

Bluebird Gal said:

Thank you!  Of course it scared the living daylights out of me and I could not believe they felt he was fine enough to wait until 3pm CST to see him.  Over-react much?  He's our baby! 

Hoping a nice Cabernet will help soothe momma's nerves over dinner, but just extremely glad to hear she thinks he's on the mend.  

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If there had been a steady dribble that wasn't stopping, I'd drive to the vet without an appt and plopped the said bleeding cat on whatever paperwork was on the admin asst's desk. I think you did just fine and enjoy that glass of wine!

Hopeful .. but still a little frustrated for my baby boy.  So this may be a bit of a rambling mess.

Monty had, per our vet, a 'very mild URI' that manifested only days after we got him home on December 8th.  No biggie, the vet & we all thought a round of Clamavox would kick it & we'd be on our way back to healthy.

10 days after the Clamavox, our vet chose a Vetalog steroid injection as Monty still had a very snotty sounding head & he actually sneezed faintly pink blood a couple of times.  No fever, activity level, eating & potty habits the same as expected for a 4mo old kitten.

3 days after Vetalog injection, we're back because the little thing was still sneezing.  Mostly clear with the occasional yellow/green.  Still no fever, activity level, eating & potty habits normal.

We are now on a 10 day supply of 1/2 tablet of Chlorpheniramine twice daily, and this is Day 3.  Little guy is still sneezing, sometimes very faint yellowish mucus.

Three days ago I started giving both our boys - Monty 250mg and Si 500mg of L-lysine powdered up in their wet foods.  And for the last 2 days I've started steaming the bathroom and playing with Monty in there as I read here it couldn't hurt to try..  They both eat grain-free Instinct Chicken (and Monty likes the lamb as well).  Water is charcoal filtered through a stainless pioneer pet fountain.

Monty was blood tested, and tested negative, for FeLV and FIV as that is part of the shelter's process.  While I realize that his new forever home is full of new smells, and potential allergens, as well as our keeping the windows open & the planet having things bloom non-stop that could produce allergies, we're all sort of at a loss.  Is 20 days in his new home too soon to think his nasal senses settle in to the new environment?

I appreciate that our vet doesn't just prescribe antibiotic after antibiotic .. but I presume a different antibiotic will be the next step .. along with a culture? 

I've even talked to the shelter director (at the suggestion of our vet) to see if there was anything at all that the shelter may have had to battle virus wise, since it's quite common, and they were very open about where Monty came from, what goes on during their new intake quarantine period (14 days), worming, neutering, vaccinations, etc.  Other than the standard URIs, and a bout of ringworm that several cats were exposed to, nothing out of the ordinary that Monty could have come into contact with.

Any and all thoughts and input as to what I could/should ask the vet; what I could/should supplement either wtih .. everything is appreciated.

And I do understand from our vet, as she is also a cat lover/owner, who has one of her own 5 who have allergies that she's tried everything on -- that it could be that simple & something that just "is" so for those of you with cats who do have allergies .. I am quite interested in how you manage that overall.

Did the vet do a CBC to check to see if it was infectious or a virus?  Lysine helps with respiratory issues especially if it's a virus.

cprcheetah said:

 
Did the vet do a CBC to check to see if it was infectious or a virus?  Lysine helps with respiratory issues especially if it's a virus.

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No but those are certainly the questions I need to ask them to do.

Well .. even as much fun as we're having with Monty, acting just like a 4mo old kitten and having a major good time with his brother .. we are still sneezing.  

We are 8 days into his 10-day round of Chlorpheniramine.  His sneezing has definitely lessened, meaning the number of times per day, but still sneezing about 3-5x per day.  One in 3 will still be a faint yellowish color mucus.

He has never been off his food, water, dawn/dusk crazies with his brother, nor his litterbox activities.

I have, for the past 5 days began crushing 250mg L-Lysine into Monty's food twice per day.  I have also been giving Monty the steamy bathroom sessions for 10-15min.  (He seems fascinated)    I also decided to give a 500mg dose of L-Lysine to Si as well, although he's not shown any issues of catching whatever is going on with Monty, it worries me that often little Monty can't help just coating Si with snot in his face when he sneezes.  Nothing I can do to keep that from happening.

I think I'm going to ask the vet tomorrow - definitely for a chest x-ray.  

Is there a better choice between the two - being another round of antibiotics (stronger) or another antihistamine?  I hate the poor thing can't seem to shake what ever's going on, but at the same time I also hate pumping him full of drugs unless one magically fixes it.  Just hard to believe he's so rambunctious and full of wild life that he can't get past this little cold or bug.

Bumping this back up in hopes of any thoughts or input.  I have visually inhaled as many 'chronic sneezing' 'pseudomonas' and 'mycoplams felis' type threads as I could, having followed those key words from other threads.

We scheduled a vet visit for 9am on Wednesday as little Monty continues to sneeze, primarily clear, but 1-2x per day yellow'ish mucus.  No coughing, or anything else out of the ordinary.  Still completely behaving like a 4mo old kitten.  His energy & eating levels seemed to have increased in fact (I believe that's due to a little growth spurt).

I continue the Lysine (500mg) daily for him that I started almost a week ago, Si too.  At least once, if not twice, per day I have used the steam shower suggestions and he really sounds like he's less stuffy the whole time he's in there.  I even purchased a small, hand-held Vic's vaporizer with the medicinal eucalyptus pads that you run the hot water over. 

I already told the vet tech to put me down for a full culture/analysis.  

Our older boy Si has shown no signs whatsoever of anything that might be going on with Monty.   And Monty was blood tested negative for FIV and FeLV at 12wks old.

Just wringing my hands over him until we can find out, for sure, what's going on