Shyla's chronic sinus congestion - any advice?

8whiskers

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My 7 yr old girl Shyla (spayed, indoor only) has had a chronic sinus condition for the last 2 or so years. The vet and I have tried everything we can think of, and other than getting her an MRI ($2,000 for a test?? And that won't even cure her?) we are completely stumped.

She sneezes and sort of coughs a lot. By sort of cough, it's not the crouching low, extending neck asthma type cough. She sits upright, opens her mouth and every time she coughs (they are usually in rapid succession) her ears go back and the corners of her mouth pull back, almost like a grimace.

Most of the time she sneezes, a blob of (very light green) mucus will come flying out. Sometimes it's on her face and I can't get to her quick enough to wipe it off, she'll ingest it when cleaning her face (yuck). If they fly far enough that they don't land on her, I call them "flingers." She leaves flingers everywhere. She's also skittish, so if I move suddenly to wipe her nose, she runs, and flings, as far away from me as she can.

Over the course of a few months (when her symptoms were much worse) the vet tried courses of 4 different antibiotics, Interferon drops (which I have on hand all the time in case my other cat Louie, has a herpes flareup), a homeopathic sinus remedy made specifically for cats, and having her teeth cleaned. None of that helped. The vet then took an x-ray. Poor Shyla, both her nasal cavities showed up white - meaning they are both completely clogged with mucus. :-(

The next step was to do an MRI, but after calling and researching in my area, I couldn't find a less expensive test than $1,700. Just for the test itself. Now, I have 7 other cats, and to spend that much on one test that may not tell us anything and certainly won't cure the problem, I just can't justify the expense. If it was $2,000 to perform some procedure or buy her meds that WOULD help or fix the problem, I'd do that in a heartbeat. My vet agreed, saying it may not show anything more than what we already know. She said the only surgery that she knew of for this is one she wasn't comfortable with - drilling a hole in the top of Shyla's head, draining her sinus cavities and packing them with fat so they wouldn't clog up again. Drill a hole in my baby's SKULL?? No thank you!

While she's not as bad as she was, her symptoms still persist. Before, when I was actually trying to raise the money for the MRI, her left nostril was so clogged and caked with dried mucus, she could only breathe through her mouth. She broke my heart! She hasn't had that happen again, where there was a big green clot outside of her nostril, but I have seen her occasionally breathing through her mouth. If you want something to tear your heart out of your chest slowly and painfully, watching this sweet kitty holding her mouth open to breathe and trying to sleep with her head held up will do it.

She seems fine otherwise - her coat is soft, healthy and thick. She's a good weight, she is playful and affectionate. She eats and drinks fine, same with her litter box habits. It's just her poor nose!

I can't think of what else I can do. None of my other cats have symptoms like this, so it's obviously not contagious. Has anyone had any luck with alternative treatments, or something I haven't tried yet?

Thanks in advance!
 

cprcheetah

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My cat Munchie has been going through something similar.  He had an internal medicine specialist do a cardiac ultrasound on him last week (he also has a heart condition).  He was so congested he couldn't breath so struggled through the ultrasound.  Her suggestion was to sedate him and do a sinus flush on him.  So he was sedated, tubed, and they plugged up his throat around the tracheal tube with gauze, they sort of hung his head over the table edge so everything could drain out, they proceeded to flush his nose out with saline and a baby bulb syringe.  I was there for the procedure (I work for the vet) and I cannot believe the amount of snot that came out of his nose.  It literally took 2 liters of saline to get it so it was running clear.  Then we are putting him on Zithromycin for 5 days then every 3 days for 2-3 months.  He is also on Lysine and is going on Lactoferrin as well.  He has been probably 95% better since the nasal flush, he is breathing better, I don't think I've heard him sneeze more than once or twice, and he is A TON more active than he was.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.  It REALLY REALLY has helped him out.  We have been on 3 different antibiotics prior to the flushing.
 
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scarlett 001

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Usually this chronic issue stems from damage to the internal nasal passage acquired during a bad URI as a kitten. From all that I have read, there is not much that you can do to get rid of the problem, it is more a matter or managing the problem.

It does sound like the flush is one idea to try - curious to see how long the results last as I would not want to have to flush my kitty over and over (I wonder if that could aggravate the tissues further if done too often) . I never did do the flushing as my kitty manages happily in life despite the congestion (it does not sound quite as bad as it is for your cat) so I do what I can to manage it (give him antibiotics during bad flareups, put him in the bathroom when I shower to get steam into his nose, I do use a tissue and pick off the dry snot if it clogs his nostrils etc.).
 
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8whiskers

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Thanks cprcheetah! I hope Munchie is still doing well. I have a couple of questions for you -

About how much would a sinus flush cost? I have had a couple of my cats rack up a darned big vet bill (Turtle being sick with pancreatitis and kidney infections, Louie with his urgent bladder surgery) and I feel bad about how much I owe my vet! I also need to start saving for their teeth cleanings, (I don't know what other people pay, but for my vet, they charge $265, that includes the full sedation, fluids, cleaning and any meds they may need).

I envy you being able to stay with Munchie during the procedure. I'd stay with Shyla if I could, but I think I'd be more in the way, and terribly unsanitary, sobbing and weeping and dropping wet kleenex everywhere! I'd probably make a bigger mess than what will come out of Shyla's nose! How long does the procedure normally take?

How long ago did Munchie have this done? And did he ever get clogged up again?

And lastly, do you or anyone else here know of a super-rich animal lover who just doesn't know what to do with all their money, and would love to donate it to pay for our vet bills? ;-)

Thanks for the info - hugs to your kitties!
 

cprcheetah

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Usually this chronic issue stems from damage to the internal nasal passage acquired during a bad URI as a kitten. From all that I have read, there is not much that you can do to get rid of the problem, it is more a matter or managing the problem.

It does sound like the flush is one idea to try - curious to see how long the results last as I would not want to have to flush my kitty over and over (I wonder if that could aggravate the tissues further if done too often) . I never did do the flushing as my kitty manages happily in life despite the congestion (it does not sound quite as bad as it is for your cat) so I do what I can to manage it (give him antibiotics during bad flareups, put him in the bathroom when I shower to get steam into his nose, I do use a tissue and pick off the dry snot if it clogs his nostrils etc.).
Munchie is STILL doing good, no congestion, no boogers in his now, feeling VERY happy and active.  Almost too happy LOL.  He drove me crazy last night in bed. That is EXACTLY what the specialist said that it stems from an infection they had as a kitten that damages their nasal passages.  Unfortunately it probably will have flare ups off and on throughout their lives.
 
Thanks cprcheetah! I hope Munchie is still doing well. I have a couple of questions for you -

About how much would a sinus flush cost? I have had a couple of my cats rack up a darned big vet bill (Turtle being sick with pancreatitis and kidney infections, Louie with his urgent bladder surgery) and I feel bad about how much I owe my vet! I also need to start saving for their teeth cleanings, (I don't know what other people pay, but for my vet, they charge $265, that includes the full sedation, fluids, cleaning and any meds they may need).

I envy you being able to stay with Munchie during the procedure. I'd stay with Shyla if I could, but I think I'd be more in the way, and terribly unsanitary, sobbing and weeping and dropping wet kleenex everywhere! I'd probably make a bigger mess than what will come out of Shyla's nose! How long does the procedure normally take?

How long ago did Munchie have this done? And did he ever get clogged up again?

And lastly, do you or anyone else here know of a super-rich animal lover who just doesn't know what to do with all their money, and would love to donate it to pay for our vet bills? ;-)

Thanks for the info - hugs to your kitties!
Client cost at our clinic would be $45 for the sedation, about $75 for the flush and then then they put in a catheter because he was a high risk anesthesia patient so that was $45.  So it really wasn't that bad.  Our kitty teeth cleans are about $190, but that includes bloodwork, a catheter as well.   It took her probably 20 minutes to do the full flush on him, but she had to use a LOT of fluid, literally flushed 2 liters of fluid up his nose he had so much crap up there.  He had it done last Thursday and so far he is NOT clogged up at all.  We have him on a different antibiotic right now because they had to order in the Zithromax in a powder so we can make it up as it's going to be hard to keep fresh only giving every 3 days.  So far he is doing awesome.  No congestion, he's breathing better, more active, happier and just seems to be doing great.  I haven't heard him sneeze at all.  Oh I am also putting saline up his nose twice a day as well as some antiinflammatory drops as things were quite inflammed up there.   Do you have your cat on Lysine daily?  It really helps with respiratory issues as so I've heard does Lactoferrin. 
 
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stephanietx

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We went through this with Hannah.  Most likely, there is a secondary infection going on that needs to be addressed.  Has the vet done a culture & sensitivity test of the green mucous?  If not, that's the place to start to rule out anything like a weird (uncommon) infection.
 

jdollprincess

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My cat Pheobe has a similar problem. Whenever she has a flare up I put her on oral Prednisolone for a month or so. I've tried every antibiotic as well as nasal drops and none of them worked like the steriods did.
 

scarlett 001

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My cat Pheobe has a similar problem. Whenever she has a flare up I put her on oral Prednisolone for a month or so. I've tried every antibiotic as well as nasal drops and none of them worked like the steriods did.
How often would you find that you needed to put her on the prednisolone??
 

jdollprincess

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Last year I used pred on 2 occasions but the one time I kept her on an every other day dose for about 3 months. Another drug my vet recommended is an antiviral called Famciclovir but I have not tried it yet.
 

stephanietx

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If she has herpes, you do NOT want to put her on any steroid as that weakens the immune system and perpetuates the problem.  You need to figure out what's going on to cause the green snot.  This is best done by the culture & sensitivity test.  When Hannah was doing this for 8 months, we found out she had an underlying pseudomonas infection.  Once we got that treated, she had no more discharge.  She still sneezes, even on a daily antihistamine, but at least she's not flinging green snot all over the place.
 

maureen brad

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I know this is an old thread. I was reading because my Remy is still so congested. I just had to comment because everyone is talking about the cost of dental cleaning. Where do you all live? I would have thought I died and went to heaven if a cleaning cost me only a couple hundred. Here the blood work cost more than that. Shoot, last year during national feline dental health month I got a full dental on sale for $660. Typically a cleaning , including blood work cost between $800- $1000. I need to move. I just can't believe the difference in prices.
 
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