chronic upper respiratory infection

Hi all,

I have a 10-month old blue point Himalayan kitty. He has had a URI from the day I brought him home 1.5 months ago. The breeder told me to put him on Zithromax (liquid) 2x/a day for 21 days so am now trying that after an unsuccessful round of Clavamox for 10 days. I am also giving him Enisyl - Lysine paste 2/x a day.

He really seemed like he was getting better after 14 days but today he seems worse. He is totally congested, coughing, wheezing and has mucus so it makes him choke/snort but nothing is coming out. He doesn't seem to be sneezing as much as before but his breathing seems wheezy. I have the vaporizer going in his (my) room.

I am running out of ideas. Does anyone know if it's normal to be getting better and then take a turn for the worse? It seems odd to me. Additionally, Himalayans have such tiny noses but the vet told me he also has stenotic nares which may require surgery down the road to help his breathing. I feel so bad for the little guy. Any suggestions will be most welcome. Thank you!

PJ

my number one suggestion to you is to take him back to the vet.  It sounds like he is having real trouble breathing and that is never normal.  Please get him medical assistance as soon as you can.

I went through an 8 month roller coaster with my Hannah.  She'd get sick, get meds, get well, then 2 weeks later we'd start the cycle again.  Finally, a vet recommended a culture & sensitivity test because we'd tried all kinds of meds and they weren't working.  We'd even done 21 day rounds of meds with no success.  The culture will tell the vet what kind of infection you're dealing with (bacterial or viral) and the sensitivity test tells the vet which med will best treat it.  That was the best thing we ever did!  It takes 7-10 days to get the results back, so our vet gave us an antibiotic to give Hannah during that time period.  Turns out, that was the exact drug that would best treat her infection.  We did have to do 2 rounds of meds, 30 days each, before we got it under control, but she's not had another flare up of that in all these years (about 7 years now).

I went through this with my boy Munchie.  He finally at the suggestion of a specialist was sedated and his nose was flushed out, he had so much crap up there it took 2 liters of fluids to flush it out.  He was then put on Zithromycin once daily for 5 days then every 3 days for 2-3 months.  He is doing so much better.  He is nearing the end of his 2 months and then will be re-evaluated.  He was so bad before he couldn't breath. 

Thanks everybody for the great advice. I forgot to mention that he has been to two different vets who did nothing to help him. I spent over $400 so far just on appointments alone. I think a lot of vets have expertise in dogs but not cats. I am going to take him to another vet soon and hope for the best.

Has anyone ever used antihistamine on cats and if so what kind? I need liquid not pills. I'm thinking that it might clear up his congestion/mucus. Thanks!!!

Getting information and knowledge before you go to the vet is an amazingly empowering thing!  You are your kitty's advocate and getting suggestions and advice here is good to take to the vet, but be sure you discuss everything with your vet. 

I do give my kitty an antihistamine daily.  We give 1/4 to 1/2 of a 10mg loratidine (Claritin).  It dissolves easily in water, so I add a couple of teaspoons to my kitty's breakfast wet food, smash the pill and mix it in with the food and the kitty never knows it's in there.  Again, be sure to discuss this with your vet and you still need to get the C&S test done to be sure you're not dealing with something more severe.