Calici virus care for a feral who cannot be given antibiotics

Hi folks,

Some of you know me from other forums.  I have never been able to find anything new about how to care for acutely ill ferals who have the calici virus.  My ferals live mostly on my property but they wander, too.  They are not reliable re: taking, daily, the right amount of antibiotic in their food because they will wander from plate to plate and most are not symptomatic of this virus although I am positive all have it in their bodies now.

One cat ni question, Yellow, aged about 6 or 7, has been feeding for over 4 years now.  Of course he has been TNR'd by me with the FVRCP shot but that was 4 years ago.  I am not re-trapping him for more shots but may, eventually, re-trap for a check up and dental work.

Meanwhile, his eye is filled with liquid and he is sneezing and lethargic.  One of my inside cats has the calici also and he has mouth ulcers and I am so worried this is the same strain.  Mouth ulcers go together with severe inflammation of the gums and really are best treated with an oral liquid antibiotic, Orbax.

I do use, for my inside cats, Lactoferrin, L lysine and Nexabiotic (s boulardi and other probiotics) and mostly feed raw food.

Any new ideas?  Thanks.  Would not be surprised if he had a fever, too.

I am going to request that this thread be moved to the Caring for Ferals forum. I think you may get more helpful responses there.

If you suspect Yellow has symptoms of the virus (which may include mouth ulcers), I'd think it was time to re-trap him for his check-up.  He can get any shots and needed dental work now, rather than later...

Thank you for helping him.

So was he actually tested for calici or any other uri's with eye drainage, etc to confirm calici or based on mouth ulcers, which can be a good indicater as well, don't get me wrong.

Just trying to get a good picture of things here.

So Yellow was trapped, fixed, vaxed and had calici 4 years ago?

Just as a mention, there is covenia injections, which is a 2 week antibiotic I use for ferals often times since they are not good candidates for medicating.

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to re-trap a cat who has been trapped already; most of them do not make the mistake of going into a humane trap a second time. Hopefully you will be able to do so, but don't be frustrated if you don't succeed with trapping him the way you did the first time.  

I've given liquid Orbax to my non-trappable feral during two serious bouts of illness, and it's really been a godsend. It's from a family of antibiotics that have, on rare occasions and in very large doses, caused retinal damage in cats--so both times I worried myself half to death. However, it likely saved his life on both occasions--the first time when he had a severe URI and eye infection that had progressed from viral to bacterial, and the second time when another animal bit part of his ear off and it became badly infected. This is in fact the only antibiotic I can give him because it's tasteless and without scent and can be placed in his wet food, and only has to be given once daily. He is known to a veterinary clinic from one mobile vet visit a few years ago. When I needed the antibiotics, I emailed pictures and explanations of his condition and they prescribed the antibiotics, no problem. Perhaps your vet will do the same.

If the mucous from his eyes is clear and not yellowish or greenish, then it may still only be viral, and L Lysine (if you can get him to eat the treat version) is your best bet, along with lots of water and pure chicken broth.

For future precautions, you might want to be very careful about not infecting your feral with the illnesses of your indoor cats. Be sure to completely wash your hands with antibacterial soap and thoroughly clean your feral's bowl, and even change your clothes when you interact with your feral after interacting with an ill indoor cat. These viruses are airborne and you can easily infect your outdoor cat with the virus from your indoor cat.

I hope your kitty gets better soon. I know how worrisome it can be caring for a sick feral!

Thank you for such a good post, MsAimee.   Yes, I have found that my indoor cats tolerate the daily Orbax dose extremely well - far more so than any other drug and yes, it is truly a godsend drug!  

My local vet is really smart and competent and low key but he didn't completely address my request for a test to see what this virus IS that has been going around.  It was an answer that didn't make sense (incoherent to my ears) and that is  NOT his way.  I think he just didn't appreciate that I would like to know which virus it was.  He did say that mouth ulcers are not necessarily calici virus but I see that he put down "calici" as the virus to be given to the pet insurance company for two of our sick cats (we insure 5 of our 11 cats, I try to do the oldest ones, a crap shoot <ss>).   Now, fortunately, Yellow is not very sick at all today, very mild eye liquid and he seems less fatigued so I do not feel he ought to be medicated.  Yes, I do try to practice good hygiene and not re-infect cats from outside to inside and vice versa.   And yes, I know it is air, clothes, hands, plates, -born and highly contagious.   Many thanks.  Next time, if it happens, I might put Orbax in the food.   It's hard because I have to be sure he will eat his plate and not someone else.