Respiratory infection in 15 year old...your tips and tricks

So after returning from a 3 day business trip to find my 15 year old with runny eyes and breathing like Darth Vader (boyfriend never noticed a thing), off to the vet we go. She was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection (duh) and given a week of Clavamox to fight off any secondary infection since the URI is viral. She finished the antibiotics 4 days ago.

She was and still is drinking, eating and is more active now but occasionally relapses to the Darth Vader breathing.

I spoke with the vet again today who said (and confirmed what I read) that recovery could take 1-3 weeks but to bring her in Friday if she remains the same.

I have been putting her in a steamy bathroom 1-2 times a day and that seems to have helped some but she is certainly not 100%.

Has anyone else tried anything else with success? Is it bad for scar to inhale very small quantities of menthol? (Like Vick's?). I was wondering if putting some on a paper towel and burying it under the blankets she sleeps on would help/hurt??

Any other tried ideas?

In the meantime, I'll keep on with the TLC and the steamy bathroom twice a day until Friday.

It seems to me you are doing everything right.  Menthol in small amounts is okay, but be prepared for a possible very enthusiastic response.  Read this thread about a cat who just LOVED menthol.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/226975/menthol

You might try adding some L- lysine to your cat's diet.  Lysine helps boost the immune system so it should help your kitty fight off the virus.  Below are two threads about it but if you search the site for URIs and Lysine you'll find quite a few more.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/247989/...for-how-long-and-for-what-and-other-questions

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/302902/questions-about-l-lysine

Hope your girl is back to her old self soon!  

If your cat is still breathing like that she may have fluid in her lungs. A steroid may help, but that would need to come from the vet. That kind of breathing in a 15-year-old cat is cause for concern. You might want to bring her in before Friday to be checked.

Maggie seems some better today. I did put a paper towel with some Vick's on it in her bed clothes and that may have helped. She has AWLAYS loved anything menthol and used to chase my ex around to smell his shaving crime that had menthol in it.

I forgot to mention that she is and has been on a good probiotic.

She's been up and about today, visited with me, had some meals and some water out of the fountain and is resting comfortably on her side sound asleep so I'm not suspecting fluid on the lungs as that would be an uncomfortable position. Unfortunately patience is not one of my virtues and I hated to see her so miserable.

Thanks to all for your continued feedback. It is very much appreciated.

So Maggie is still battling with the snuffles and now nasal discharge elusively on the left nostril. The right eye has all but stopped draining so that is good.

On a bad note, I had to make a 9 day business trip and she lost .5 pound which she didn't need to lose do I asked for an appetite stimulate which he gave me and she's getting it about once every 5 days. I can see it has improved her appetite and I will weigh her again Tuesday.

I've read many places that whether it's the flu or a herpes outbreak, the symptoms usually last from 10 days to 3-4 weeks. This has been going on since the early middle of February. The vet tells me that sometimes he's had cats that remain chronic snufflers. Has anyone else had this experience?

Maggie is more active and more vocal. She's still getting the llysine, an antibiotic every 72 hours, a probiotic and the appetite stimulate every 5 days (I see the effects last that long between dosages). There is a vaporizer constantly running where she is and I'm doing hot steam treatments in the bathroom.

Anything I'm missing???? Thanks for any help you can provide.