My baby is so sick

Poor little Cissa, she's just such a little thing...and it's been one thing after the other, I can't wait till this is all over and she can just feel good again.

She has a very nasty cold. Lucius, who we got at the same time, was a sneezer from the start, so I guess he's been harboring the cold virus. He is sick too right now with lots of sneezing, but he's just bigger and stronger.

It started in Cissa's eye, and I got her to the Vet immediately, this was on Thursday. She did have a temp. Both are on some sort of medicine with also some decongestant, which I can tell helps, cause shortly after using it her eye clears, she can breathe, and she plays again. But they only get it every 12 hours, so she suffers in between.

Besides wiping her eyes, letting her sleep a lot (keeping the house somewhat quiet,) and feeding wet food (she is eating, but probably a bit less,) is there anything else I should do and watch out for. She is basically sleeping the day away, which is best when anyone is sick.

Are some cats always susceptible to colds or is this most likely due to exposure from the shelter? I cried a bit for her yesterday, I felt so awful that I couldn't help her.

Shelters are always full of upper respiratory. It goes along with having so many cats housed in one building. Stress also plays a big part. Most owned cats do not get upper resp. Once your cats get over this, they will probably never get it again unless they are exposed to another sick cat. Just make sure they get vaccinated and dewormed and feed them a good quality diet.

Try using a vaporizer (no Vicks, though!) - keep Cissa in a small room with the vaporizer near her. It may help her breathe easier.

Poor little girl - hope she feels better soon.

PS- Your babies are gorgeous!

The thing you need to be concerned about is her eating. If she stops eating she won't be able to heal. Offer her the canned food after the decongestant and wipe away any crusts at her nose. Cats are attracted to the food by its smell, so if they can't smell they often won't eat. If they have fevers you might want to add a little water to the food to increase their water intake. If they go longer than 12 hours without taking in any fluids or food, you need to take them back to the vet. Otherwise, just as you realized, it is rest time for them. Poor babies. But they will probably be just fine. Becky

It's no fun being sick! Your babies look so beautiful in your signature. Here's hoping they both get well soon.

I must have just hurt Lucius when giving him his medicine this morning (dang, I feel like a bad mom.) The medicine makes him foam really badly, so I just hold him tight and a kid wipes off the foam for a minute till it stops. Today he was also bleeding when he foamed, so I think I must have hurt his mouth with the dropper (he totally fights and struggles with me.)

I guess there is nothing I can do but wait and make sure this is what happened (most likely is, I know) but it just is no fun.

I'll be more careful tonight....at least they'll be able to breathe for a bit.

Oh, yes, they are both eating and drinking. Thanks for all the support

You are certainly not a bad mom! Sometimes we have to hurt or upset them, when they need medications or injections, but it is all for their own good. If you give them lots of loving afterwards, they will come round very quickly. I hope they both recover quickly - they are very beautiful.

Originally Posted by Lucius&Cissa

I must have just hurt Lucius when giving him his medicine this morning (dang, I feel like a bad mom.) The medicine makes him foam really badly, so I just hold him tight and a kid wipes off the foam for a minute till it stops. Today he was also bleeding when he foamed, so I think I must have hurt his mouth with the dropper (he totally fights and struggles with me.)

I guess there is nothing I can do but wait and make sure this is what happened (most likely is, I know) but it just is no fun.

I'll be more careful tonight....at least they'll be able to breathe for a bit.

Oh, yes, they are both eating and drinking. Thanks for all the support

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Poor little guy. Yes, if they don't like the taste of the medicine they get all this foamy and slimy drool:-(. I remember the first time it happened to me when I was giving Abbie her antihistamine - I was on the phone to the vet so fast! One thing you can try is to wrap him in a towel while you hold him to give him his meds. Sit on the floor on your knees and sort of brace him back between your knees and body while wrapped in the towel. His paws are then secured and he is braced and won't be able to fight quite as much. You will be able to get the dropper in at the side of his mouth behind the front canines and may not find it as difficult to do. Unfortunately, he will still foam. Try offering him some sort of kitty treat afterwards to get the bad (to him) taste out of his mouth. I am glad to know that they are eating and drinking - that is a good sign - and I hope they will soon be recovered from the URI.

Kathryn

Just wondering how Cissa was doing now?

Best-
Michele

I think yesterday was the worst day, I even had a bit of a mommy breakdown from feeling so terrible that my baby couldn't breathe. After finally getting meds in them last night, they both slept well all night on my bed, and this morning Cissa's eyes were crusted over. They are still a little dirty and draining, but not crusted closed, and she can breathe much better, but both still are sneezing. I can tell she feels better. Lucius never got too sick....I tend to think he had the cold in the first place, maybe low grade.

I just want this bad stuff behind me. Thanks for the support.

i hope they get well soon annette. you must be so worried.

keep us posted on how they are doing x

I hope your little Cissa feels better soon. Please be patient, these things do take time to go away. If it is a virus, it has to run it's course. One of my Pixie Bobs, Aurora, had an upper respiratory infection when she was a kitten. She had a very strong viral infection, it lasted for 3 months! I would feel so bad. I can remember holding her in my arms and watching her try to sleep with her mouth open to breathe. Her little nose was always running and I had to wipe it clean. I don't want to worry you, most of these infections do not last this long.

I'm sorry your fur-babies are so sick Hopefully they'll be better soon.

Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

Shelters are always full of upper respiratory. It goes along with having so many cats housed in one building. Stress also plays a big part. Most owned cats do not get upper resp. Once your cats get over this, they will probably never get it again unless they are exposed to another sick cat. Just make sure they get vaccinated and dewormed and feed them a good quality diet.

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So true.

When I went to pick up Dakota and Xena, they both had URI. Dakota was just getting over hers and I was able to take her home. Xena, however, had a full blown URI. Her nose was crusted over. The lady who runs the shelter was going to let me take her home, but then decided it would be best to keep her overnight for observation. She kept her in the bathroom with the hot water running overnight, the steam did help clean Xena's passages. However, Xena then developed a fungus on her tail which she is still fighting. Dakota still sneezes some and I was told she'll probably be like that for the rest of her life. It's not a constant sneeze. The number of occurances have decreased recently.

Hopefully Cissa make a quick recovery. Keep us posted.

I'm praying for a quick recovery for little Cissa and her brother Lucius.

Thanks again for the comments. I feel kind of stupid I guess. I didn't realize a URI was a kittie cold and now have been able to use the search function and read up a bit more. It's very reassuring to know so many have gone through this same thing, and that it often takes a long time to clear up (that's not reassuring of course.)

They are supposed to go in for shots tomorrow, I will call the vet and see about putting that off at least a week. I know Cissa isn't up to it, Lucius would be fine, but not her.

I want to do some research on strengthening their immune systems, and then get the "go ahead" from the vet (she's a cat vet.)

Both kitties also sleep with me, and I have a big fat fluffy feather comfortor they are directly on. What are the chances of a feather allergy? Any comments? I may try switching comfortors with my daughter for the night, just to see if there is a change.