Ghibli Went to the vet...

turtlecat

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..And as far as the cold goes, , It's either viral or bacterial, and if it's bacterial, he's on antibiotics, and if it's viral, he's suffering through it


As far as panting during play, she says that that might be due to either a (VERY mild) heart murmur, or herpes
so he's on l-lysine for a month as well.

We were toldThat as far as the cold he would have to get a check up again next week, before we could think about getting him snipped.. (and if the panting doesn't subside....then what?)

we have noticed, though, that he mostly only ever pants when there's a wand toy out.. and will usually stop after he's good and sure the wand isn't coming out... could it be related? because he doesn't do the same when he's climbing or wrassling or anything.. could it just be.. the wand toys?
 

halfpint

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Maybe he just gets extra excited when the wand toys are out, put them away for awhile and see, take one of the other toys and just put it on a string and wave it like the wand ones and see if there's a differance
 

pinkdaisy226

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Is he panting AFTER playing with the wand toy? I know whenever Baylee plays too much and too hard with her wand toy, she pants - maybe it's the same thing.
 

jen

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My cat pants when he is stressed. Maybe he doesn't like the wand toy and it freaks him out so that is why he pants.

BTW, Ghibli is a great name I love it.
 
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turtlecat

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Ah, he love the wand toy, I think he's just going "CATCH THE FEATHERS!!!" because his mouth hangs open when he's really getting into it, and I think the panting may actually be a sort of growly thing, because Paige does it when I'm tickling her belly..
he does't pant once the otys are away, and he doesn't pant when he's batting milkbottle rings about and crashing into walls and chairs..

Any other opinions please do tell;
For those concerned aobut his doctoring, he will be back at the vets in a week.. the problem is, she can't get him to sit still long enough to hear his heart properly
 

russian blue

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Originally Posted by turtlecat

..And as far as the cold goes, , It's either viral or bacterial, and if it's bacterial, he's on antibiotics, and if it's viral, he's suffering through it


As far as panting during play, she says that that might be due to either a (VERY mild) heart murmur, or herpes
so he's on l-lysine for a month as well.
Nakita has the herpes virus, but I never heard of panting associated with it?
Did they do any testing to see if he has the virus?
 
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turtlecat

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They did not test him to see, beause I beleive his papers claim him to be negative. She said that studes show that lysine will break the replicating cycle of the herpes ( suppose cats have the 3 types as well?) so that's why we're on that. i thin there's a cold variety of herpes, like in humans, but for cats?? I don't know??
 

pinkdaisy226

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Poor little guy. So he definitely has a cold though? When I first got Baylee she was sneezing regularly and we were told it's a URI... now I can't remember the last time I heard her sneeze, possibly last year.

Have you ever felt his paws when he's panting? When I first saw Bay panting after playing, her paws were "sweaty", very warm and almost moist. I think in her case it was definitely that she was so excited that she wore herself out, perhaps it's the same thing with Ghibli.

Good luck though - keep us updated!
 

pat

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I'm sorry Ghibli isn't feeling 100%. Here is a link with many questions/and answer re herpes and cats: Feline Herpes

My sweet Mervat<RB>had an eye infection we could not clear up when she was 15, they thought it might be a herpes virus...and we did have her on lysine to help clear it up. It took a long time, but we did clear it up.
 
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turtlecat

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On the upside.. it's evident to me now that the cold was viral. Since the past 4 innoculations of antibiotics (and 2 of lysine) He has DEFINATELY been feeling better. I'm assuming it's the antibiotics, because I assume the lysine would take longer to affect.

This has included zooming all night long, including at 10 AM, wherupon I woke up to jason groaning like he had been punched in the.. well.. you know. And.. he had, as Gibby happened to DIVE onto his crotch, only to bound away n kitten exhuberance. .. He's certainly more energetic.


Question though: IF Ghibli has a very minor heart murmur, how devastating is the risk of having him altered. I prefer to have him fixed, if of course it's not going to KILL him. I worry because they have to put him under to do so, don't they? I know that isn't ood if your heart is questionable? I don't want to lose my little boy, you know? though I suppose I'd be damned either way.
 

zanniesmom

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With the combination of panting on exertion and a heart murmur, he really needs an ultrasound before he has an anesthesia. He may not have any problem, but I would want to find out. The sound of a heart murmur is only one clue in heart defects. A very large defect will sometimes cause a very mild murmur. I had a cat that panted on exertion and had a cough at times. She turned out to have asthma, a treatable disorder with inhaled steroids and bronchodilators. Some inventive person developed masks for cats to use with inhalers. They even make a mask for horses!
Becky
 

sashacat421

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I just want you to know that I'm following your Gibby and send our vibes to you.... we're here and we care! Sending healing thoughts at this time that everything gets much better!!!

 
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turtlecat

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IF after he's well, Ghibli seems to have a murmur (we partially can't tell becuse he IS congested, and because he's a 6 month kitten, and therefore squirmy. We shall see. If he does have a murmur, we'll definately have it checked on before him being fixed.
 

pat

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Originally Posted by zanniesmom

Some inventive person developed masks for cats to use with inhalers.
Becky
Yup, we have one for Ophelia (alix p curl's sister)
 

gayef

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Ask your vet about mask induction with either Isoflurane or Sevoflurane gas instead of the injectable. It may be a solution worth checking into for your boy as far as anesthesia is concerned. Also, the introduction of IV fluids during the procedure helps to flush the system of any residual medications that much faster - talk candidly with your vet about his options. You may have to pay more, but in the long run is there really any amount not worth it for his safety?

Best of luck with this, I know the issues around anesthesia all too well and do share your concern.

Gaye
 
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turtlecat

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Thank you Gaye, I really appreciate this. I'm hoping against hope that the URI is the worst of our worries.. (or maybe the feline herpes, which I understand is almost normal these days, I seriously don't mind innoculating him with l-lysine (he doesn't even notice, he's so happy to get his favorite mix of babyfood and canned (I add the babyfood to make the canned accept the lysine more readily.. otherwise it becomes meat flavored lysine paste, which he WOULD notice.).. I just want him to be heart healthy.. :/
 

gayef

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What color is the snot? Just curious?

Some kittens are born with a murmer that goes away with age and maturity. Much like human babies whose heads are soft, kittens are born with the heart not fully developed. It may be as simple as a developmental thing. We'll stay positive until we have something more negative to fret.

Best of luck,

G

~gf~
 
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turtlecat

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The snot when whet is clear, and just .. soggy. When dry it is dark brown.
 
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