Help...I know nothing about cats!

LOL..glad that caught your attention!
I just got a 1 year old Orange Tabby from the local SPCA last Friday. She was spayed Monday morning and I picked her up on Tuesday early AM.
I got her home and she started wheezing so I took her back and they said she had a Upper Respitory Infection. Nothing out of the ordinary considering where she came from. Well she got put on some Amoxicillin and everything was going great. Today was horrible though. She is drooling profusly and is spitting the medication back at me. I am going to take her to the vet in the morning, but is there anything I can do tonight? Her personality has changed in the last few days, she has gone from sleeping on our bed to sleeping under the dresser in our room and during the day she was out and about and now she is resting behind he couch. I am so confused!
Thanks for the advice in advance!
Erica

Hey and welcome to the wonderful world of owning a cat! It's considered wise to immediately take a new cat (no matter where you got it from) to a vet after getting it - sometimes cats can pick up URIs and other diseases at shelters, etc. So I'm glad you're taking her to the vet tomorrow.

I'm not an expert but the drooling could be because she tasted the medication and it didnt' taste good. I experienced that with my cat a few months ago... it scared the life out of me! I had no idea they drooled that much!

I take it that since your cat is now "hiding", she's probably not feeling too good and wants some quiet time. I would let her rest and try not to bug her... take her to the vet tomorrow and let us know how it goes!

Welcome to a fellow Virginian....I'm sorry your girl has an upper resp but taking her to the vet tomorrow is probably the best thing.

Katie

I just noticed something, she only drools a lot when we pick her up....does that change anything? Like she is locked in the bathroom right now with her food and box so I wont have to hunt for her in the am....but I picked her up and she started drooling....I mean is it like a defense mechanism that they drool because they think they are getting medication??

You are very observant for someone who claims to know nothing about cats! (*grin*) Congratulations for adopting a shelter cat, and yes, many of them come with URI's from the stress, overcrowding and confinement of the shelter.

I have a cat that drools when under stress. Another that used to drool with certain medications. It sounds like she is feeling pretty punky and can't quite adjust until she is feeling physically better. She could be relating you to something that gives her stress - sometimes its just hard to tell with cats, particularly one that you haven't had very long. Your vet visit tomorrow is very important. You may also want to check in with the shelter to see if there are any other viruses going on there.

The meds are going to be a necessary evil for her for a while. Perhaps follow up the medicine with a treat (a teaspoon of stinky canned cat food perhaps?) to bribe her into accepting the medicine more easily. You can store canned food in the fridge for a few days but warm it to at least room temperature before you give it to her.

I'm sure others have ideas for you also. Keep us posted on how she is doing please!

P.S. You do know that you have a very rare girl, don't you? Only 10% of red tabby cats are female. They are a joy when you find them and usually very wonderful cats (just ask my Scarlett)!!

Did I mention she is a total snob! LOL...she will only eat dry food and treats are not to her liking. I talked to a vet friend of mine..he said maybe we can get her some topical gel antibiotic...or worse comes to worse, we can do injections! eek!

My red tabby girl (Scarlett) will only eat when my husband is standing there and petting her. Are these 2 related? LOL

There are a couple of choices for antibiotics. I personally prefer liquids over pills. For liquids to treat URI's, you typically get the choice between the pink or white formulas (I get them mixed up on which is which). My Bogart would foam on the white and I always had to switch him to pink. He was plaqued with URI's his entire life. There is a clear one (Antirobe Aquadrops) that isn't as effective with URI's but seems to be easier with most cats. Since she eats only dry, crushing pills into wet food doesn't appear to be an option for you. Some cats won't eat wet food but love the gravy - may be something for you to try.

Yea the pills are a big no no for her...so the liquid was the best i could do...the amoxicillin is the pink stuff. I have a feeling the drooling is a stress/defense mechanism...i just tried a little experiment where i did not pick her up but I came near her with the pink med in the dropper bottle and she started drooling. So, I think its the fact she hates the medication! LOL. I know injections are kinda mean, but being a medic I feel more in control in knowing she is getting the medication. Yes, when I tried giving her wet food she licked the hell out of the gravy...LOL. do they sell just gravy? Or can I make turkey gravy for her to eat?
Erica

I am sorry to hear your new kitty is sick. My first 2 cats came from shelters. When we got Wallace he was so sick with a respiratory infection, it didn't start showing up until we got him home and then Marecllus got sick a week later. I think that's very common when cats come from shelters as they are so stressed, crowded and illness spreads so rapidly. Anyway, it is most definitely good to bring her to the vet as you plan. I just want to say, hang in there. Let her rest all she can, make sure she is eating and drinking, and depending upon the infection it could take some time before she's back to herself and her real personality shines through. It took awhile for Wallace. And all he did was sleep for a week. I'm sure the vet will give you some good advice tomorrow. Keep up posted.

We have used babyfood in the past to mix meds in, but with Buddy apparently his love of fancy feast is so great that he will eat it with medicine in it. He only ate his babyfood the first time..after that he did not like it anymore. Considering how he fought us when we had to give him a pill.. I am extreamly thankful for fancy feast. The "grilled" ones generally have a lot of gravey in them and nice slices of meat that look yummy.

Originally Posted by Usanavywife2004

LOL. do they sell just gravy? Or can I make turkey gravy for her to eat?
Erica

Click to expand...

Actually there is "just" gravy! My cats love it on top of the dry food (ours only get it as a treat as they eat wet food)

VitaGravy

Good luck at the vets and please let us know how it goes!

I've seen cat gravy at Petsmart. Didn't look at the contents so don't know how good it is for them. It has to be refrigerated after opening and warmed before serving.

My Tigger, who is IMPOSSIBLE to give a pill to (the vet even has to sedate him), loves vanilla ice cream and plain yogurt. I have crushed pills up and put them into a bowl with a little bit of melted ice cream or yogurt and he laps it right up. Harder to control dosage that way if he doesn't finish it all up.

Originally Posted by Usanavywife2004

Yea the pills are a big no no for her...so the liquid was the best i could do...the amoxicillin is the pink stuff. I have a feeling the drooling is a stress/defense mechanism...i just tried a little experiment where i did not pick her up but I came near her with the pink med in the dropper bottle and she started drooling. So, I think its the fact she hates the medication! LOL. I know injections are kinda mean, but being a medic I feel more in control in knowing she is getting the medication. Yes, when I tried giving her wet food she licked the hell out of the gravy...LOL. do they sell just gravy? Or can I make turkey gravy for her to eat?
Erica

Click to expand...

If you're a medic, you might want to go with shots. I've found them to be a lot less stressful than pills or liquid medications for cats.

Also, she may like pureed turkey baby food as a treat? it's got no additives and it's the consistancy of gravy.. my three love it, even the one that won't eat wet food. It's how i bribe them with meds.. I hope the amoxicillan does its job soon

Drooling is probably from stress, and she is hiding so you don't grab her up and stuff more nasty medicine down her throat! Orange kitties are pretty smart! I have two a boy and a girl. There is an article you might benefit in reading-

http://www.thecatsite.com/content/view/179//

It is long, but well worth the read-


Good luck!