My baby has a URI - help!

My Pooh has been diagnosed with URI and is on antibiotics (Clamavox?) and has had 3 doses but I'm worried because she won't eat/drink. I took her to the vet yesterday morning and she did eat some food & drink yesterday afternoon. However, today she only ate one soft treat about the size of your fingertip. She won't drink and I've tried both water and chicken broth. I'm worried about dehydration. I also tried warming some food - no dice. Added some chicken broth and tried again .. nothing.

I was thinking of using the syringe that came with the antibiotics to get some fluids into her but I don't want to stress her.

Any advice ? This is my first experience with a sick cat and I'm worried sick.

Of course you are worried. We all are when one of our babies get sick. You will have more people come along that know a lot more than me, but have you tried a little smelly tuna and tuna juice? She is probably having a hard time smelling the food right now. It's great you are keeping an eye on her for dehydration.

Since your vet just saw her I'd suggest calling him up (vets are pretty good about talking to you over teh phone especially if they might have just seen you in). This way he can recommend how best to proceed with fluids. Dehydration can certainly be serious if she is not eating/drinkiing.

Originally Posted by AbbysMom

Of course you are worried. We all are when one of our babies get sick.

You will have more people come along that know a lot more than me, but have you tried a little smelly tuna and tuna juice? She is probably having a hard time smelling the food right now. It's great you are keeping an eye on her for dehydration.

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Thats a good point. Cats are driven to eat through their sense of smell. If they cant' smell they won't want to eat. You would need something really potent for her to smell through the cold she has.

OK, My Jordan just had bad uperresperitory a few months ago. I agree call the vet first. Then you could try Baby Food, any type of Meat only like Chicken Gerber #2. Nothing with onions. If she won't eat it, it's easy to use a syringe & get some in her. It's important that she gets some food every day. Jordan was so sick that I had to force feed & give sub-q fluids twice a day, along with like 3 differnt medications. Another thing to watch for is constipation, if she's not getting enough to drink she may become constipated. I hope that your baby doesn't get that bad. I'm lucky because I have experince giving sub-q fluids & I was able to get a bag from the shelter I voulnteer at.

Thank you all for the info. I had boiled some chicken for dinner (quesadillas - yummy !) so I chopped some up and sprinkled a few drops of chicken broth on it. Pooh ate ever piece so I'm hoping this is an encouraging sign. Abbysmom - I will definitely try some tuna & it's juice. That's a great idea and I thank you ! She definitely needs to drink so I hope the tuna juice is appealing.

I was petting Pooh after she ate and she began to purr I haven't heard that sweet sound since Sunday so I hope it's a good sign. I know cats will sometimes purr when sick or injured but since she hasn't been purring I'm hoping it's a positive. She's sleeping on my bed right now and it's hard to resist the urge to just pick her up and hold her close. She hates being held and is probably exhausted so I'll let her be for a while.

I've noticed that it can take 3-5 days on antibiotics before URI kitties start to perk back up. It's a great sign that your baby is eating again & if you're worried at all, don't hesitate to call your vet. A good vet doesn't mind phone calls from worried mamas; they appreciate that you are so vigilant.

Amanda

I totally know how you feel. Jasmine is just now recovered from her URI, she had a really bad one. If your kit isn't eating very well,I found that if you could find the "stinkest" canned food available to you, try to heat that up for a few seconds and see if she will eat that. Jasmine wouldn't eat any of her regular food, but when I put out some 'smelly' canned food, she ate it right up. ( She really liked Wiskas, but friskies or fancy feast might work as well). I had some of those grocery store brands around for treats, and she really liked them, probably because she could actually smell them. I also had to give her water with a syringe because she wasn't drinking, but she was also on Clavamox (liquid), so I would just get a few syringe-fulls in her after I gave her her meds. If you have any questions about it, please feel free to PM me. I had to deal with it all! Good luck!

You might try meat baby food (meat only, no onions) to get them to eat. If Clavamox doesn't do the trick, you can talk to your vet about Zithromax which works better for some URIs. I hope Pooh is feeling better soon.

Just wanted to let everyone know that Pooh is doing very well today. She's not 100% but she is acting more like her old self. I woke up to a nice massage from her this morning and she dug right in to her wet food. She's snoozing with her sister on my bed at the moment. Thank you to all for your words of advice and comfort ! Happy Thanksgiving !

I'm glad she is doing better