Molly has URI

Molly has come down with URI (as is very very typical of this shelter in our area ). I've been through this before in the past, but with a young kitten who was not eating or drinking at all so it was a very dangerous situation and I wound up at the vets numerous times with her. This is a tad different in that it is not a kitten and that she was eating and drinking fine - up until this morning. My question is at what point should I become concerned and bring her to the vets? There is nothing they can do as far as treating the URI, that I know, but I know they can help if she's becoming dehydrated. I have checked the nape of her neck and felt her gums and she still feels hydrated. I have liquified some wet canned food and fed her a little of that with an eyedropper and have given her water the same way. She's not acting lethargic - I mean she spends most of her time just resting (as would any of us if we were sick), but she's not lethargic.
I am just worried about dehydration. I know it can be dangerous. If I'm giving her water twice a day with an eyedropper and checking her gums and the nape of her neck - is that ok? Is that not enough? Is it sufficient? Can anyone answer this question? How much water does a typical cat need to stay healthy? 5ml? 10ml?
Oh - and she has spent a few hours twice a day in a room with a humidifier to help with the stuffiness (recommended by my vet for my kitten previously). I'm wondering if the moisture in the air can somehow help keep her hydrated as well.
Thanks!

Molly did eat a tiny bit last night and I am still feeding her baby food and water with an eyedropper twice a day, but I'm still wondering on the proper amount of water intake. Does anyone know this?
Again - she is not lethargic, her eyes are very alert and her head is up, she's just lazy cause she feels like crap. Also, her gums are very moist and slippery and the nape of her neck springs back telling me she is ok right now as far as dehydration goes. I'd really like to know the proper amount of fluids though to make sure she stays hydrated.

Thanks so much!!

When we adopted Abby from the shelter, she also had a URI. Our vet did give us antibiotics, as it was a fairly severe one. It sounds like you are doing a good job keeping an eye on her, but I really would suggest bringing her to the vet to see if there is anything they can do, as well as any other conditions she might have from the shelter.

Originally Posted by AbbysMom

When we adopted Abby from the shelter, she also had a URI. Our vet did give us antibiotics, as it was a fairly severe one. It sounds like you are doing a good job keeping an eye on her, but I really would suggest bringing her to the vet to see if there is anything they can do, as well as any other conditions she might have from the shelter.

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Thanks so much and I understand what you're saying. As I said, I went through it with my Snickers and it was very serious (she wound up being my "million dollar kitty" we made so many trips to the vets ). They put her on antibiotics as well, but the anitibiotics are not for the URI. It's a just in case of anything else. Unfortunately there are no anti-biotics for URI. Thats why I figured if she's doing ok at home and I can get the fluids in her that she needs, then I won't need to make the trip to the vets. Obviously if anything does not look right - I will be there in a heartbeat! That goes without saying, but she did have a complete vet checkup last Thursday and they knew she was getting a touch of URI, but there was nothing else wrong with her, she was completely healthy and they just sent me home with the basic information.
I just want to keep the appropriate amount of fluids in her. I have no problem feeding her water with an eyedropper to make sure.
As for the shelter thing - unfortunately URI and shelter seem to go hand and hand. I love my local shelter. They have a spectacular place- clean, well kept, excellent firendly staff, great hospital and doctors office, good prices,etc, but their cats are always sick with URI!! With my first one, I called a month after I got her looking for another baby and they said they were shut down. They had to euthanize the whole shelter, shutdown for a month to bleach and clean the place to make sure there was no more URI it!! There is one strain that can live up to a month on surfaces. That broke my heart! Especially since had I not adopted my Nikki and Peanut - they would have been part of that group.