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STUFFY STUFFY nose!

post #1 of 16
7/11/06 at 9:35pm
Thread Starter 
so thing 1 is NOT doing very well. his nose has been getting stuffier over the past couple days, and he has been closing his eyes and third eyelid quite a bit! he can't breathe through his nose and has to breathe through his mouth, and he sometimes makes quite a snoring noise while breathing, even tho he's awake!

is there anything i can do to make him more comfortable with such a stuffy nose? has this ever happened to anyone? is it a problem that he actually has to breathe out of his mouth, that he can't breathe out of his nose?
and is this still just the same virus, running its course?


i've never had a sick pet before, and i can't believe how awful it is making me feel. he looks sooo miserable, sitting there with his eyes closed just trying to breathe! it is such a horrible feeling to know there is nothing i can do to make him feel better!

=[


<3,
kali
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post #2 of 16
7/11/06 at 9:46pm
Go into the bathroom with him and close the door and run a very hot shower.
The steam will help him some.
Has he been to the vet?
Is he on an antibiotic?
If not he really needs one.

A URI can quickly become pneumonia
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post #3 of 16
7/12/06 at 1:12am
Thread Starter 
yes, he's been to the vet. he's on antibiotics, and i'm also rubbing a cream in his eyes, since he also has eye infections.

how would i tell if something had progressed into pneumonia? do i need to be worried? he sounds REALLY bad!

<3,
kali
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post #4 of 16
7/12/06 at 4:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by superkali
yes, he's been to the vet. he's on antibiotics, and i'm also rubbing a cream in his eyes, since he also has eye infections.

how would i tell if something had progressed into pneumonia? do i need to be worried? he sounds REALLY bad!

<3,
kali
Call the vet and voice your concerns. See if they want you to bring Think1 back in. He may need more care that only they can give or they may have other suggestions for you.
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post #5 of 16
7/12/06 at 5:45am
I would certainly be concerned, if he is open mouth breathing, he may need an oxygen box.


How long has he had the URI, and how long has he been on the antibiotic?
Most importantly, is he still eating and drinking?
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post #6 of 16
7/12/06 at 6:38am
Poor dear!! I'd be off to the vet again ASAP! However, it can take a long time for a kitty cold to clear up. It took my Hannah a good 6 weeks to finally be well enough to be with our other cat. We went through 3 different meds and eye drops before it finally cleared up. She was so congested that she was breathing through her nose, sneezing green snot, runny eyes with eye goop. You name it, she had it! Here are some things that worked for us.

~Confine your cat to one room. Set up a vaporizer and run it continuously.
~Put a dab of Baby Vick's on the top of the nose. This will help open up clogged nasal passages just like for humans. I've also heard of some people getting the Vicks that comes in the tube thing that you inhale and attaching that to their cat's collar.
~If your kitty isn't eating, ask the vet for an appetite stimulant. Nutrition and water are necessary for energy, not to mention all the other problems lack of eating and water create.
~I put a few drops of eucalyptus oil on an old washcloth and laid it near where my kitty slept. I also put some drops on a washcloth near the vaporizer. Eucalyptus oil is dangerous if your kitty ingests it, so be sure to put it near the kitty, but out of reach. The eucalyptus oil will help open nasal passages.
~Use a warm compress to help alleviate eye pain and to wipe out eye crusties and eye goop.
~Feed your kitty L-Lysine. You can ask your vet for Enisyl or you can buy 500mg tablets at the store. Crush the tablet and mix with wet food. The l-lysine helps boost the immune system. I still give it to my kitty when her allergies flare up and when her eyes are too watery for my liking.
~Look for small positive improvements instead of focusing on all the negatives. I remember how excited I was when Hannah started grooming herself, then when she started expressing an interest in toys, and stuff like that.
~LOVE your kitty and give it lots of attention. I'm convinced that TLC is a major factor in recovery.

Stephanie
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post #7 of 16
7/12/06 at 9:34am
Doesn't Vicks contain the dreaded phenols??

My feline vet let me use pediatric decongestant nose drops- one drop in one nostril today, one drop in the other nostril tomorrow, etc.
We also did home nebulizing- if you can get your hands on a nebulizer the vet will give you the solution to use in it.
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post #8 of 16
7/12/06 at 10:52am
Thread Starter 
thanks for the tips everyone!

so i'm going to take him back to the vet later today. i sat with him in the bathroom while the steam was running for a bit, and it definitely made him able to breathe easier.

i'll mention things like the baby eye drops and other suggestions to the vet!

<3,
kali
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post #9 of 16
7/12/06 at 11:57am
Keep us updated on the poor guy, I bet he feels miserable
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post #10 of 16
7/13/06 at 9:53am
Thread Starter 
okee, update time!

so he doesn't have pneumonia (phew), the vet said that it sounded very viral, and it would just have to run its course. the vet kept him on the antibiotics to prevent secondary infections, and said to keep using the eye cream in his eyes.

i've taken ALL of your advice! ha ha, i'm trying everything i can to help him feel better. we sit in the bathroom while the shower is steaming it up together as many times a day as i have a chance for, and i think i'm going to go get a humidifier today. could someone tell me more info about vicks? its dangerous for cats to touch?

the main problem now is that he won't eat. the vet and i have a difference of opinion about this issue... she said that he wouldn't eat only because he couldn't smell, not because he wasn't feeling very well. but he is SUCH a picky eater (its hard to even find a cat treat he enjoys), that i think he really just isn't eating because he feels miserable. i went and got some wet cat food, which the vet said he'd gobble up because of the strong smell... i have tried like four flavors, different bowls, heated up, cold... he is just NOT eating! i haven't seen him eat for two days, and the second time we went to the vet they said he'd already dropped half a pound (he's a big kitty, almost 13 pounds...)...

does anyone have any advice on how to get a picky picky sick cat to eat? he is just sooo picky! its just like since he doesn't feel good, he's decided he doesn't feel like eating at all. he doesn't even sniff the treats i try to give him with interest...

this also frustrates me because the vet said the main way to tell if the u.r.i. had turned into pneumonia would be by him not eating anymore... i told her he was already not eating, but she said his chest sounded fine...

man, this post turned LONG! this has just been SUCH an ordeal, i really just want my cat to return to his normal self! he hasn't played for days, all he wants to do is curl up by me and SNORE... =[ poor boy!

<3,
kali
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post #11 of 16
7/13/06 at 10:54am
Ask your vet for a great big syringe and learn to syringe feed your cat his wet food.

Another page here, and another here. I have more if you need it! Or just Google "syringe feed cat".
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post #12 of 16
6/15/09 at 5:16am
We have been taking care of some stray kittens with runny clogged noses. Because they couldn't smell the food to want to eat it. We forced a little bit of canned food into their months and that was all it took. They started devouring it right and left.
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post #13 of 16
6/15/09 at 6:50am
Try heating up his food in the microwave (make sure its not burn hot though, don't want to burn the kitties little mouth), that makes it really stinky. Also, maybe research stinky foods. The stinkier the better.

A humidifier is great. I have been through URI three times and its a life saver. With Capone i had to sit in the shower throughout the day, with the other two i got the humidifier and i just stick them in the cat room with it on for a bit and i can do other things.

I wouldn't use Vicks. Our SPCA used to use it and my vet recommended it but then they found something very wrong with it for cats (not sure what) now they say never to use it.

If you are ever unsure about ANYTHING call your vet. My Capone almost died because i thought i was being over paranoid. The Vet said if i had waited only a day he probably would have died due to pneumonia and him being very young.

Also, talk to people about Lysine (is that how its spelled?) I used it on both Capone and Bugsy in their kittenhood and now they never get sick, its almost like it went away (this is a life long sickness). However, i never see anyone talk about it anymore, I don't know if there is a reason for that.
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post #14 of 16
7/23/09 at 7:41pm
Our vet says cats lack the enzyme necessary to metabolize the menthol in Vicks. It may cause liver damage.
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post #15 of 16
7/24/09 at 5:09pm
Have you tried boiling a chicken breast or chicken tender (plain, not breaded or seasoned) in some plain water? When it's done, shred the chicken very finely and add some of the broth from the pot to make it about the consistency of chicken salad. Warm it up a bit, then offer it to your kitty, maybe while in the bathroom as his nasal passages will (hopefully) be a bit more open. Also, if he's having nasal drainage, raise his food up on a cereal box or stack of books so he doesn't have to bend his head down too far to eat. When they've got drainage and they have to bend down to eat, the snot runs to the nose and makes it very difficult to eat. He doesn't need to eat his normal amount of food, but he does need to eat. Also, try feeding him smaller portions more frequently throughout the day.

Did you ask your vet for some Science Diet a/d? I swear that stuff is like kitty crack! I've never had a cat turn that down!!
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post #16 of 16
4/9/10 at 11:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by superkali View Post
so thing 1 is NOT doing very well. his nose has been getting stuffier over the past couple days, and he has been closing his eyes and third eyelid quite a bit! he can't breathe through his nose and has to breathe through his mouth, and he sometimes makes quite a snoring noise while breathing, even tho he's awake!

is there anything i can do to make him more comfortable with such a stuffy nose? has this ever happened to anyone? is it a problem that he actually has to breathe out of his mouth, that he can't breathe out of his nose?
and is this still just the same virus, running its course?


i've never had a sick pet before, and i can't believe how awful it is making me feel. he looks sooo miserable, sitting there with his eyes closed just trying to breathe! it is such a horrible feeling to know there is nothing i can do to make him feel better!

=[


<3,
kali

Hi,
My cats has had the same symtoms as your cat, especially my female...they have been diagnoses with Rhinotracheitis, a cat herpes, that is contagious to other cats.
Rhino is characterized by respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, nasal discharge, rhinitis (inflammation of the nose), and conjunctivitis (inflammation of the membrane lining the eyelid.
Rhinotracheitis is part of the feline upper respiratory infection complex, which is a group of viral and bacterial infections (e.g., calicivirus, chlamydiosis) that cause sneezing and discharge from the eyes and nose. Cats often have two or more of these upper respiratory infections at the same time, and FHV-1 is one of the most common.

Incidence
FHV-1 occurs worldwide. Cats of all ages and breeds are susceptible, although it is more common in the following:

* Kittens, especially those born to infected mothers
* Multicat households, catteries, and pet adoption shelters, especially those with:
o Overcrowding
o Physical (e.g., temperature) or psychological (e.g., introduction of a new cat) stressors
o Poor nutrition
o Poor sanitation
o Poor ventilation
* Pregnant cats that are lactating
* Sick cats (especially sickness associated with a weakened immune system or other respiratory infection)
* Unvaccinated cats

Please verify this site ..it could help you...http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/r...is/index.shtml

I had to put down my female because she started foaming around the mouth..only to find out that it could've been a tongue ulcer...verify if your cat eats and drinks, as for mine, it took 3 days for her to be really thin...and because of possibility of tongue ulcer, it could've been the reason she wasn'T eating. i regret now putting her down ,since only finding out after that a cat ulcer would've been the reason she was foaming...

As for my two other cats, they now only have stuffy noses and sneezes, i have to isolate them from others...but they seem to be doing better...

Good luck !
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