Hello!
În July, I found a 1-month old kitten crying in front of our building. He was very sick, with both his eyes filled with pus, runny, stuffy nose, barely breathing, yet screaming for help. I do think he was destined for us, as we had seen him a week earlier but by the time we got downstairs to pick him up, someone else had already taken him in. I guess they were not willing to deal with a sick kitten and kicked him out - we found him where that person had picked him up from. Once we picked him up, we rushed him to the vet and begged for help, having no money at all. The doctor diagnosed him with calicivirus and from then on,we embarked on a journey of treatments. We started with anti inflammatory medicine, immuno-strenghtening feed. The vet decided to switch to antibiotics, ointments, nebulization,liver-protective pills and steam treatments for his airways. After a couple of months and two paychecks, he seemed to have recovered. The vet told us that some side-effects will remain and they did: frequent sneezing and teary eyes. Other than that, sweet Garfield seemed to have dealt with it. Unfortunately, in December he developed a massive abces on his forehead which the vet proceeded to drain and treat. Mind you, for 3 months after we found him, daily or even twice a day visits to the vet were the rule. With the abces, that schedule once again took over. A week into treatment with mild antibiotics, we found that the abces was collecting pus from all over his upper respiratory system and suggested a mucous infection. We had bloodwork done as well as an antibiogram and biopsy (not sure of the terms here) and found out that Garfield had some type of pasteurella. We proceeded with nebulization with antibiotic, liquid antibiotic and liver-protective pills.the abces had gone down and he seemed to respond to treatment. After 20 days of treatment, we stopped and now I'm here. Garfield has had no sense of smell since we found him, but had exhibited few traits that would suggest he was bothered by anything all throughout the past 4 months. He's seemingly a happy kitty, who no longer has sneezing fits but still has teary eyes. The vet thinks pasteurella appeared because the calicivirus wasn't treated long enough. Today, sweet Garfield had his left pupil enlarged. I'm dumbfounded, as I have not encountered such a case, despite extensive research since the day we found him. He hasn't had eating problems, nor any other issues after his calicivirus treatments had concluded. We have two adult cats he gets along with very well. I have spared no expense in his treatment and spent hundreds of hours taking care of him. I am willing to continue, but I'm not sure what to think. All of this happened within the same clinic, 4 different vets weighing in and working together on his treatments. Any ideas how this time-line could have occurred and if I should still be sick with worry? Thanks for any and all input!
În July, I found a 1-month old kitten crying in front of our building. He was very sick, with both his eyes filled with pus, runny, stuffy nose, barely breathing, yet screaming for help. I do think he was destined for us, as we had seen him a week earlier but by the time we got downstairs to pick him up, someone else had already taken him in. I guess they were not willing to deal with a sick kitten and kicked him out - we found him where that person had picked him up from. Once we picked him up, we rushed him to the vet and begged for help, having no money at all. The doctor diagnosed him with calicivirus and from then on,we embarked on a journey of treatments. We started with anti inflammatory medicine, immuno-strenghtening feed. The vet decided to switch to antibiotics, ointments, nebulization,liver-protective pills and steam treatments for his airways. After a couple of months and two paychecks, he seemed to have recovered. The vet told us that some side-effects will remain and they did: frequent sneezing and teary eyes. Other than that, sweet Garfield seemed to have dealt with it. Unfortunately, in December he developed a massive abces on his forehead which the vet proceeded to drain and treat. Mind you, for 3 months after we found him, daily or even twice a day visits to the vet were the rule. With the abces, that schedule once again took over. A week into treatment with mild antibiotics, we found that the abces was collecting pus from all over his upper respiratory system and suggested a mucous infection. We had bloodwork done as well as an antibiogram and biopsy (not sure of the terms here) and found out that Garfield had some type of pasteurella. We proceeded with nebulization with antibiotic, liquid antibiotic and liver-protective pills.the abces had gone down and he seemed to respond to treatment. After 20 days of treatment, we stopped and now I'm here. Garfield has had no sense of smell since we found him, but had exhibited few traits that would suggest he was bothered by anything all throughout the past 4 months. He's seemingly a happy kitty, who no longer has sneezing fits but still has teary eyes. The vet thinks pasteurella appeared because the calicivirus wasn't treated long enough. Today, sweet Garfield had his left pupil enlarged. I'm dumbfounded, as I have not encountered such a case, despite extensive research since the day we found him. He hasn't had eating problems, nor any other issues after his calicivirus treatments had concluded. We have two adult cats he gets along with very well. I have spared no expense in his treatment and spent hundreds of hours taking care of him. I am willing to continue, but I'm not sure what to think. All of this happened within the same clinic, 4 different vets weighing in and working together on his treatments. Any ideas how this time-line could have occurred and if I should still be sick with worry? Thanks for any and all input!