Cat URI question - no vet available - need advice

[eliza43]

I originally posted about my cat Earl Gray on another thread. Background: we live in a foreign country where vet care is substandard to say the best. Many aren't willing to help, treatments are often sketchy with results not the best, and euthanasia is a non-practice here. 

My question: my cat has developed a severe upper respiratory infection. He started off with sneezing, then came the watery eyes, then some excessive drooling, holding his mouth open because he couldn't breathe through his nose. We took him to the vet begging for help, and the vet kept him overnight and "gave him a shot" which we still can't get them to explain to us what that shot actually was. Remember, there is also a language barrier being in a foreign country. It has been 6 days since his shot. Now, the drooling is gone for the most part, but both eyes are watery now, with one looking like it has developed a bit of a film at the bottom where the liquids collect at the eyelid. Also, he has quit eating, probably since he can't smell his food. When he holds his mouth closed, I can still hear the mucus in his airways in his nose, so that is not gone either, and the sneezing is still going on. He is still acting like he feels just plain miserable, like a person acts when they have the flu. 

Please help! Does anyone have experience with the proper antibiotic for such a thing? I would need to know proper dosage (a little over one year, full size neutered male) and even how/where to administer. It is extremely difficult to get him in a cage because he is still semi-feral (a rescue), and the vet did no good the last time with a mystery "shot" that didn't work. It is also extremely hard to get him to take a pill - he usually just figures it out and doesn't eat the part of the food with the pill tucked inside it, clever little guy he is. Is there any liquid antibiotic I could get at a local pharmacy and give him in the scruff/back neck area? He'd never even know it then. 

Thank you in advance for any help or advice anyone may be able to give on this topic!

 

[pingui]

If you find the right med, don't be put off by a pill. Get a piller device (can mail order and they are cheap). It holds the pill inside. You gently hold the piller against the side of your cat's mouth -- he will open it slightly because of the feeling of the pressure. Then slightly insert the tube of the piller into the mouth aiming toward middle/back of tongue and press the plunger to eject the held pill into the mouth. It gets easy with practice, but if you do this be sure the cat eats or drinks after to make sure the pill goes down. In cats pills can get stuck and cause irritation. An alternative is to split the pill unless it is already very tiny, and hide the pieces of it in multiple treat bites. My cat swallows these and doesn't chew them so it works well. Has to be small enough though. I reluctantly use pill pockets but just a little, wrap that around the half or quarter of the pill and then roll it in some crushed other tart he likes. I also give some of the other that. So he gets about four or five little bites, some are his fave treat, and some are the hidden pills.working for us for more than a month. Pill pocket has grain in it which I don't like to give him, but is the best sticky gummy texture for concealing the pill.

One other note... A compounding pharmacy can make most meds up in a liquid which is flavored, or in other more palatable formulations. If there is none near you consider finding out if you can order online..

 

[pingui]

Forgot to add most cats tolerate liquid antibiotic clavamox on food. It has a strong smell to me, but they act like it is not even there.

 

[jennyr]

I do understand what a terrible situation you are in - I had a similar time in Bosnia some years ago, and ended up bringing 5 cats with me when I left! The vet care was really not good, and private vets were only interested in money. Luckily I ended up getting help from the university - I wonder if there is such a thing on Crete? If so, there might be a pharmaceutical department, if not a veterinary department who could help you.

We cannot tell you what antibiotics to use - our rules forbid giving medical advice, for very good reasons. And one of those is that there are so many bacteria/viruses that can cause infections that only a vet examining the cat can tell what is right, and even then, without a culture or biopsy, they often get it wrong at first. And the same goes for dosage - the animal needs to be seen. I have just had a kitten who had a URI for almost 6 months, while several different antibiotics were tried, and eventually after a biopsy and a consultation with a feline opthalmologist, her eyes are clear. And this is in France, where advanced treatments are available.

I am sorry to be negative, but that is reality. What I can suggest as a probiotic is natural Greek yoghurt - and you must have plenty of that! Most cats love it and a little bowl a day can work wonders. It is low lactose, so most cats tolerate it well, but just monitor for stomach upsets for a day or two. Also, and this is funny considering his name, Earl Grey teabags are good for cleansing the eyes and have some natural ingredient that is cleansing and disinfecting. Do try and keep hi eyes as clean as you can using sterile gauze or cotton.

Good luck

 

[stephenq]

You are unlikely to find a proper medication at your pharmacy, although its possible, but it won't be inject-able.  Common antibiotics that are frequently used are doxycycline or clavamox, but dosages and concentrations (if liquid) have to be carefully controlled.  Either liquid or pill can be given orally.

Eye medications are important too, specifically antibiotics eye ointments are commonly used like Erythromycin as an example.  Some infections require anti-viral eye meds.

A good site to get info from is http://www.sheltermedicine.com/

Are you saying that you can't find a vet who is even competent enough to treat a common cold?  Can you find a local cat rescue group or humane society? If yes, they may be able to provide help and medications.

The biggest problem may be the appetite.  As you suspect, a cat who can't smell his food won't often eat, and this can easily turn into a very dangerous (and given vet care where you live a fatal) liver illness.  So either you have to convince him to eat, or you have to syringe feed him.

To convince him you have to open up his nose, and introduce stinky food.  What I've done is buy non-medicated saline nose drops (often sold for babies) and given my cat a couple drops in each nostril, 2-3 times a day, plus I would bring him into the bathroom 2-3 times a day, run the hot shower and make a steam bath.  Then I would introduce a very stinky food (think tuna) that would help penetrate his nose.

2-3 days without food and he can go into liver disease, which even in the USA with top care can be difficult to reverse, even using a surgically implanted feeding tube.  You do not want to get to this point.

To avoid this and if you can't convince him to eat, here are some links on syringe feeding.  Note you should be able to buy the syringes at a drug store, and then you will want to take a smooth wet cat food and add water until it is a bit soupy.


http://virtuavet.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/how-to-syringe-feed-a-cat/

Info on giving eye meds is here: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/cliented/cat_eyes.aspx

A warm wet compress held against the eye for 5 minutes or so at a time can relieve some discomfort.

 

[eliza43]

Update: I am completely shocked but grateful! We went back to the local vet and begged - literally begged - for anything to help with the URI. When we said that we could give our cat a shot of the medicine in the scruff by ourselves, he gave us a shot of antibiotics! Wow! So we gave this to him this morning. So thankful for this! At least this will prevent him from getting a secondary bacterial infection on top of the viral infection, at least I hope so, considering that different antibiotics work on different types of infections. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! 

Thank you, JennyRanson, for letting me know rules for the forum! I'm still new to the site and learning, so I appreciate the heads up! And the info about the Greek yogurt and the Earl Gray tea bags will be of definite use - I'm running by the grocery today and will get both. 

Pingui, thank you for the idea on the piller! I will definitely be hitting up Amazon to get one online asap! Also, the info on the liquid Clavamox will be useful for future situations.

Stephen Q, thank you for the warning about the eye drops and anorexia-related liver issues. I didn't know about either. Sadly, I actually asked our vet about giving him eye drops for all of the watering and drainage, and the vet said that it wasn't needed. I have not been impressed with vet care here AT ALL. Even when we got him neutered, his bottom area (to put it politely) bled on and off for about three weeks, and the vet didn't seem to think this was an issue. My poor little guy! The vets over here really are not that great and give the basic amount of care. They almost have the atmosphere of the free or very inexpensive "in-and-out" clinics, if you know what I'm talking about. Just a quick fix. Also, they do not euthanize as a general rule. There is a very sweet cat near my husband's workplace, and she is a very elderly cat with only 1 remaining tooth. She was emaciated before we got here and we started feeding her canned cat food, which helped a bit. We asked the vet if they would euthanize her out of compassion because no one will feed her when we move back to the states, and they said absolutely not and that they do not believe in doing that in virtually any situation, ever. Whoa! 

Sorry, I got OT a bit there, but that just tells you the type of situation over here. But the info on the eye drops, saline nasal spray, "steam room", and tuna is extremely helpful!!! I'm heading off to the pharmacy for the eye drops and the nose spray, and I'll grab some tuna and maybe even some canned fish at the grocery afterward. If this doesn't work, then I'll be trying the syringe feeding. 

Thank you all for your help!!! 

 

[jdollprincess]

There is an eye ointment called Terramycin that you can get online without a prescription.

 

[ritz]

eliza43 lives in Crete. I was in Greece on vacation a few years ago, did a little volunteer work with Nine Lives (Athens) and SAWA (Santorini). The situation with cats (and dogs and donkeys), vet care, and euthanisia is, to put it politely, puzzling.

 

[jennyr]

There is an eye ointment called Terramycin that you can get online without a prescription.

Buying any antibiotic for DIY use is not a good idea unless you are sure with what you are dealing. This kitten has multiple issues and probably needs a culture doing. But is sounds like she is not going to get that on Crete.

 

[eliza43]

Update: Earl is finally eating again! He has lost weight, which does worry me. But his energy is coming back, his eyes and nose have dried up, and he has finally begun to eat again, especially the tuna, salmon, sardines, and anchovies I picked up at the grocery store (although he initially refused them at first a few days ago when I first introduced them to him). Thank you all for your help and advice!!! [emoji]128522[/emoji][emoji]128522[/emoji][emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[stephenq]

Great news, keep us updated!