Cat’s throat infection comes back after antibiotics are stopped - gagging, licking lips, stuffy nose

[alexand2cats]

Please advise if you have experienced similar cat illnesses

We adopted Nacho (male, 3 months old) on 20 August from the rescue (foster family). We thought it will be a good deed to rescue him and give him a loving home and give my resident cat Tokyo (female, 1y7 months) a company when we are at work and a play buddy as she is still a very playful cat.

We have made our preparations and researched the topic and as we knew our Tokyo is a very mellow cat, we didn’t worry. We got at Feliway diffuser, separate litter trays, bowls, toys etc. We kept them separated for a week and fed on both sides of the door as Jackson G recommended. Tokyo was furious but after a week they got along. They were play fighting and sleeping close to each other. They were not the best of friends but they were getting to like each other more and more every day.

On 4th September, around 2 weeks after we got Nacho and a week after they have started interacting Tokyo got SICK. She started gagging, being extremely lethargic, stopped drinking, cleaning herself and eating. The next day we took her to the emergency hospital where she was given anti-inflammatory injections and something for dehydration as she was extremely dehydrated. She peaked up but the next day she was sick again. Her meow was hoarse and she was gagging while eating bigger pieces. We took her to our vet and she was there for 2 days getting fluids on the drip and being tested and swabs/X-rays have been made leaving us with an over £2k bill. The vet found that her throat was full of the clear mucus that made her throat so sensitive hence her gagging. She said it looks like a throat infection. They later found out she has a virus that could always be there or could have been passed by a kitten, but now the stress made it “active” and it brought this inflammation (I am still waiting for her medical history to know exactly what type of virus it was). After that, she was put on antibiotics. It helped a lot and she was slowly peaking up and being herself. When we stopped the last dose she was fine for the next 2 days and then started breathing loudly what sounded like she has a stuffy nose (aka when people have running nose and struggle to breathe). And she slept a lot again. But she was eating and drinking which was great. The vet recommended extending her antibiotics, this time double dose for a week. She was doing great and it looked like she recovered but when we finished it - the same story. Today I woke up and saw her licking her lips and breathing loudly and her purrs and meows are once again hoarse. We have decided to give it 2 days and see how it goes and then go to the vet again. I don't know what it is but it seems to come back immediately after antibiotics are stopped. I am so worried and it makes me feel so sad and hopeless. She is my little girl and I am blaming myself for taking another cat even though I love him and they play and get along… have anyone experienced something like this? How long do throat infections last? Why is it not going away? Are there any over the counter medications I could buy for her to help? Please advise.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It is possible that the wrong antibiotic is being used to clear up the URI, or the duration of the antibiotic is not long enough. It might not be the dosage size but rather how long she needs to be on the antibiotic. Maybe you should ask the vet if there is a way to culture the mucous for sensitivity to various antibiotics?

In the meantime, run hot water from a shower/tub in a bathroom to produce steam, sit in there with her with the door closed for 5 or so minutes - perhaps a few times a day. The steam should help clear some of the congestion.

Once you find out the virus behind these bouts, ask the vet for supplements to help ward off or reduce the effects of future flare ups from the virus. It is possible whatever she has didn't even come from the kitten, but has been there all along.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It sounds like it might be feline viral rhinotracheitis, otherwise known as feline herpes, which is a virus. If antibiotics have been helping, then there must be some sort of secondary bacterial infection going on as well, which does happen on occasion. And every bacterial infection requires specific antibiotics to "cure" it, so it's possible she hasn't been on the right antibiotic yet. Were you able to get every single dose into her? I know with cats it's tricky giving pills, liquids, etc.

As for FVR, if that's what she has, about 80% of all cats have this, and sometimes they are never diagnosed because it never rears it's ugly head. I've had nine cats and to my knowledge none of them have had it, but the odds are that some have. Anyway, IF that's the virus your Vet is talking about, you can try giving her L-Lysine every single day to boost her immune system. Many people pooh pooh the use of this, but others think it's a miracle, so you can do your own research if you like. There are many many threads here on this website about it. But when cats are not having a flare up people give a smaller dose than when cats are showing symptoms. So 250mg twice per day when NOT having a flare-up, and 500mg twice daily during a flare up.