Help!!! Emergency!!!

[Lil Dude]

I recently found a stray cat in town and brought her home. She's gotten sick from the cats I'm fostering. It started as a URI but had developed into what my vet thinks is pneumonia. He says it doesn't sound like pneumonia, but she's wheezing and breathing out of her mouth. She's currently taking Clavamox to fix this. When I asked him what else I could do to give her some relief, he replied with "nothing" and told me to just give her the medicine and hope it works. Does anyone have any advice on how I can give her relief and/or fix this entire problem? I've got six kittens with URI, a mama and a stray with pneumonia, and my own kittens are starting to get lethargic and sick. I was taken advantage of and lied to by the rescue group and am in need of some serious help. Please, anyone respond ASAP. Norachan Furballsmom Jcatbird

 

[Treapalmer]

Yikes! You need a different vet. Your kitties shouldn't have to suffer through this. Can you take them to a different place and see what another doctor says? My kitty's just been through the ringer health wise but I was fortunate enough to go to a great emergency vet.

My mothe was having issues breathing and they put her on oxygen. Might be something to be find there for your babies too.

 

[Norachan]

Lil Dude What kind of pneumonia is the vet treating the original mother cat for? Viral or bacterial? I guess it's not aspiration pneumonia, as she was able to eat on her own, is that right?

You can ask the vet to treat the cat with a nebuliser or oxygen therapy if she's really struggling to breath. Is she eating? You can encourage her to eat by offering warm food, which will smell a lot stronger. Make sure you elevate her food bowl, as putting her head down to eat will make her nose run and she'll stop eating. Offer her the food on a wide, flat plate. Her whiskers will be really sensitive if her nose is blocked. She'll eat more if the plate doesn't touch her whiskers.

I know you're trying to help these cats, but you have to be really careful about introducing new cats to residents. It's much safer to isolate them until they've been blood tested and any illnesses have been treated. Especially when you have un-vaccinated kittens. Cats can carry diseases but not show any symptoms and it would be heart breaking if the kittens got sick after all you've done for them.

Please keep us posted.

 

[SeventhHeaven]

Bleach for cleaning, every litter needs it's own room, fans for circulation. Disinfect hands before touching any litters and before touching an adult cat. Disinfect every door handle all fixtures everything. Especially litter boxes every cat needs their own etc. Wash the adult cats wipe down kittens. Every few days wipe adults and kittens. *If you don't own a heating pad go get one for emergencies...I would also pick up some items from health food store to boost immune systems in your adult cats.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Earthbath wipes could be good here, I think, don't use regular baby wipes because those typically have too many chemicals.
Goat milk, unflavored Pedialyte can help. If you have reluctant eaters, rub a little honey mixed with a bit of water on the gums.
Also, you could try some Homeopet Feline nose Relief, but i'm not a vet and I don't know if this is safe for kittens, or if it's ok to use in cimbination with the meds.
Hang in there!!

 

[Lil Dude]

Yikes! You need a different vet. Your kitties shouldn't have to suffer through this. Can you take them to a different place and see what another doctor says? My kitty's just been through the ringer health wise but I was fortunate enough to go to a great emergency vet.

My mothe was having issues breathing and they put her on oxygen. Might be something to be find there for your babies too.

The closest vet is the same vet. They're both run by the same people. The closest after that is 45 minutes away.

 

[Lil Dude]

Lil Dude What kind of pneumonia is the vet treating the original mother cat for? Viral or bacterial? I guess it's not aspiration pneumonia, as she was able to eat on her own, is that right?

You can ask the vet to treat the cat with a nebuliser or oxygen therapy if she's really struggling to breath. Is she eating? You can encourage her to eat by offering warm food, which will smell a lot stronger. Make sure you elevate her food bowl, as putting her head down to eat will make her nose run and she'll stop eating. Offer her the food on a wide, flat plate. Her whiskers will be really sensitive if her nose is blocked. She'll eat more if the plate doesn't touch her whiskers.

I know you're trying to help these cats, but you have to be really careful about introducing new cats to residents. It's much safer to isolate them until they've been blood tested and any illnesses have been treated. Especially when you have un-vaccinated kittens. Cats can carry diseases but not show any symptoms and it would be heart breaking if the kittens got sick after all you've done for them.

Please keep us posted.

He didn't tell me what kind it was. Just said it was from the URI. All he did was give me clavamox and told me to hope for the best. They're eating, not as much as I'd like them to, but they do eat. I mix pate with pedialyte.

 

[Lil Dude]

Bleach for cleaning, every litter needs it's own room, fans for circulation. Disinfect hands before touching any litters and before touching an adult cat. Disinfect every door handle all fixtures everything. Especially litter boxes every cat needs their own etc. Wash the adult cats wipe down kittens. Every few days wipe adults and kittens. *If you don't own a heating pad go get one for emergencies...I would also pick up some items from health food store to boost immune systems in your adult cats.

That's a lot to do with all these cats. But I sure will try.

 

[Lil Dude]

Hi! Earthbath wipes could be good here, I think, don't use regular baby wipes because those typically have too many chemicals.
Goat milk, unflavored Pedialyte can help. If you have reluctant eaters, rub a little honey mixed with a bit of water on the gums.
Also, you could try some Homeopet Feline nose Relief, but i'm not a vet and I don't know if this is safe for kittens, or if it's ok to use in cimbination with the meds.
Hang in there!!

I have no idea where I can find anything like that. Can you find any of that at Walmart

 

[Furballsmom]

Walmart carries Garnier micellar wipes in their makeup and beauty department. There's a pampers Aqua Pure baby wipe that could work as well, in the baby products department, these seem to be free of most bad things, or Seventh Generation. You're basically looking for a wipe that has as few chemicals as possible.

 

[Marlow cat]

Thank you for taking care of your beautiful cats. The antibiotic should have effect within 12 to 24 hours if it's a bacterial infection. So I have my fingers crossed that you're going to see some good Improvement soon. If your cats are having great difficulty breathing they can take the blue Puffer to help clear their airways. You need an aerokat tube to give your cat for the inhaler. Best wishes.

 

[Treapalmer]

The closest vet is the same vet. They're both run by the same people. The closest after that is 45 minutes away.

Are there any vets further away that do house calls? Or some kind of ER vet? I'm so sorry your babies are going through this, and I hope they get better soon. If they're eating/drinking, pooping/peeing, and generally active, they should be okay. How much are they eating? At least a can of food? Dry/wet? How much water?

 

[Jcatbird]

Sorry I did not weigh in earlier. You know my eye issues. Sounds like you already got the advice I had suggested and much more. Follow the leads here. These folks know what they are talking about. I’m sorry another vet is so far but maybe the Clavamox is the thing they need. I hope they are some better today. Medicine does take time to work. Just keep going. You are doing all you can for them and following up. Please let me know any updates when you can. These things can reverse better than you might think. I know it’s hard to be hopeful when it seems everything is happening at once but everyone is pulling for you and backing you up. If you need to vent, worry or talk, everyone is here for you. These are good people. Furballsmom and Norachan are people I have run into before and give great help. The others here, thank you for also helping with such great tips.

 

[Lil Dude]

Are there any vets further away that do house calls? Or some kind of ER vet? I'm so sorry your babies are going through this, and I hope they get better soon. If they're eating/drinking, pooping/peeing, and generally active, they should be okay. How much are they eating? At least a can of food? Dry/wet? How much water?

They usually wake me up when they're hungry in the morning, so I give them some KMR, a can of pate mixed with pedialyte, and a bowl of dry food. I do this about three times a day.

 

[Norachan]

If they are really congested put them in a carrier and take them into the bathroom with you while you shower. (Don't let them get wet!) The steam from the shower will help to loosen the mucus and they'll be able to breath a little easier.

 

[Lil Dude]

My own personal cat is fat and almost like she's bloated. This was my first cat that was owned by just me and not my sister. So like, clearly, she's my favorite. Like..I would die for her, no joke. I'm afraid it's worms or something, so I went ahead and wormed her. There are no other symptoms. Just bloat.

 

[catsknowme]

From some FB posts, I know that some of the Tift county cats have needed Zithromax. They showed improvement quickly. You can ask the vet about adding Claritin antihistamine for mama cat. If he says use Benadryl, ask him to look up loratadine (generic Claritin). The Benadryl foams up in their mouth and makes them feel like they are suffocating so you often can give Benadryl once before they really fight.

 

[foxden]

Could your cat be constipated? Is she eating OK?
One of the signs of being constipated is bloating, but that is typically accompanied by reluctance to eat and then vomiting

Something I've seen in the kitten forum is to put a couple drops of olive oil in her food if she is constipated. If she's is constipated, you could use a laxative suppository sold for human babies to get her to poop. I don't know if you use a whole suppository use a piece of it.
When I volunteered at a shelter with sick cats I immediately changed clothes and showered before I did anything with my personal cats. I even left my shoes in the garage. Put your dirty clothes in a garbage bag until you can wash them. You can rewear the same clothes to go back out to their trailer.