Help! Scooter has a cold!

[jwheeler]

That's what I'm guessing! There were a TON of things going on around here; the unexpected loss of our Maxwell, the addition of Abby, having lots of people here for Thanksgiving, plus my fiance's 21-year-old niece stayed here the entire week of Thanksgiving, but she comes for week-long visits quite frequently. Scooter still won't come out much when she is here because he is just so shy. I think I made the mistake of bringing Scooter out of the bedroom to meet everyone on Thanksgiving and it may have scared him too much. He darted right back into the bedroom and stayed there until everyone left in the evening. There were just WAY more people around than he is used to. This was the first Thanksgiving at our house since we just bought it back in April and our family wanted to come here. I feel so guilty.

Plus, my fiance's niece and brother are coming back to visit this month and staying for at least a week for the holiday, so I really, really want him to be much better by then.

 

[jwheeler]

Ugh...I called our vet this morning and they are totally booked until tomorrow. I then called 2 other vets in the area and it was the same thing. One of them wouldn't have even been able to see us until Thursday. We have an appointment for tomorrow morning at 11 AM with our regular vet, so I'll guess we'll just have to wait another day. The good news is that Scooter actually seems to be making slight improvements, so I am hoping that he is coming to the end of this thing. I read online that these kitty colds usually last about 7-10 days and we are on day 8. He just drank a ton of chicken broth mixed in with his wet food. He has also been sneezing more than ever this morning, which makes me think that he's clearing a lot of this gunk out of his sinuses. I just washed his face off with a wet cloth. Also, last night my fiance was making a sandwich and he had the mayonnaise out, which Scooter LOVES, and he stood right up against my fiance to try and get some, so he is starting to show interest in food again. I plan on keeping him by the vaporizer as much as possible again today.

 

[mews2much]

You are having the same problem I did 3 years ago.
Coco hada very bad cold and we had only lived here 6 months.
We called so many vets trying to get her in then found a vet.
Worst thing we ever did.
It turned out to be a very bad vet that said she had heart problems and lung cancer when it was asthma and a bad cold.
The vet I go to now could see her the next day but we could not wait.
She could not breathe from her asthma and cold.
She would cough so bad that she barfed.
Seems most vets are booked this time of year.
I get right in now though no matter what.
The other vet has been shut down by the state.
I only went once and went to my vet for a 2nd opinion.
The vet even said ew when coco sneezed the green and yellow.
I hope your cat feels better.

 

[jwheeler]

Wow! That sounds awful! Scooter does seem a tiny bit livelier today, so we can wait until tomorrow for the vet appointment. He drank all of his chicken broth this morning and now is napping behind the couch next to the heater, but he woke right up the minute I started shampooing the carpet and poked his head out with an annoyed look on his face...lol. He hasn't vomited a single time during this whole thing and he hasn't had any coughing. The only thing he has had is sneezing with lethargy, but no other signs or symptoms at all. He has lost a tiny bit of weight, just because he hasn't been interested in the dry food since he can't smell it. He was very anxious for his wet food and chicken broth this morning and started eating before I even finished getting it in the bowl.

When I was a kid, we had a black and white cat with asthma who lived to be almost 18 years old. He was my first cat. He had to be on prednisone for a little while, but then never needed it again. My parents gave him to me on my 3rd birthday and he died when I was 20 from cancer. It was the hardest thing ever to decide to put him to sleep, but he just was getting worse and worse.

 

[mews2much]

Sorry that happened.
Coco has had asthma for years and we use a inhaler now.
The vet told me siamese and siamese mixes tend to get asthma more then other breeds of cat.
Coco is half siamese but she is black and white.
She is 16.9 now but has crf.

 

[jwheeler]

I think Scooter is feeling better! He just about took down the whole Christmas tree all by himself and then kept trying to chew on the branches!

We're still going to the vet tomorrow just to see if he might need a few doses of antibiotics to get over this thing 100%.

 

[the_food_lady]

LMAO! Go, Scooter, Go! hahaha. One of the few times, I'm sure, you're thrilled that he took it upon himself to knock down the tree

 

[mrblanche]

You know, the clear discharge, the stress factor... I wonder if this might be a herpes flare-up?

 

[jwheeler]

I've never heard of herpes in cats before. I just assumed that it was a cold/URI since he is sneezing lots and has watery eyes. I also was thinking that it could be an allergy? A little over a week ago, I made the mistake of buying the cat litter that was on sale at Target instead of the kind we usually get, and it put a TON of dust in the air. It even bothered my fiance and I. I literally had to cover my face when I changed the litter box, so I finally went back to our regular litter. Could this have triggered this whole thing? We cleaned the house from top to bottom, washed the floors with a Lysol disinfectant cleaner, shampooed the rugs with an allergen reducing shampoo specifically made for people with pets, dusted everything, etc., but maybe this caused Scooter an allergic reaction that just hasn't totally cleared up yet? We're going to the vet at 4 PM today!

 

[jwheeler]

Here are some pictures of Scooter that I took last night. We had just put the tree up! In some of the pictures, you can tell that his eyes have been a bit watery lately.

 

[mrblanche]

Originally Posted by jwheeler

I've never heard of herpes in cats before.

Do a google serch or search here on this site. Feline herpes is so common, you might as well assume all cats have it.

 

[jwheeler]

Wow, I just looked it up and read a little about it and that definitely could be what Scooter has. A lot of the symptoms they list are exactly what he has been having. Plus, if it were a cold/URI, wouldn't our other 2 cats have caught it already? I think we might have a lead on something! We're off to the vet's office in 4 hours!

 

[jwheeler]

We just got back from the vets. The whole visit only took about 5 minutes. He prescribed Scooter some liquid clavamox to take every 12 hours. I just gave him his first dose a few minutes ago. He said that it's probably a viral infection that came from our new cat that we adopted from the shelter a few weeks ago. He said that the timing was just right for that and that it is very, very common, especially with cats that come from shelters. For some reason, it hasn't affected our oldest cat, Bailey, which I am very grateful for! Hopefully this clavamox will help him clear this virus up! Has anyone ever had to give their cat clavamox before? Does it work well?

 

[mews2much]

Meeko Had clavamox with her almost 105 fever and uri i was telling you about.
It worked great.
It took Meeko 4 days to eat though.
She has the herpes virus and its very active right now.

 

[jwheeler]

That's great to know! He just had his dose a little while ago and I will make sure I'm up to give him his second dose around 3 AM. I wonder how long it takes before it starts working. He has just been sitting in the kitchen sort of dozing since we came back home and I gave him his medicine. I hope to see improvements real soon!

 

[mews2much]

It took Meeko 4 days before she at but my other cat that had Clavamox was better within 2 days.
She can never have it again though because she throws it up.
Your cat should be fine on it.
Some cats do not eat much when they are on antibiotics.
He should be alot better soon.

 

[jwheeler]

He's sleeping right now under our bed, but I'm going to get him up in a few hours to try and get him to eat. I just hope this stuff helps! The vet was almost positive that our new cat brought some virus into the house and Scooter happened to catch it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[mews2much]

I am sure your vet is right.
I am sure the Clavamox will help your cat.
Give him time.
How many days is it for?
Mine always get it for 14 days.

 

[jwheeler]

I don't think he said how many days specifically. He just gave us a bottle and told us to give him 1 cc every 12 hours until it's gone. Scooter just woke up and is sitting by the food dish, like he's thinking about eating. He did actually pass on the wet food this morning and are a little dry food today before we went to the vet. That's the first time he has done that since he's been sick!

 

[mews2much]

Hard to say how long it will last.
I would keep offering him food .