My 7 yr old girl Shyla (spayed, indoor only) has had a chronic sinus condition for the last 2 or so years. The vet and I have tried everything we can think of, and other than getting her an MRI ($2,000 for a test?? And that won't even cure her?) we are completely stumped.
She sneezes and sort of coughs a lot. By sort of cough, it's not the crouching low, extending neck asthma type cough. She sits upright, opens her mouth and every time she coughs (they are usually in rapid succession) her ears go back and the corners of her mouth pull back, almost like a grimace.
Most of the time she sneezes, a blob of (very light green) mucus will come flying out. Sometimes it's on her face and I can't get to her quick enough to wipe it off, she'll ingest it when cleaning her face (yuck). If they fly far enough that they don't land on her, I call them "flingers." She leaves flingers everywhere. She's also skittish, so if I move suddenly to wipe her nose, she runs, and flings, as far away from me as she can.
Over the course of a few months (when her symptoms were much worse) the vet tried courses of 4 different antibiotics, Interferon drops (which I have on hand all the time in case my other cat Louie, has a herpes flareup), a homeopathic sinus remedy made specifically for cats, and having her teeth cleaned. None of that helped. The vet then took an x-ray. Poor Shyla, both her nasal cavities showed up white - meaning they are both completely clogged with mucus. :-(
The next step was to do an MRI, but after calling and researching in my area, I couldn't find a less expensive test than $1,700. Just for the test itself. Now, I have 7 other cats, and to spend that much on one test that may not tell us anything and certainly won't cure the problem, I just can't justify the expense. If it was $2,000 to perform some procedure or buy her meds that WOULD help or fix the problem, I'd do that in a heartbeat. My vet agreed, saying it may not show anything more than what we already know. She said the only surgery that she knew of for this is one she wasn't comfortable with - drilling a hole in the top of Shyla's head, draining her sinus cavities and packing them with fat so they wouldn't clog up again. Drill a hole in my baby's SKULL?? No thank you!
While she's not as bad as she was, her symptoms still persist. Before, when I was actually trying to raise the money for the MRI, her left nostril was so clogged and caked with dried mucus, she could only breathe through her mouth. She broke my heart! She hasn't had that happen again, where there was a big green clot outside of her nostril, but I have seen her occasionally breathing through her mouth. If you want something to tear your heart out of your chest slowly and painfully, watching this sweet kitty holding her mouth open to breathe and trying to sleep with her head held up will do it.
She seems fine otherwise - her coat is soft, healthy and thick. She's a good weight, she is playful and affectionate. She eats and drinks fine, same with her litter box habits. It's just her poor nose!
I can't think of what else I can do. None of my other cats have symptoms like this, so it's obviously not contagious. Has anyone had any luck with alternative treatments, or something I haven't tried yet?
Thanks in advance!
She sneezes and sort of coughs a lot. By sort of cough, it's not the crouching low, extending neck asthma type cough. She sits upright, opens her mouth and every time she coughs (they are usually in rapid succession) her ears go back and the corners of her mouth pull back, almost like a grimace.
Most of the time she sneezes, a blob of (very light green) mucus will come flying out. Sometimes it's on her face and I can't get to her quick enough to wipe it off, she'll ingest it when cleaning her face (yuck). If they fly far enough that they don't land on her, I call them "flingers." She leaves flingers everywhere. She's also skittish, so if I move suddenly to wipe her nose, she runs, and flings, as far away from me as she can.
Over the course of a few months (when her symptoms were much worse) the vet tried courses of 4 different antibiotics, Interferon drops (which I have on hand all the time in case my other cat Louie, has a herpes flareup), a homeopathic sinus remedy made specifically for cats, and having her teeth cleaned. None of that helped. The vet then took an x-ray. Poor Shyla, both her nasal cavities showed up white - meaning they are both completely clogged with mucus. :-(
The next step was to do an MRI, but after calling and researching in my area, I couldn't find a less expensive test than $1,700. Just for the test itself. Now, I have 7 other cats, and to spend that much on one test that may not tell us anything and certainly won't cure the problem, I just can't justify the expense. If it was $2,000 to perform some procedure or buy her meds that WOULD help or fix the problem, I'd do that in a heartbeat. My vet agreed, saying it may not show anything more than what we already know. She said the only surgery that she knew of for this is one she wasn't comfortable with - drilling a hole in the top of Shyla's head, draining her sinus cavities and packing them with fat so they wouldn't clog up again. Drill a hole in my baby's SKULL?? No thank you!
While she's not as bad as she was, her symptoms still persist. Before, when I was actually trying to raise the money for the MRI, her left nostril was so clogged and caked with dried mucus, she could only breathe through her mouth. She broke my heart! She hasn't had that happen again, where there was a big green clot outside of her nostril, but I have seen her occasionally breathing through her mouth. If you want something to tear your heart out of your chest slowly and painfully, watching this sweet kitty holding her mouth open to breathe and trying to sleep with her head held up will do it.
She seems fine otherwise - her coat is soft, healthy and thick. She's a good weight, she is playful and affectionate. She eats and drinks fine, same with her litter box habits. It's just her poor nose!
I can't think of what else I can do. None of my other cats have symptoms like this, so it's obviously not contagious. Has anyone had any luck with alternative treatments, or something I haven't tried yet?
Thanks in advance!