My baby is 9 yrs old, 12 lbs and I adopted her from the humane society about a week and a half ago. She was doing great the first few nights but last Saturday night she started feeling crumby.
She was drooling excessively, sneezing, coughing and very lethargic. I took her to the ER on Sunday and long story short they said she has a URI and gave her an injection for antibiotic.
She was not eating or drinking and was just hiding under the bed so I took her again to a vet on Tuesday and they recommended that I leave her the night so they could have IV fluids and pain meds. I left her the night and she started seeing drastic improvements - she even ate for me when I visited her!
Unfortunately, I have spent over $1000 on her in the first week we have been together and now I am drained on money so I needed to take her home on Wednesday after 1 night in the hospital. The Doc was ok with this but recommended I leave her longer (and I simply didnt have the money)
When I took her home, she seemed so much more comfortable with her environment and ate again for me on Wednesday night (even though it wasnt much).
It is Friday morning now and she hasn't eaten or drank anything again since Wednesday night. This worries me. Here is a summary of her symptoms and what I've done to try and help her:
Symptoms:
Not eating or drinking, lethargic, trouble breathing, clogged nasal passages. (she is not breathing through her mouth and her fever has gone down to the best of my knowledge) Her drooling has stopped and her sneezing / coughing is much less frequent than it was earlier this week
Remedies I've done/tried:
Shes on a 2 week antibiotic via injection. She was in the hospital over night on fluids / pain meds / appetite stimulants. I have oral pain meds and appetite stimulants but I cant get her to swallow either so I've given up. I've tried steaming up the bathroom and bringing her in there for 10 minutes and she was ok with that but didnt see any improvements. I've tried having her in the bathroom with me while I showered and she HATED that. I've tried 2 different wet foods (microwaved), tuna, ham and turkey but she wont eat any of it since Wednesday. (planning on baby food tonight). I don't have a humidifier nor can I afford one for at least the next day or so but will purchase one over the weekend if I get paid in time.
First thing is first, I've given her a ton of TLC and an adequate amount of "alone time". Even brought her on the bed to sleep with me last night and she stayed the night.
Sorry for the long post - my question is: When is enough enough? Should I back off for a few days or do I need to keep trying to help? I fear that more vet visits, poking and prodding, picking her up and trying to force meds and constant trips to the bathroom are adding stress to her that is not necessary. I'm trying to be the best Dad that I can for her - do I back off or try more remedies? I've never had a cat with a URI so I'm new to this - any advice is appreciated.
Thank you
She was drooling excessively, sneezing, coughing and very lethargic. I took her to the ER on Sunday and long story short they said she has a URI and gave her an injection for antibiotic.
She was not eating or drinking and was just hiding under the bed so I took her again to a vet on Tuesday and they recommended that I leave her the night so they could have IV fluids and pain meds. I left her the night and she started seeing drastic improvements - she even ate for me when I visited her!
Unfortunately, I have spent over $1000 on her in the first week we have been together and now I am drained on money so I needed to take her home on Wednesday after 1 night in the hospital. The Doc was ok with this but recommended I leave her longer (and I simply didnt have the money)
When I took her home, she seemed so much more comfortable with her environment and ate again for me on Wednesday night (even though it wasnt much).
It is Friday morning now and she hasn't eaten or drank anything again since Wednesday night. This worries me. Here is a summary of her symptoms and what I've done to try and help her:
Symptoms:
Not eating or drinking, lethargic, trouble breathing, clogged nasal passages. (she is not breathing through her mouth and her fever has gone down to the best of my knowledge) Her drooling has stopped and her sneezing / coughing is much less frequent than it was earlier this week
Remedies I've done/tried:
Shes on a 2 week antibiotic via injection. She was in the hospital over night on fluids / pain meds / appetite stimulants. I have oral pain meds and appetite stimulants but I cant get her to swallow either so I've given up. I've tried steaming up the bathroom and bringing her in there for 10 minutes and she was ok with that but didnt see any improvements. I've tried having her in the bathroom with me while I showered and she HATED that. I've tried 2 different wet foods (microwaved), tuna, ham and turkey but she wont eat any of it since Wednesday. (planning on baby food tonight). I don't have a humidifier nor can I afford one for at least the next day or so but will purchase one over the weekend if I get paid in time.
First thing is first, I've given her a ton of TLC and an adequate amount of "alone time". Even brought her on the bed to sleep with me last night and she stayed the night.
Sorry for the long post - my question is: When is enough enough? Should I back off for a few days or do I need to keep trying to help? I fear that more vet visits, poking and prodding, picking her up and trying to force meds and constant trips to the bathroom are adding stress to her that is not necessary. I'm trying to be the best Dad that I can for her - do I back off or try more remedies? I've never had a cat with a URI so I'm new to this - any advice is appreciated.
Thank you