URI diagnosed as Pseudomonas

[red blur]

I have not posted here before, but am hoping for some advice:

My Aunt's cat was having sneezing fits. They took her to the vet, who took a culture of the nasal discharge. The culture results said Pseudomonas. Apparently, it's virtually resistant to all forms of treatment. They put the cat on antibiotics for 2 weeks with no change.

My Aunt is battling advanced stage lung cancer and cannot afford to get sick. All her doctors advised her to put the cat down. They resisted as long as they could trying to treat her, but in the end, gave in after much agonizing. Now they are testing the other 2 cats to make sure they don't have it also. If they do though, the outlook is grim.

Does anyone know of any treatments to try if it turns out they are infected. My Aunt is heartbroken already, and to have to put the others down will crush her. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[lorie d.]

I can't give you any advice, but I wanted to bump this back to the top of the forum where it can be seen more easily.

Sorry about your aunt...

 

[a_loveless_gem]

I don't have any advice to give with Pseudomonas.

Is there any way that these cats could be fostered, looked after by another family member while your aunt battles against the cancer? At least this way, she is still able to visit them and cheer her up in hard times.

Do you know the exact name of the bacteria found other than Pseudomonas? I have studied Microbiology at university level. It's just that Pseudomonas refers to a type of family group of bacteria. I may be of some help if I knew the full name. I'm not promising anything but more information may lead to new ideas.

I am sorry to hear about your aunt. I hope that she wins the fight.

 

[red blur]

Sorry for the delay. I've been out of town.

I don't know the full name - only that it is a bacteria that can cause severe pneumonia in humans with compromised immune systems and that it is more-or-less resistant to all antibiotics.

They (doctors and vets) told her she could not rehome the cat because the disease is potentially so contagious that it is a public health risk. I would have taken the cat, and thought maybe there might be a way to quarantine her, but we have a handful of our own animals (a cat, 2 guinea pigs, and a hamster) to worry about and no where the cat could be kept away from them. I wouldn't want any of them to come down with it either. Everyone else has animals and/or small children.

My Aunt was advised by all the doctors (about 6 of them) to have absolutely no contact with any possible source of infection. We all have to wash our hands a lot when we're around her too.

The results of the other cats should be in soon (today?). One is sneezing pretty badly, and the other appears fine so far. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Thank you for the well wishes.

 

[chixyb]

I wish you luck with all of this, I am sure someone can come up with a great idea on here, they always do!

 

[red blur]

Update:

Luckily the other two kitties tested negative for the bacteria. It's a huge relief. One of the kitties is really missing Mikado (the cat that was put down). She was like a mother to him and he seems a little lost without her. They are considering getting another cat to keep him company, but are a little unsure of how to find one that he will get along with.


FYI - the full name of the bacteria is Pseudomonas Aeruginosa.


Thank you for the well wishes.