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- Aug 1, 2013
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I'm very concerned about my little recovering-feral kitty (Jackson), and I would appreciate any thoughts from those who have successfully navigated a similar situation! My little guy is about 10 months old and has been strictly living inside for about 4 months now. He is gradually becoming more social and allows petting, but will not allow us to pick him up. He also is totally onto us about his trap that we used for his TNR & subsequent vet visits back when he was still outside living the feral life, so it is virtually impossible at this time to get him into a carrier or trap to facilitate a vet visit. (He will only enter the trap when both ends are open...as soon as one end is closed, he stays far away, even though we are now keeping it permanently behind the living room couch, covered and lined with blankets, hoping to entice him into seeing it as a nice place to sleep.)
Okay, so he hasn't been to the vet since July (the month before he came inside to live, and the last time we were able to trap him), and at that time they diagnosed him with intestinal worms, probable lungworms, and probable Feline Herpes. He received a shot of Ivermectin (sp?) for the lungworms, two rounds of Panacur for the intestinal worms, and we have been giving him 500-1000mg of Lysine powder daily for the Herpes. He seemed to be doing better over the past several months, but over the past several weeks we noticed his occasional cough becoming more frequent and his appetite becoming truly voracious, until... one night a few weeks ago the cough finally culminated in vomiting out a sizable quantity of adult roundworms. So... we called the vet, who recommended two more rounds of Panacur... caveat being that we can't get a current weight on the cat (although I suspect he is about 11 lbs), so the vet gave us the dosage for 1-10 lbs. He seemed to feel better for the three days he was taking the Panacur... his desperate appetite settled down and his cough slowed down a little. But now in the week that has followed, his cough has become more frequent than ever, and he is back to having brownish-red eye discharge like he used to get when he lived outdoors (and which the vet felt was due to the Herpes).
If this was any other cat I've ever had, he would be going to the vet post-haste. But this cat I can't get to the vet... at least not yet (we're working on it). Plus, even if we could get him there, they have to fully anesthetize him in order to even examine him, which of course carries its own dangers. So I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has had something like this happen, with a cat getting sicker after being wormed? Is it possible that the chemical load of the Panacur stressed his system and caused a Herpes flare-up? I know the cough may also be related to the worms not having been treated successfully, especially since his cough always ends in kind of a choking/gagging where it is clear that he is trying to expel either worms or mucus (or both). I know it is also possible that he may have asthma, or even pneumonia. I am just concerned and confused about how to best care for my little guy in light of all the challenges. He is due to start another round of Panacur this weekend, and I feel so hesitant b/c I'm not sure if that medication is just too hard on his system. I am going to call the vet in the morning, but I also wanted to run this by folks here, in case anyone has some insights from their own experiences.
Also, he has been on a grain-free Wellness + Halo diet for several months now, and had been doing very well on it... I think he still is doing well on it, actually. No problems with diarrhea through any of these worm issues, which seems kind of amazing. So that's the one good thing he has going for his poor little health!
Thank you! [emoji]9829[/emoji]
Okay, so he hasn't been to the vet since July (the month before he came inside to live, and the last time we were able to trap him), and at that time they diagnosed him with intestinal worms, probable lungworms, and probable Feline Herpes. He received a shot of Ivermectin (sp?) for the lungworms, two rounds of Panacur for the intestinal worms, and we have been giving him 500-1000mg of Lysine powder daily for the Herpes. He seemed to be doing better over the past several months, but over the past several weeks we noticed his occasional cough becoming more frequent and his appetite becoming truly voracious, until... one night a few weeks ago the cough finally culminated in vomiting out a sizable quantity of adult roundworms. So... we called the vet, who recommended two more rounds of Panacur... caveat being that we can't get a current weight on the cat (although I suspect he is about 11 lbs), so the vet gave us the dosage for 1-10 lbs. He seemed to feel better for the three days he was taking the Panacur... his desperate appetite settled down and his cough slowed down a little. But now in the week that has followed, his cough has become more frequent than ever, and he is back to having brownish-red eye discharge like he used to get when he lived outdoors (and which the vet felt was due to the Herpes).
If this was any other cat I've ever had, he would be going to the vet post-haste. But this cat I can't get to the vet... at least not yet (we're working on it). Plus, even if we could get him there, they have to fully anesthetize him in order to even examine him, which of course carries its own dangers. So I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has had something like this happen, with a cat getting sicker after being wormed? Is it possible that the chemical load of the Panacur stressed his system and caused a Herpes flare-up? I know the cough may also be related to the worms not having been treated successfully, especially since his cough always ends in kind of a choking/gagging where it is clear that he is trying to expel either worms or mucus (or both). I know it is also possible that he may have asthma, or even pneumonia. I am just concerned and confused about how to best care for my little guy in light of all the challenges. He is due to start another round of Panacur this weekend, and I feel so hesitant b/c I'm not sure if that medication is just too hard on his system. I am going to call the vet in the morning, but I also wanted to run this by folks here, in case anyone has some insights from their own experiences.
Also, he has been on a grain-free Wellness + Halo diet for several months now, and had been doing very well on it... I think he still is doing well on it, actually. No problems with diarrhea through any of these worm issues, which seems kind of amazing. So that's the one good thing he has going for his poor little health!
Thank you! [emoji]9829[/emoji]
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