Missy 2's got a cold?

[pretzel4gore]

she was sneezing on saturday, by sunday i could tell she was sick, though she still interested in food (treats)...by sunday eve i see she has hard time breathing. i took her in to see vet monday morning. the vet gave her a shot, and 62.5mg clamavox pills to be given starting tues eve, then every 12 hours. By tuesday eve Missy 2 is hiding under the bed; had to lure her to give her the pill; she's not drinking or eating, just hiding away. has anyone ever heard of this? The other cat, Freddy, was also sneezing, but he seems to be overcoming it on his own...how sick can a cat get, especially from, as the vet said, a bad cold?

[superconnected]

1. Great thread.

I also have a cat with a cold.

Blacky has had the sneezes for 2 months - he sneezes rarely now but before he did a lot. I've been afraid he would give it to the other cats. Blacky is in door out door as he's one of the cats that just showed up and that's how I initially get them to stay - letting them in and out when they want.

My 3 10 mo old kittens also had sneezes for a few days but haven't since.

Blacky sleeps in my bed but I don't think I could take him to the vet yet, and expect him to come back if I let him out again.

[pretzel4gore]

3. she emerged from her hidey tonight

but still no eat...i hope she's drinking (her mouth/tongue might be sore) and the pills are hopefully taking affect....if she's still hiding (apparently, very sick cats do hide, so every emergence is a sign of hope) tomorrow, i'll have to take her in again...

[kestrel91316]

2. They can get VERY sick if they quit eating and drinking.

I like my clients to offer Hill's Prescription Diet A/D and if necessary assist-feed it (smush it in the side of the mouth with finger) to maintain food intake and avoid hepatic lipidosis (often fatal). A/D has a high water content. A can a day goes a long way toward helping them recover.

Some of these cats need subcutaneous fluid injections to improve hydration.

Feline upper respiratory infections are usually due to Feline Herpesvirus, which is inhibited by L-lysine, an amino acid. Your vet should have access to the gel form of this, or you can use tablets or capsules. It is not a drug. It interferes with protein systhesis in the virus, so it slows it down and gives the body a chance to get the upper hand. Talk to your vet about appropriate dose and how to administer. This has become the cornerstone of my treatment of cats with acute respiratory disease, as well as the longer-term eye and nasal problems from FHV. I no longer grab the antibiotics, because secondary bacterial infections with FHV are the exception rather than the rule/

[beam me up scottie]

4. I take L-Lysine.

I had a terrible outbreak of blisters on one of my eyes when I was in the service.

The pain was excruciating.

Since I've been taking it, I haven't had any problems.

What dosage do you suggest for cats?

[kestrel91316]

5. Usually 250 mg twice a day will help. I take it myself, just one 500 mg

tablet daily, unless I am under a lot of stress. I have suffered from cold sores for over 40 years, so this was a major help when I started taking it a year ago. I got the idea at a veterinary conference when they were talking about using it for FHV corneal ulcers and conjunctivitis. Then I realized that there was a REASON Trader Joe's carried the stuff, lol.

We have a new product this year that is lysine gel in premeasured dial-a-dose syringes. And the capsules that you can break open and mix the contents into canned food work well in cats also.

[beam me up scottie]

6. Do I have to get the capsules from a vet?

I learned about L-lysine and its effect on the Herpes virus years ago from an awesome doctor that unfortunately was transferred soon afterward.

[kestrel91316]

8. Nope, it's non-prescription. I have seen the capsules at

health food stores, Whole Foods market, and even Ralph's market. But it is best to use it under veterinary supervision, so they can keep an eye on the cat's condition periodically. Some kitties get bad enough to need antiviral drugs, especially with the eye problems.

[beam me up scottie]

9. Thanks!

They've been fine until recently, when they caught a cold.

It was rough, but we all got through it.

I had to feed my senior, Cecil, with a syringe and then a spoon until he wanted to eat again.

He's stuffing himself now as I type this.


I'll keep an eye on them and tell the vet if I see any other symptoms.

[kestrel91316]

10. Be sure you also keep them current on their annual FVRCP

vaccination. I am convinced that annual boosters for the Feline Herpesvirus (FVR - feline viral rhinotracheitis) help keep it in check.

[pretzel4gore]

7. thanks. I did use a plunger from a ink kit

a clean one, obviously, to inject some water in her mouth earlier, and put some yogurt in her mouth with finger; she's a big healthy type young cat (3yo) so i hope she's got the resources to recoup with the stuff i mentioned...i'll write up your advice if Missy2 needs to see doc tomorrow. btw i never knew cats even got sick(!) such as colds etc, though obviously they do, but when an actual sickness strikes close to home, it's rather 'unsettling'!

[demnan]

11. If a cat has been sick and won't eat

take her back to the vet and get some appetite stimulants. It's very important to coax them back to eating again, even if it takes a stimulant.

[AirmensMom]

12. My cat got anorexic on clavamox.

He almost died. If I hadn't read on the internet that someone else had the same problem, it might have gone too long. I called a new holistic vet and he told me that there was definitely a connection and to take him off the clav.

He started eating a few days after I discontinued it, and that first meal was a big one. I'm not a vet, but I had a bad experience with clavamox and will never give it to my cat again.

[kestrel91316]

13. Most cats do fine on Clavamox, which is a beta-lactamase resistant

form of the much-more-commonly-used Amoxicillin. I have the occasional patient who can't tolerate Clavamox, either getting anorexic or diarrhea or vomiting. But this is nothing unusual. Just about any antibiotic can have those side effects in a particular cat if they are "sensitive". So when it happens we just make a note in the medical record and avoid that specific antibiotic in that particular cat.

Any cat who stops eating (or slacks way off) for more than 3 days is at risk of a very dangerous condition known as hepatic lipidosis. This is a cat specialty, most common in FAT cats, and is a disorder of fat metabolism in the liver. It can be fatal, but is fortunately uncommon. It is the main reason why we work to keep sick cats eating.

[AirmensMom]

14. Yes, I know.

But it is not acceptable to me to give my cat something that causes anorexia, diarrhea, or vomiting. Those are signs that something is not right. If I hadn't read that someone else's cat had gotten so sick on Clavamox, I would probably have accepted my then-vet's assessment that he was dying from kidney failure. She didn't tell me of the possibility that my cat might react that way to Clavamox
and I had to learn it on my own. If she had simply made a note in his records for next time, he would be dead now. As it was, it was 2nd and 3rd opinion vets who told me to get him off it immediately. Why "work" at keeping him eating when all we had to do was ditch the thing that caused the anorexia?

Many dogs do well on Rimadyl, but my sister's dog died after being on it for less than a month ... and he had all the appropriate screening beforehand. Her vet had assured her that Rimadyl was safe. Sure, many dogs do well on it. But when it's YOUR pet and something goes wrong, the risk is 100%.

[kestrel91316]

16. I never meant to imply that you should have kept giving your cat

Clavamox and tried to get him to eat at the same time. Give me credit for a little common sense.

Obviously if a medicine is making an animal sick, it makes sense to take them OFF it. I was making a general comment about how anorexic cats should not simply be watched while they develop complications and nearly die. They require a proactive response. You would be amazed how many of my clients don't have the sense to call a vet to discuss their cat who hasn't eaten in 3 weeks (for whatever reason). Sometimes they think it's just "acting out" or "playing games".

Oh, well, what do I know? I'm just another one of those evil, incompetent, moneygrubbing veterinarians who has the nerve to draw breath.

[AirmensMom]

18. Well, we did call the vet after just a few days.

She still wanted to leave him on it so he could have his dental and then she interpreted his blood tests as meaning he had kidney failure when he was actually dehydrated. We had been with her and her husband for almost 11 years. It may be obvious to YOU that he should have been taken off the Clavamox immediately, but it sure didn't occur to her. Needless to say, we canceled the dental after she told us he wasn't going to live long enough for it to matter. That was 6 months ago.

I don't remember calling you evil, incompetent, or money grubbing and I don't know what you're being so defensive about. You may not have meant to imply that we should keep the cat on Clavamox, but with the lecture on how sick they can get if they don't eat, I wasn't sure you would take him off as a first step to getting them to eat. If I misread that, I do apologize. But please don't dismiss the experiences of long-time pet owners who have a vested interest in learning everything they can to help their pets. I may not know much about every pet-related ailment known to man, but I do know a hell of a lot about the things my pets have had to deal with. It was my research that saved my cat's life and started him on the road to recovery.

Surely you know that there are some bad vets out there. And it's not something that most people would normally recognize until something goes wrong that isn't addressed correctly. We had been taking this cat to our old vet for 7 years and tried everything she suggested (including the poor-quality Rx diets that she prescribed, blood tests galore, and drugs) to get a handle on his diarrhea and weight loss. He got better when we put him on raw food, a species-appropriate diet that is apparently frowned upon by many veterinarians. That was a pretty simple answer that didn't require all those drugs. The proof is in the results -- a healthy cat who has gained back his weight and looks mighty studly.

BTW, I adore our new veterinarian. I pay him by the hour for house calls, and he is worth every single penny. I don't hate vets at all, as you seemed to imply. Neither do I complain about paying him whatever he wants to charge ... and I certainly don't have money to burn.

[kestrel91316]

20. You can EXPECT someone to get defensive when you get

snippy in response to their attempts to providee helpful advice.

It's just one of those funny things about people...........

[AirmensMom]

21. I don't know how you get "snippy" out of anything I said.

I even apologized for apparently misunderstanding you. Yet you respond with a hit-and-run shorty that's just nasty. I was trying to provide helpful advice as well that should not be considered invalid.

[pretzel4gore]

15. good news! she's much livelier now!

she even crying to go outdoors! her nose is still very red (tender looking) and she's coughing/sneezy, but the clavamox appear to have pulled the worst of it away from her (i'll only pill her until i see her sleeping/eating etc normally)...she ate a bit tonight, and just the spirit she exhibits says she's feeling alot better....thanks everyone for the advice, and sharing your experiences/knowlege...this group is a nice liitle resource!
:toast:

[IndyOp]

17. Yeah! Thanks for letting us know she is doing better!

:toast:

[AirmensMom]

19. Great news!

:woohoo: :bounce:

Thanks for the update!