Need advice on civvie, Willow - go to vet? ask for antibiotic?

This will be long, but I need to give some history: Willow is a 'senior' lady, a couple of months past 16 and a half. She has a history of respiratory issues/allergies. She has been known to sneeze/cough and have a runny nose. I was concerned, maybe a year and a half ago, because she sounded extra congested to me. The internal medicine specialist said there was no congestion in her chest. He could hear noise in her nose when she breathed out. He said an endoscopy type test would be needed to determine what was going on, but that is not something we did. She did have an x-ray, and they confirmed what I already knew, that she has asthma.

She takes Zyrtec and CannaPet every day and Cerenia every other day. (When she was on Cerenia for a week once, I discovered that she had NO asthma attacks at all. It was great. So, the vet agreed to let me keep her on a small dose, and it has worked great at keeping them at bay.) I have a ridiculous amount of air purification going on in the house, and I run a humidifier, at least at night, when the heat has to be running.

Lately, she has had redness in the skin around her eyes, especially one of them, and she seems more congested than normal. Her little nose sometimes runs (it's clear), and she sneeze/coughs. I have not actually seen a full on asthma attack, but sometimes her breathing is visibly heavy to me. I have been washing her eyes and nose with a warm wet cloth a couple of times a day. I am trying to decide whether to take her to the vet. I try to avoid visits when possible because they stress her these days. For one thing, she starts panting. I don't want that respiratory distress on top of whatever is going on with her. The last time I took her, the redness around her right eye had just started, and the vet assumed it was an allergy and gave me some creme to use on the skin. She said the my options beyond that were give her steroids (which I'm scared of) or go to a specialist to have allergy testing (which I am NOT putting her through at this age). So, I worry that even if I put Willow through going in, I'm still going to get those options. Does anyone have experience with these symptoms? Would it be worth asking for a round of antibiotics in case there is an infection somewhere? (I do not like giving them when I don't KNOW infection is present, but I am just at a loss as to what to do to help her.)

I wish I knew exactly what was going on with my poor baby. Any experiences, insights, you can share would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I wish I could help more but all I can offer is this: my sister-in-law's kitty has been plagued with respiratory issues for years - snotty nose, sneezing, etc. She has a prescription for antibiotics that my sister-in-law gives as needed. So if kitty has a sneezy day, she gets a pill and that can calm her down for a few days. Repeated as needed. This isn't the usual way to use antibiotics but it seems to work for her.

 

1 day of it helps? That is odd. Any idea what it is?

 

Yes, it's odd that 1 day seems to help for a few after that. Some antibiotics have an anti inflammatory effect - maybe that's part of it.

Just spoke to my sister-in-law: it's azithromycin - 1/4 of a 250 mg tablet is the dose. She's never had to give it several days in a row.

I looked online: azithromycin is a macrolide antbiotic and this group of drugs does have anti inflammatory action. Here's one article: https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/cipms.2014.27.issue-1/cipms-2014-0015/cipms-2014-0015.pdf

 

Thanks for asking her for me, Kris!

 

I found this from 2009: http://www.fanciers.com/index.php?v...rraine-shelton&option=com_quickfaq&Itemid=165
It says, "Azithromycin, produced by Pfizer under the brand name Zithromax or Azitrocin, has emerged as a very valuable antibiotic for the treatment of various infections in the cat. It is well tolerated, even by young kittens, and its efficacy in the treatment of upper respiratory infections (including bordetella and chlamydia), in particular, is unequalled by other anitbiotics. It is cleared very slowly from feline tissue, resulting in dosage schedules that are very convenient for the cat owner. A single dose maintains effective drug levels in the cat's tissues for as long as a week. The correct dose for the use of azithromycin in cats is 5 mg/kg (5 mg of drug for every 2.2 pounds of cat or 2.3 mg per pound of cat).

 

Well, son of a gun! That explains why my SIL only has to give her kitty a dose intermittently.

 

I know that seen from the diabetes standpoint steroids are scary -- because what we hear about them here is that they gave the cat diabetes. But not all cats on steroids get diabetes. And there is less risk with the oral version than the long-lasting injections, I've heard. And steroids can really work miracles, there's a reason they're in use.

If it seems more allergic/asthmatic than bacterial, why not try a really low dose of oral cortisone for 3-4 weeks to see if it makes a difference? Plus, you have a meter, so you could test her once a week or so to make sure her BG isn't starting to head upwards, and stop if it does.

 

I am not sure if it is just allergic/asthmatic. I guess it could be, but the redness around the eye was never one of her allergy symptoms. She never had anything going on with her eyes until recently. Also, the congestion and runny nose is worse than normal, and I don't know what would be triggering that. I probably am being unreasonably paranoid about the steroids. I wonder if it would be best to try those before the antibiotics. I feel like it's a toss up since I really don't know the cause.

 

I had a kitty on oral dexamethasone (powerful!) for over two years decades ago and she didn't develop diabetes. ECID but there can be a place for steroids if used cautiously.

 

Is her nose running clear or not? Any weepy stuff anywhere that looks like it could be infected? That could help you decide what to start with. Any chance of getting a sample of whatever is running out her nose and doing a culture or an antibiogramme?

 

Clear "usually" is a good sign. No infection.

While I was on "vacation" I had to take my folks' cat to the vet. Their cat had what I thought an upper respiratory infection. I saw periods of laboring breathing. I thought for sure she had undiagnosed asthma or an infection. The vet disagreed. He said the cat has the human equivalent to "allergic rhinitis". I didn't agree with him, but I agreed to try his approach before putting up a fight.

He said to use daily Zytrec (but said it takes a few days before you see results) and recommended Apoquel (Rx only). He gave an inhaler to use as needed until the Zytrec kicked in.

 

What I have seen is clear. I did see her have a weird open mouth sneezing fit once a couple of days ago (never seen that before or since) until she (this is gross, sorry) 'shot out' a little blob of very thick mucus that was slightly yellowish. I could probably get a little sample when her nose is wet. I would have to ask the vet what I need to get it with/put it on and if they will have it tested for me.

 

That is what I have always heard and have been hoping.

 

When a horse has a runny nose the first thing we assess is whether it's clear or no more than slightly milky. That generally means nothing to worry about. If it's yellow or green (ick!) that's infection. We also smell it - infection stinks. We smell wounds elsewhere too ...

 

This could be bacterial. I'd see if the vet were willing to analyse/identify a sample if you're able to get another one. Without any more info though, I'd try the antibiotics first, if you saw this fly out.