All three cats sick now, I'm totally overwhelmed. Help!

First, Skeeter was sick (civvie), but he seems a little better now after Little Noses saline spray, anti-viral eye drops, and continued Lysine. He never lost his appetite, and the sickness was brought on by FHV.

Now, Petie started sneezing one day, then suddenly breathing heavily through his mouth. Petie is still OTJ. I took him to an ER where they put him in an oxygen tent and took x-rays. His lungs were clear, but they thought there might be asthma. The Albuterol did very little. We were there for hours, and he was in about the same condition when I took him home as he was when I brought him there. He ate when he came home, but now it's a struggle to find something he'll eat. He's still mouth breathing, hasn't really slept, and when he starts to sneeze, he will start to cough and gag (he sneezes very hard, and several times in a row). I talked to my regular vet this morning, and she gave me some anti-biotics in case it was a secondary infection. We've been in the bathroom with the hot water running probably about 10 times in less than 12 hours (I haven't slept either). He will settle himself down to eat something he wants to eat (so far only ham and some dried Evo, and a teenie bit of baby food). I can't get his Lysine in him, or his Miralax, and he completely freaks out if I come near him with the Little Noses spray.

I'm out of my mind watching him breathe and puff so hard through his mouth. His tongue and gums are pink, so he's oxygenated, but he panics. I'm worried about what I'm feeding him, and his medications as well.

On top of that, my third cat, another civvie named Scrapper (who is 18) is now sneezing and feeling icky. She is not interested in eating much at all (it's an issue anyway because her kidney values are elevated).

I'm exhausted and it's really scary watching Petie this way. He rubs his nose with his paw, and he really just seems congested. Should I take him back to the vet? Is there anything they can do for him? What else can I do for the other two? Scrapper needs to gain weight, not lose it. I'm totally overwhelmed.

 

Wendi, has anyone checked to see if Petie has something in his nose/throat area? One time B.K. got very enthusiastic about his catnip and ended up inhaling (through his nose) ALOT of catnip. He started sneezing, breathing through his mouth, etc., and I took him to the vet. Fortunately he cut loose with a big sneeze all over the vet's white coat and we could both see the catnip. B.K. had to go to sleep for only a few minutes while the vet cleaned out the blockage in his nose.

 

i totally think it sounds like something is in his nose! i don't even know how you'd see it, but if he's rubbing his paw over it and trying to sneeze it out...would a ultra sound be out ot the questtion?
i know how you feel. i only have one cat and if something is wrong with him i'm overwhelmed and totally stressed.

 

I don't know. To me it sounds like something contagious (a kitty cold?) is going through the group.

If it's just a cold, keeping food and liquids in them seems the reasonable course. Have you tried any chicken broth (no salt, of course)? Tuna juice? Boiled chicken pieces? Warming up their food might help tit stinkier - alot of cats don't eat if they can't smell the food.

 

I don't know how I did it. Duplicate post.

 

an infection would show up in a blood work up..high wbc. also a cold would produce mucus.
i would think.

 

I thought it might be something in his nose, but I couldn't think of what it would be. The vet said that if it was, the nose would be producing mucous to expel it, but its not. The hot, humid weather here have made the cats somewhat miserable and lethargic (or more so than if they weren't sick) and it's been hard to get two to of them to eat ... but, that, along with the steam treatments in the bathroom, have loosened things up for Petie. He was quiet and resting enough that I was finally able to get a few hours of sleep, too. He just had some chicken, some ham, and a few pieces of Evo. I'm trying to get him to eat some baby food that has water, lysine, and his Miralax in it. He's still breathing through his mouth, but not so dramatically, and the sneezing isn't so violent. When he sneezes so hard, he can't catch his breath and breathes hard through his mouth, swallows air, and then throws up (or heaves like he will). I think that may be asthma after all, hopefully just related to this cold. I don't have a mask for him, and it REALLY stressed him out at the vet (he wouldn't breathe in it) so I hold one end of a toilet paper tube, squeeze a puff of Albuterol into the tube (I have asthma, too, so we're now sharing an inhaler), hold the other end of the tube to keep it in there, then put it in front of his face (not on it). He gets enough of it and it seems to help. When he rubs his nose, it's like when you or I would rub an itchy nose ... and he only does it after sneezing. I talked to my vet today, and yesterday, and she looked over the x-rays from the ER. She thought it was best not to bring him in because he's been calm. She doesn't want to put him in distress. We may, at some point, need to get an echo ... but I just spent about $400 on vet bills and I'm not working full time right now. The ER doc thought his heart was a little big, but my doc (who knows Petie really well) said he's a big cat, big chest cavity (which can mean a naturally bigger heart), so she didn't see any immediate concern ... whew. I'm really impressed with my boy, Petie. He's been clearly practicing something like self-care that a human would do ... calming himself down, trying not to get upset, breathe steadily. When he does get panicky, he lets me calm him down. I told someone that he trusts me so much more after going through the sugarcat times, and it's really amazing how true that can be. I sing to him. I make up words. I hope my neighbors can't hear me.

Scrapper just won't eat anything. She perks up and wants it, she'll lick it, but then won't eat it. I'm going to get her some chicken broth and see. She worries me the most right now because she is 18 and she does have kidney issues. She was eating really well until recently, then she started being picky (although when she's not sick, she'll always eat other food like chicken or ham ... and she always tries to steal my toast!). I'm afraid she's so fragile, she won't be able to fight it. She's not breathing through her mouth though, and she's letting me give her the Little Noses spray (I'm finally able to get some of those in Petie, too, which I think helps a lot). I also got her to eat some baby food with water and Lysine, so that's a plus.

The ham is very salty, it's deli ham, so it's not my favorite thing to feed them ... I only have it for Scrapper when she's really giving me a hard time. She does have an appetite stimulant (can't remember the name, it's an rx and it's an antihistamine), but the last time I gave it to her she really seemed to feel bad from it.

Having one of them sick is crazy-making enough, but all three ... I don't have kids, but it feels like it! I have snot, baby food, and throw up all over my life right now. Sorry so long, feels good update it with people who get it. If Scrapper starts breathing through her mouth I may lose it. Another funny part of this is that I got sick when Skeeter did (the first sick fuzzikid) ... same symptoms. Stuffy, sneezy, coughing ... so we're a mess right now. Fortunately, I don't throw up when I sneeze and I still have an appetite.