AGGGH! #2: Sick L'il Kitty (upper respiratory infection)

Okay, the second one is that the poor guy (his name's Charlie) has an
upper respiratory infection. He was sneezing last night yet energetic,
so we thought it might just be him getting some anesthetic out of his
system. But when I came in today, he was sneezing, had discharge from
his eyes, kept having occasional snot (cutely enough, it'd come out as a
bubble, pop, and he'd bat his own nose, annoyed at the sensation), and
seems lethargic. He also does not seem to be eating much.

The Anti-Cruelty Society vet has recommended I just make sure he keeps
eating and drinking. He said that although Charlie's normal diet is dry
food, getting him some Fancy Feast or meat-based baby food might be more
tastier for him to eat and thus get him to eat (Charlie's sort of just
leaving the dry food). I'm not quite certain if he's eating or not ...
he appears to be nosing the water and the food, but I'm not quite sure
if he's lapping the water or dry food kernels or not. I've been told
that if he shows no interest in the Fancy Feast or baby food, then I may
need to take him in. He said the other thing I have to look out for is
dark green discharge from his nose. Other than that, it's sort of a
waiting game -- I guess these things last about 2-3 weeks for a cat.

Your experiences going through your cat's upper respiratory infection
would be appreciated. A long time ago, I came home as a teenager to
find that one of our family cats had died of feline immunodeficiency
virus (FIV) that she had been evidently born with. It broke my heart to
pick up her from where she died and put her in a box. And so this
little guy, who coincidentally seems to have some of her coloring, being
sick makes me VERY nervous, especially since I'm gone 10 hours every day
(8:00 am to 6:00 pm) for work. Good stories would be appreciated!

My thanks in advance to everybody who answers ... this new cat-daddy is
finding himself a l'il overwhelmed at times ...

Mike

Mike Harris wrote:

Okay, the second one is that the poor guy (his name's Charlie) has an
upper respiratory infection. He was sneezing last night yet energetic,
so we thought it might just be him getting some anesthetic out of his
system. But when I came in today, he was sneezing, had discharge from
his eyes, kept having occasional snot (cutely enough, it'd come out as a
bubble, pop, and he'd bat his own nose, annoyed at the sensation), and
seems lethargic. He also does not seem to be eating much.

Sounds like a trip to the vet for antibiotics might be in order.

Back in July I trapped a cute tiny orange tabby kitten who was living
under the bushes at the office
(http://www.webfolks.us/dan/photos/sammy.html). When I trapped him he
had a little bit of discharge from his eyes and just the slightest bit
of a runny nose. First thing I did once I trapped him was run him to the
vet for a checkup - I had 3 other cats at home and didn't want to bring
a possibly infectious kitten into their midst.

The vet kept the kitten for 3 days (at my request). He got antibiotic
treatment the whole time he was there, and I was given two more weeks of
oral meds to administer. Turns out that he was REALLY sick - it was a
good thing I'd trapped him when I did.

If finances prove to be an issue, a lot of vets will accept postdated
checques or will work with you to make payment arrangements.

Mike Harris wrote:

Okay, the second one is that the poor guy (his name's Charlie) has an
upper respiratory infection. He was sneezing last night yet energetic,
so we thought it might just be him getting some anesthetic out of his
system. But when I came in today, he was sneezing, had discharge from
his eyes, kept having occasional snot (cutely enough, it'd come out as a
bubble, pop, and he'd bat his own nose, annoyed at the sensation), and
seems lethargic. He also does not seem to be eating much.

Sounds like a trip to the vet for antibiotics might be in order.

Back in July I trapped a cute tiny orange tabby kitten who was living
under the bushes at the office
(http://www.webfolks.us/dan/photos/sammy.html). When I trapped him he
had a little bit of discharge from his eyes and just the slightest bit
of a runny nose. First thing I did once I trapped him was run him to the
vet for a checkup - I had 3 other cats at home and didn't want to bring
a possibly infectious kitten into their midst.

The vet kept the kitten for 3 days (at my request). He got antibiotic
treatment the whole time he was there, and I was given two more weeks of
oral meds to administer. Turns out that he was REALLY sick - it was a
good thing I'd trapped him when I did.

If finances prove to be an issue, a lot of vets will accept postdated
checques or will work with you to make payment arrangements.