A couple of questions about vets and a sick cat

[blueraven95]

My poor sweet Mica is sick again with what I believe is another upper respiratory infection (either the second one in two months, or a continuation of the first one which didn't fully go away). I will, of course, be taking him to the vet, but it will have to wait until next week. Since at this point it seems to mostly be just conjested breathing and some sneezing (but he is still eating fine), I'm not too concerned, but I was wondering if anyone has any ideas for boosting his immune system in the meantime. For example, does anyone know if a humidifier might help, that sort of thing.

Also, I have a slightly silly vet question. I've been sort of between vets for a couple of years now - I say sort of because since leaving my old vet I have been taking my cats to a vet who is fine - it's actually a veterinary clinic with several vets and round the clock service, and I've liked just about all the vets I've met. I feel very comfortable in their competency, however, they are expensive and I can't help but feel that the vets are pushed (by their boss) to recommend treatments and tests that are often not completely necessary and are extremely expensive - which I hate, because I can't shake the feeling that I'm being taken advantage of. Does anyone know of any great ways to find a new great vet, or even better, does anyone know a fantastic vet in the Baltimore, MD area they would recommend?

Thanks everyone.

Here's a pic of Mica when he was feeling healthier:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. What a handsome cat! I hope he gets better soon.

[blueraven95]

3. Thank you...

I hope so too!

[BrklynLiberal]

2. He is gorgeous..

My landlady's cat had the same problem and it was not until the fourth vet that she got the correct diagnosis and proper meds for her cat.
It turned out that Fergie...a Scottish fold..had an upper respiratory problem that was viral.

She said that virtually all cats have the herpes virus in them just like humans - we get cold sores-, but it comes out in them as respiratory problems. It shows itself, as with humans, when there is some sort of stress. That could by physical or environmental stress.

She put Fergie on 1 Lysine capsule each day...open the capsule and put it into his food, and 500 mg of vitamin C. Both available at the Vit Shoppe.

You can also give him some probiotics -acidophilus is available in liquid or capsules at the Vitamin Shoppe - since the vit C MIGHT cause some digestive upset that the probiotics would relieve, and probiiotics do a great job helping to support the immune system.
Try to get Vit C as liquid or capsule so you can put it in his food as well.

She also gave him an immune support mixture.

I believe one should stay away from steroids and antibiotics. This is a viral problem.

Here is lots more info.
http://www.thensome.com/herpes.htm

Here is one source for the feline immune system support...
http://www1.bottomdollar.com/search.php/form_keyword=feline%20immune%20support%20for%20cats/skd=1/mode=bd_yahoo_us_adv

If you google, you can find more info on feline herpes, and the immune system support.

[blueraven95]

4. thank you so much

I agree - it definitely sounds like Mica has a viral problem, and my vets are just going to keep giving him antibiotics, which don't seem to be helping (and he hates).

I'm going to read through your links later today. I really appreciate it!

[hamsterjill]

9. Yes on the Lysine

For convenience, you can buy L-Lysine in powder form, too.

If your vet does recommend antibiotics to either alleviate or prevent secondary infections, I would recommend that you ask if he/she uses the relatively new antibiotic (Convenia). It is one shot that lasts for two weeks, thereby eliminating the need to poke either pills or liquids down the cats for a period of time. It is a little pricey, but we've had a couple of instances where it just did wonders for the cat.

Best of luck to you.

[japple]

5. Ditto what BrklynLiberal said. My vet prescribed the Lysine

for one of my elderly cats who had developed the same problem. I had to mix it with strained meat baby food to get him to eat it, but that did the trick. Good luck finding a successful treatment for your sweet kitty. Mica is a beautiful cat.

[blueraven95]

8. he is my baby

(but don't let the other one hear that!)

I'm definitely going to try the Lysine. It sounds like it is the most likely thing to help.

[badgerpup]

6. You can also get probiotics in plain yogurt...

Just make sure you get the stuff with the live cultures.

One of my vets works extensively with naturopathic and homeopathic remedies...she recommended this for Finnegan when he was a kitten.
He had diarrhea but came up negative for giardia and other nastybad intestinal flora...so she suggested pumpkin (for fiber and bulk) and yogurt (probiotics and 'good' intestinal flora).
He loved it (still does). :thumbsup:

It helped immensely with the immediate symptoms, and he gradually got over whatever it was that was causing the diarrhea.

[blueraven95]

7. so if I mixed vitimin c with yougurt, it might help?

it seems worth trying. :shrug:

[BrklynLiberal]

10. You get a stronger dose of the probiotics by getting the capsules and putting the contents into his

food.
You do have to be careful with dairy products and cats, especially if there are digestion problems involved.
Contrary to popular belief...

The most abundant sugar in dairy products is lactose, which requires an enzyme called lactase to be able to digest it and avoid symptoms of lactose intolerance, such as bloating, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. All mammals have high levels of lactase when they are young but the ability to digest lactose generally decreases with age. And as in humans, cats have varying levels of tolerance to lactose.
http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/resources/advice/cats/89.htm

Are cats and kittens lactose intolerant?
http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=42740

More info on lactose intolerance in cats...and dogs.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/776889/cats_and_milk_a_dangerous_mix.html

http://www.animalhealthcare.ca/contents/content.asp?id=75&cat=dogs

Why take a chance at this point when he is already suffering?


The pumpkin is an excellent idea. I always have several cans of 100% pure pumpkin on hand..Libby's makes it. Do not use the pumpkin pie filling with the spices in it. The cans look almost identical.

[blueraven95]

11. thank you.

one last question, what is the recommended dose of vitamin c? I've been looking around, but I haven't seen a definitive answer.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. You can start with 250 mg in the food. That is 1/2 tsp of the liquid Vit C that I have.

Keep increasing...but do it slowly, an additional 1/2 tsp every three days might be good. The max would be 1000 mg / day.
Make sure you are giving the acidophilus too so as to mitigate any digestive effects of the Vit C, which is important.
Ester-C is supposed to be the easiest on the digestive system, for pets and people.



Info here that I could not copy and paste:
http://books.google.com/books?id=4lJ_3WXhVfgC&pg=PA297&lpg=PA297&dq=Therapeutic+Dosage+of+Vit+C+for+cats&source=bl&ots=Pyiaukx2u-&sig=tWtLJCljO3qtSoP9kvGnVrgL0Aw&hl=en&ei=OKCxSfuoAuHAtgfyt-y7Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA297,M1

[badgerpup]

12. 'Solid pack pumpkin' is what you want to look for on the label...

I keep a couple cans on hand meself. :thumbsup:

That is sold all-year round...they usually don't put the alleged 'pie-inna-can' stuff out until the holidays.

[tencats]

13. Regarding your cats problem with the URI

Recommend that you read this information sheet on Feline Upper Respiratory Infections. This should help you understand what a URI is and how you Vet views the problem. Also will help you understand what treatment either by prescription drug or other therapy may or may not be helpful.

Information Sheet
Feline Upper Respiratory Infection (URI)
UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program
http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/is_feline_upper_res.shtml

[blueraven95]

17. thanks for the information

:hi:

[glinda]

15. Many "open round the clock Emergency Vet Clinics" opening. I do not

recommend any of them unless absolutely necessary. Staff tends to be newly graduated students with little to no experience. They are also beholding to a large degree to the Pharma Companies as they get "deals" for using their drugs. They are also generally more expensive and they are generally part of a "chain". I hope you find a real Vet and also a back up Vet that will be available to you. These clinics also are putting real Vets out of business to some degree.
If your cat goes outside, this may be part of the problem. I have a kitty just like that! Cute.

[blueraven95]

16. I agree completely!

the only reason I went with this vet in the meantime was because they have one of the best reputations in the area. Clearly, I'm not happy, and am shopping around.


Mica is a strictly indoor cat (I live in the city, it's just not realistic to think he can go out) which is part of why I'm surprised he keeps having problems. :hi:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. I can speak only for the emergency vet clinic in my city,

but I've had consistently good experiences with them. They are open only during hours when regular vets are closed (evenings and weekends), and the vets I've dealt with there weren't rookies. When they sent me home was drugs it's only been small amounts, just enough to tide us over until we can get to the regular vet, and they always fax the medical records to our regular vet right away. It is true that they are fairly expensive, but they've saved my cats more than once. I have no complaints at all -- they've been wonderful.

[blueraven95]

19. oh, I didn't mean to imply that these vets were actually bad

in fact, I think they are very good - and I would never hesitate to take my cats there in a true emergency. However, they do operate as a full service (not just emergency care) vet clinic, and that's where I'm having issues. It's when I take my cat in when he is just sick and they want to run a full battery of very expensive tests on him (which I know will just stress him out and make things worse) that I start having issues. That's why I've started looking around.

[glinda]

20. By these clinics being opened, the regular Vets have responded by making themselves less

available. This puts the client in a position where they have to pay through the nose. In the case of emergencies, they do not always have a payment plan either. Some of them fashion themselves as Hospitals and because of high overhead with tons of equipment, they charge a lot.
I speak about this as I am in MN. and have gathered information about the "clinic" growth. My cat ate poisoned pet food. I had to deal with one of the bigger ones and ended up speaking to the partial owner manager of all of them. They had one regular Vet and the rest of the staff was made up of either newer Vets from around the area or new graduates. The regular Vet was not at the clinic on a regular work schedule. I received five different opinions about what they believed was wrong with my cat. Each opinion was unrelated to the others. All of them were wrong except one came close.
I also have been in contact with another Vet who is highly regarded who has, along with the other local Vets, experienced pressures in his area for one of these clinics. Granted, many Vets work long long hours and when a Clinic opens up, the regular Vets tend to not work anymore on weekends or whatever.
The experience of a Vet who has years under his/her belt and develops a close relationship with the client and the pet is invaluable. I actually found one that gave me his cell# and believe me we have used it four times since and saved thousands of dollars. This may not be possible for everyone but I think it is the best way to go.

[AZBlue]

21. He's very handsome! And yes, a humidifier will help.

When Maggie had a bad case of it they suggested a humidifier - and one of the options they considered for her was basically a humidified box that she would have to sit in for 10-15 minutes. I can't remember the name, but it's a treatment that would take place at their office and is used to treat URIs that just won't go away. Luckily it didn't get to that, but I did keep her in the bathroom (with me) while the shower was running for about 10 minutes a couple of nights in a row and turned on the humidifier I have - both seemed to help clear her out.

Hope he feels better soon!