Are my kitties sick?

poconnor16

I have a 5 month old and a 3 month old whom I dote on dearly. I've planned to be away for 4 days over xmas and have booked them both into a good cattery.
3 weeks ago the older fluff got conjuntivitis and was not improving after a visit to the vet so I brought her back 4 days later to find out she had a sinus infection on top of it all. She has since shown huge improvment and 90% back to herself.

Here's the problem - her eye is still a tad 'runny'. I worried that she may still be contagious and I would not dream of infecting other cats. Not that the cattery owner would let me anyway. Is her runny eye still a danger??
I'm also starting to worry now because the little guy is now getting a runny eye.

After multiple vet visits, please offer some advice? I'm starting to get the feeling i will be home with my sick kitties for crimbo.

dvet

It sounds like the antibiotics the vet gave kitty number 1 were working, but didn't totally get rid of the infection, so it lingered on a bit. It's most likely that another course of antibiotics will clear it up, but now that kitty number 2 has gotten the infection, she will probably need antibiotics as well.

You will definitely have to talk to the vet. Even if you are reluctant to actually bring the cats in, give him a ring and he might prescribe some tablets for you (although I wouldn't be suprised if he wanted to see them first, especially if he hasn't previously examined kitty number 2 for this problem). Also, if they go 'off form' or stop drinking or eating, you should definitely bring them in for fluids/supportive care, sick kittens can become weak pretty fast.

Meanwhile, get plenty of fluids into them (if they don't drink much water, a bit of juice from a tuna can in their water bowl works wonders!), make sure they're eating ok, and you can also gently clean their faces to soften any dried in debris etc. Also avoid letting them out or letting them interact with any other cats for now.

I'm not sure how the cattery will feel about it, they may be able to keep your kittens in a separate area to the other cats, although as you say they might refuse to take them. I think after talking to the vet you should probably give them a ring and let them know the situation and the plan.

Hope it doesn't ruin your xmas plans!!

poconnor16

Thanks Dvet,

their welfare comes first. Good news is that they are both full of beans, eating fine etc. They are indoor cats so no chance of infecting others.

I'm going to ring the vet now for advice, can bring them both in if needed. And then I am defo ringing the cattery. Its not fair on the other cats in there to risk it - I know I wouldn't like it if the situations were reversed.

I'm sure I can still get my hands on a mini turkey for the 3 of us somewhere.

Plek Trum

Just an after though, although I'm sure your vet would have asked - have they had their injections and innoculations? Cat flu can be nasty and persistant, not always 100% successful with one round of antibiotics. Worth asking, especially with two of them. Hope all improve soon!

poconnor16

Plek Trum wrote: »

Just an after though, although I'm sure your vet would have asked - have they had their injections and innoculations? Cat flu can be nasty and persistant, not always 100% successful with one round of antibiotics. Worth asking, especially with two of them. Hope all improve soon!

Hi PlekTrum,

both fully vaccinated up to their eyeballs!

Good news - I rang my cattery and asked for advice - she said she is happy to take them both so long as they get a once over from the vet (they are currently on their way), if Cat A is on the mend (which she is) and if Cat B is given a 'just in case antibiotic. And obviously so long as they are both fully vaccinated etc.

So looks like all is gong to be ok!

dvet

Great! No mini turkey needed!

The Sweeper

poconnor16, sounds to me like your kitties could have chlamydia or herpes (not STDs in this instance) - runny, watery eyes, general sookiness in themselves, possible inflammation of the nictating membrane (third eyelid) that can look very sore, sniffles, sneezes, gunk that's clear or yellow to green coming out of the eyes - often just one eye on the side the discharge is on?

It is contagious, but the cattery may have quarantine precautions they can bring to bear. Treatment for chlamydia and herpes infection in cats includes anti-inflammatory injections for the sinus and eyelid inflammation, an antibiotic to kick the infection and help clear the chest if there's a cough or wheeze, plus lots of rest and good food. You can clean the eyes with a piece of gauze dipped in warm water - don't use any essential oils or anything else in the water, and don't use cotton wool because it can leave fibres. That is just to make the cat more comfortable.

You can also try supplementing their diet with L-lysine tablets, the sort you can get for humans. L-lysine is an amino acid that stops replication of the herpes virus - so people can take a tablet or two if they get a coldsore tingle and it can help prevent the coldsore erupting. Dosing for your two cats - you could take a 500mg tablet of pure L-lysine (not L-lysine plus vitamin B for instance, or anything like that) and crush the tablet and mix in with the cat's food - 250mg of L-lysine apiece once a day for a few days - edit to add just seen the age of your cats. I'd give one 500mg tablet between them for the first day, then 3/4 of that tablet between them on day two, then half a tablet between them crushed into their food daily for the rest of the week, so they'd be getting 125mg apiece every day for the last five days. L-lysine dosing in cats isn't an exact science, but short-term use has no side-effects and it DOES work to prevent virus replication.

Some catfood companies are now including L-lysine in their food recipes, but long-term dosage isn't good. However it can help over a few days or up to a week as a bit of a boost for kitties who are suffering with inflammed eyes and snotty noses that they can't seem to shift.

To be honest, if it is chlamydia or herpes, I wouldn't be surprised if the stress of relocating to a cattery causes a relapse in cat A and causes cat B to worsen, because these viruses thrive on lower immune systems, and in the cat, stress lowers the immune system. Still the treatment is the same - antibiotics (did you get a jab or tablets? Jab is better), food, rest, possibly L-lysine. Just see if the cattery owner is familiar with the concept of these viruses and if they're going to take quarantine precautions with your pets, and keep an eye on them - I would want to know that my cattery owner would take my animals to the vet if they were to worsen, for instance, or at least call the vet, not just assume that the existing antibiotic will do its work and leave the cat to get more ill.

poconnor16

The Sweeper wrote: »

poconnor16, sounds to me like your kitties could have chlamydia or herpes (not STDs in this instance) - runny, watery eyes, general sookiness in themselves, possible inflammation of the nictating membrane (third eyelid) that can look very sore, sniffles, sneezes, gunk that's clear or yellow to green coming out of the eyes - often just one eye on the side the discharge is on?

It is contagious, but the cattery may have quarantine precautions they can bring to bear. Treatment for chlamydia and herpes infection in cats includes anti-inflammatory injections for the sinus and eyelid inflammation, an antibiotic to kick the infection and help clear the chest if there's a cough or wheeze, plus lots of rest and good food. You can clean the eyes with a piece of gauze dipped in warm water - don't use any essential oils or anything else in the water, and don't use cotton wool because it can leave fibres. That is just to make the cat more comfortable.

You can also try supplementing their diet with L-lysine tablets, the sort you can get for humans. L-lysine is an amino acid that stops replication of the herpes virus - so people can take a tablet or two if they get a coldsore tingle and it can help prevent the coldsore erupting. Dosing for your two cats - you could take a 500mg tablet of pure L-lysine (not L-lysine plus vitamin B for instance, or anything like that) and crush the tablet and mix in with the cat's food - 250mg of L-lysine apiece once a day for a few days - edit to add just seen the age of your cats. I'd give one 500mg tablet between them for the first day, then 3/4 of that tablet between them on day two, then half a tablet between them crushed into their food daily for the rest of the week, so they'd be getting 125mg apiece every day for the last five days. L-lysine dosing in cats isn't an exact science, but short-term use has no side-effects and it DOES work to prevent virus replication.

Some catfood companies are now including L-lysine in their food recipes, but long-term dosage isn't good. However it can help over a few days or up to a week as a bit of a boost for kitties who are suffering with inflammed eyes and snotty noses that they can't seem to shift.

To be honest, if it is chlamydia or herpes, I wouldn't be surprised if the stress of relocating to a cattery causes a relapse in cat A and causes cat B to worsen, because these viruses thrive on lower immune systems, and in the cat, stress lowers the immune system. Still the treatment is the same - antibiotics (did you get a jab or tablets? Jab is better), food, rest, possibly L-lysine. Just see if the cattery owner is familiar with the concept of these viruses and if they're going to take quarantine precautions with your pets, and keep an eye on them - I would want to know that my cattery owner would take my animals to the vet if they were to worsen, for instance, or at least call the vet, not just assume that the existing antibiotic will do its work and leave the cat to get more ill.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this - it's really informative.

They've both been to the vet and were both given antibiotic injections, plus eye drops. Cat A is pretty much cured, just keeping her eye clean to make sure she heals properly. Cat B did get a touch of it, but I think we have caught it early enough that it should be manageable. They are both very energetic, eating plenty (Royal Canine) and taking plenty of fluids.

The cattery are well known and I also rang the owner to keep her informed. She sounded very familiar and mentioned that she will be keeping a close eye on them - straight to the vet if there are any problems. Its only 4 days anyway which is good. Its a small cattery, I would guess maximum 15 cats at any one time.

Here's hoping it all goes off ok, I hate the thought of them being stressed.

MsFifers

Just to add to Sweeper's advice - I've added ground up Lysine to my cat's food when they had the sniffles & glued up eyes when they were younger and it is great stuff. It seems to stop the virus replicating to speed up recovery.