Now my new cat is sneezing :(

[MichelleCarmen]

Wouldn''t this just be our luck. Sigh! He was super active the night we brought him home, then yesterday he layed around all day (I thought he was just settling in), but today, he''s started sneezing and has eye crusties on the inner part. My husband just commented that he wonders if he''s sick.

He''s up to date on his vaccinations except they didn''t vaccinate him for rabies, FIV, and that other one (forget the name).

This afternoon after my kids get home, we''re taking him in to a Cat''s Exclusive vet.

I guess with him being around so many other cats that the risk of illness may be higher. . .he just seemed so active before. I guess I don''t call the Humane Society yet?

Please send my kitty good thoughts. My kids can''t take another loss.

I''ll post tonight after we get back.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 4/9/2010 2:42:56 PM
Author:MC
Wouldn''t this just be our luck. Sigh! He was super active the night we brought him home, then yesterday he layed around all day (I thought he was just settling in), but today, he''s started sneezing and has eye crusties on the inner part. My husband just commented that he wonders if he''s sick.


He''s up to date on his vaccinations except they didn''t vaccinate him for rabies, FIV, and that other one (forget the name).


This afternoon after my kids get home, we''re taking him in to a Cat''s Exclusive vet.


I guess with him being around so many other cats that the risk of illness may be higher. . .he just seemed so active before. I guess I don''t call the Humane Society yet?


Please send my kitty good thoughts. My kids can''t take another loss.


I''ll post tonight after we get back.

It could be an upper respiratory infection (very common and inexpensively treatable) or even just allergies. My cats get allergies in the Spring and sneeze occasionally. It happens, nothing to freak out over. Also cats are generally pretty lazy and minor cat eye crusties are pretty normal

 

[mickeyva]

My guess is your little kitty might have an upper respiratory infection. My first cat I adopted had this, and I don''t remember it being too big of a deal to treat. Hopefully that''s all it is. Thinking of you, your family, and your little kitty and that he gets better soon!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Okay, so this is pretty common, then? Just simple meds?

It's just that he's 7 months old. Not old enough to be justifiably lazy. Even my 17 year old cat was more active yesterday.

 

[Demon]

When we adopted the Boxer (not a cat, but still) they sent her home with medication for an
upper respiratory infection and allergy pills, too. Not uncommon, so hopefully the cat will be fine.

 

[Little Monster]

MC

Sounds like an upper respiratory infection to me, but the vet will be able to tell better :p

Both our kitties came home from the SPCA with URI''s (one got sick a few days after we brought him home, the other was already getting sick when I met him, so he stayed there for a few weeks to recover). He had to stay longer since it developed into pneumonia : (

Both came out of it just fine... the URI was treated with oral antibiotics, and some eye drops for the subsequent conjunctivitis...

Don''t stress... your new cat will be okay!! (Sending good, furry vibes)!

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

Oh MC my heart goes out to you - but try not to stress. The symptoms you are describing sound very much like a touch of kitty cold. Just like humans, stressful conditions (such as living in a shelter environment and moving into a new loving home) can often times supress the immune system and kitty catches a cold. They can also have allergies which present with similar symptoms.

When Miyagi came home to live with me, he brought a cold with him. He was treated with antibioics and a salve for his eyes. A few days later my other kittie, Tela, caught his cold. She was also treated with an anibiotic and eye salve. I now keep a tube of the eye salve around the house as the both seem to suffer from seasonal allergies.

Good luck - I have high hopes that he has a simple cold and will be back to his chipper self in no time at all!

 

[waterlilly]

Upper respiratory infections are highly contagious and need to be treated as early as possible. Especially since you have an elderly cat in the house. They are not uncommon with shelter cats because it spreads SO quickly. Vet - ASAP!

Read here:

http://www.cathealth.com/UResp.htm

 

[monkeyprincess]

When I adopted my little Atticus, he seemed fine for a couple days, but then his nose starting running and he was sneezing and stopped eating. The poor little guy was so tiny and lost even more weight, and the antibiotics they gave him made him sick, but he soon recovered fully. I remember feeling so scared and worried about him. I hope your kitten has a quick recovery.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/9/2010 4:34:25 PM
Author: waterlilly
Upper respiratory infections are highly contagious and need to be treated as early as possible. Especially since you have an elderly cat in the house. They are not uncommon with shelter cats because it spreads SO quickly. Vet - ASAP!

Read here:

http://www.cathealth.com/UResp.htm

Okay, thanks for the link. Pretty much answers what''s going on. The Humane Society gave me all his paperwork and on the chart next to nose, they hand wrote in "ulcer?", and a paragraph in the link says, ". . .the tip of the nose causing serious ulcers." There isn''t a sore there, just looks white instead of pink or black (like most other little kitty noses) and the HS worker said there wasn''t any concern, so I had taken her word for it since it doesn''t look inflamed or anything.

Anyway, our appointment is in a few hours (I''m on the West Coast, so it''s still early here) and we''ll get everything cleared up.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/9/2010 4:48:48 PM
Author: monkeyprincess
When I adopted my little Atticus, he seemed fine for a couple days, but then his nose starting running and he was sneezing and stopped eating. The poor little guy was so tiny and lost even more weight, and the antibiotics they gave him made him sick, but he soon recovered fully. I remember feeling so scared and worried about him. I hope your kitten has a quick recovery.

That''s so good your kitty recovered!

Guess we''ll see today if he''s lost weight. He was 8 lbs, 5 oz on 4/4. Crazy. . .that''s about how much my older son weighed when he was born.

 

[Imdanny]

I got my cat at the shelter. She had a) a respiratory infection and b) an eye infection the day I took her home from the shelter. The vet gave me medicine to put in her mouth and eye. That worked and almost three years later now she hasn't been sick again.

Sometimes when it's raining a lot she does cough a little bit though sometimes. This might sound strange but I give her "PetGuard, Natural Pet Supplement, Yeast & Garlic" powder with a little bit of soft food everyday. She only has coughed when I have missed a day or two of giving her this. If I give it to her it seems to stop the coughing. I really can't explain why but it works.

 

[Maisie]

I hope he is ok MC. Hopefully its something mild and easily treated.

 

[lulu]

So many kitties come home from the shelter with colds and uris because they''re just so contagious and shelter kitties are stressed. Antibiotics should clear it up.

 

[PumpkinPie]

I hope your new kitty is okay!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/9/2010 7:30:59 PM
Author: lulu
So many kitties come home from the shelter with colds and uris because they''re just so contagious and shelter kitties are stressed. Antibiotics should clear it up.

Yep, that''s basically what the vet said. She said that most shelter kitties are exposed to illness and it''s not uncommon for them to become ill with a virus.

I have the original "intake" paperwork on my new cat when he was brought into the HS and the time in which he was brought to the shelter to when he was taken to the vet today, he''s lost 3/4 lbs and now has a temp.

He was given IV fluids today and sent home with antibiotics. The vet said to give him the antibiotics and feed him a mostly canned food diet so he''ll get more fluids. He is eating but still lethargic.

The vet said he has a very beautiful coat and looks like he hasn''t been sick very long. . .that he was fine until being taken to the shelter.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Quick update (in case others hadn''t read my other post). He''s still sneezing but is more active and is eating and doing his "business." Looks like he''ll be okay.

 

[katamari]

Sorry to hear about your kitty, MC, but I am glad he went to the vet and is getting better. My cats are also from a shelter and one habitually has problems with upper respiratory issues. We use a powered form of lysine (called Viralys) and sprinkle it on his food every day. So long as he gets the lysine, he is fine.

Good luck with your new kitty! He is beautiful! I think it is great you got a shelter kitty. It''s even better you got a black shelter kitty. They are the least likely to be adopted because of silly superstitions people have about them.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/10/2010 1:28:59 PM
Author: katamari
Sorry to hear about your kitty, MC, but I am glad he went to the vet and is getting better. My cats are also from a shelter and one habitually has problems with upper respiratory issues. We use a powered form of lysine (called Viralys) and sprinkle it on his food every day. So long as he gets the lysine, he is fine.

Good luck with your new kitty! He is beautiful! I think it is great you got a shelter kitty. It''s even better you got a black shelter kitty. They are the least likely to be adopted because of silly superstitions people have about them.

hahaha! Funny because I had told my kids that the next cat I found would hopefully be black. He''s the third solid black kitty I''ve had. I love them! We''ll have to be sure to keep him inside the days near halloween. lol (Oh, and I always thought it''d be fun to name the black kitty Pumpkin, but DH nixed that idea right away.)

 

[HVVS]

He should be okay. Just make sure that he gets at least some food and fluids. It's stressful to be in a shelter, and then stressful to move again. My three cats are all from a shelter. They are 8 years old now. None has had any serious health problems. They had an initial bout of giardia parasite after I got them home, messy, but that was easily treated. One male has feline urinary syndrome but that's completely controlled with diet. I looked at the mature cats first, but none of them seemed very interested in me. Two of my cats were 14-15 weeks old when I adopted them. The third came home with me because she is a black cat and it was late in the fall, when shelters don't adopt out black cats. She was 17-18 weeks old, and I really thought I was her last chance before euth. I chose the first male cat I adopted for the look in his eye. He turned out to be a highly intelligent oriental cross, and the boss of the cats, lol. The second male chose me, by tapping me gently on my shoulder when I was standing with my back to his cage. The black female also picked me. The shelter workers tried to talk me out of her, saying she didn't really respond well to people, and they thought she might have just been in heat. No, she's just totally devoted.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/10/2010 2:47:13 PM
Author: HVVS
He should be okay. Just make sure that he gets at least some food and fluids. It''s stressful to be in a shelter, and then stressful to move again. My three cats are all from a shelter. They are 8 years old now. None has had any serious health problems. They had an initial bout of giardia parasite after I got them home, messy, but that was easily treated. One male has feline urinary syndrome but that''s completely controlled with diet. I looked at the mature cats first, but none of them seemed very interested in me. Two of my cats were 14-15 weeks old when I adopted them. The third came home with me because she is a black cat and it was late in the fall, when shelters don''t adopt out black cats. She was 17-18 weeks old, and I really thought I was her last chance before euth. I chose the first male cat I adopted for the look in his eye. He turned out to be a highly intelligent oriental cross, and the boss of the cats, lol. The second male chose me, by tapping me gently on my shoulder when I was standing with my back to his cage. The black female also picked me. The shelter workers tried to talk me out of her, saying she didn''t really respond well to people, and they thought she might have just been in heat. No, she''s just totally devoted.

Wow, I had no idea that black kitties had a lesser chance at being adopted out.

He had a littermate sister who was there at the shelter who was so pretty but DH and I have a two-cat limit so I couldn''t bring her home. Dh wasn''t with me when the kids and I went and we had discussed beforehand that I''d find a male cat for us. If DH had come along, who knows if he''d have agreed to bring the sister too, but now that we know that she would probably be sick, it''s for the best.

I did call the humane society and left a message on their voice mail adoption line to tell them that my cat had contracted some some sort of respiratory illness while there and they may consider having their vet look the rest of the cats over. I really hope they do so. Maybe they just expect new owners to do that themselves.

 

[HVVS]

Getting sick with a curable disease, is not, in my opinion, reason enough to not adopt one from a shelter. I''m not being rude. I''m just saying that it''s just a startup cost that I''d be willing to assume. Sometimes, they''ll even catch a virus or other infection from people handling multiple cats that they are considering adopting. Stuff happens. Usually it''s something that can be treated easily and doesn''t cost a lot to fix. But shelters have too many animals and not enough "customers." So, rather than pay for an animal''s doses of antibiotics, that animal gets put down. So, I am willing to sponsor and/or adopt a cat that would make a good pet. After I adopted my three, I sponsored a few others until they found homes. Aside from the one that has FUS (and that is not cause by and has no relation to in or from a shelter), the only vet expenses have been routine checkups and vaccinations.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/11/2010 5:43:34 PM
Author: HVVS
Getting sick with a curable disease, is not, in my opinion, reason enough to not adopt one from a shelter. I''m not being rude. I''m just saying that it''s just a startup cost that I''d be willing to assume. Sometimes, they''ll even catch a virus or other infection from people handling multiple cats that they are considering adopting. Stuff happens. Usually it''s something that can be treated easily and doesn''t cost a lot to fix. But shelters have too many animals and not enough ''customers.'' So, rather than pay for an animal''s doses of antibiotics, that animal gets put down. So, I am willing to sponsor and/or adopt a cat that would make a good pet. After I adopted my three, I sponsored a few others until they found homes. Aside from the one that has FUS (and that is not cause by and has no relation to in or from a shelter), the only vet expenses have been routine checkups and vaccinations.

I never said that because cats from the shelter could be sick, one should avoid adopting from there.

In fact, I do not AT ALL regret my decision to bring home my new kitty. I''m glad that we were able to get him into the vet right away and take care of his cold. If we only had one cat, I would have adopted his sister without regrets. The fact is, with already having two cats, bringing in a second sick cat to tend to, IMO, wouldn''t be the best FOR US or the cats (which is why I said "it probably was for the best"). I never said that would be a reason to avoid the HS all together.