Hi everyone.

I have posted here quite a few times before, and sadly it has been when I have lost one of my cats. I immediately come here for support. After I have adjusted to the loss, its so hard to come back on this site. I cant stop from reading all of the posts and I just sit here and read and cry..... I wish I could be as supportive and strong as others on here

I have an outside cat (one of many-they all make their way to my house somehow---hmm, could it be the food I always leave out ).. His name is Chuck and he is right at a year old. He and his sister Gidget were the only 2 of the litter that survived. Anyway, I took them both in about 6 months ago and got them spayed/neutered and their shots. They have both been fine. Well, about 2 months ago, we noticed Chuck had lost some hair above his eyes. Didnt really think much of it. Last Friday, he was laying outside very still (hes usually running all over the place and doesnt like to be held or anything). As soon as I touched him he starting meowing a horrible meow as if in pain. He smelt horrible (that "death" smell-infection). Nose was super runny, eyes were runny and was just all around a mess. I had one antibiotic pill left over, so I mixed it with water and gave it to him. Then he dissappeared. Waited for him to come home so could take him to the vet Sat morn and he didnt show up again until Sat nite-after the vet was closed till Mon. Sun morn he seem a lil better. Then he didnt come back till Tues nite. I locked him up and took him to the vet Wed morn.

I didnt have the $ to have him tested for Aids/Leukemia. Vet gave me 2 antibiotics, but of course thinks he has Aids and/or Leukemia. Been giving him his meds and he is better, drinking water and walking around. He wont eat though. He still smells pretty bad. His poor little nose is still sooo covered in crusty, hard, dried-up snot. I cant get it off so he can breathe out of it. He cries when I try to clean it up. Also, his eyes are still running with a yellowish thick fluid. Is there any way to loosen this stuff up from his little nose so it will come off easier? Now Im worried he will die from starvation. I have tried getting him to eat. Have heated the food up so it will put off a stronger smell, tried spoon feeding him and he wont have it. Any suggestions????????

Hi there....
My gosh, this sounds pretty bad. I think I would keep him inside in a room by himself. If he does have leukemia/aids then I think I wouldn't let him suffer and possibly spread this to other animals.

Keep us posted!

God Bless,
Karen

How is your precious Chuck doing today??

Poor lil' guy sounds like he is in pain.... You said that the vet gave you two antibiotics for Chuck -- Did he diagnose him as having an upper respiratory infection??

You might want to ask your vet if it would be a good idea to 'steam up your bathroom', and then let Chuck sit in there with you -- to help loosen up his nasal discharge.... (Please, ask your vet first -- it's just a thought).

I'm happy to hear that he is drinking water --
Have you tried to give him some baby food?? You know, those little 2 - 3 ounce jars by Gerber that have (I think) 3 flavors?? (chicken, turkey, ? veal ) ?
You might want to try that, instead of cat food.
Sometimes that appeals to kitties when they're not feeling well.

Please, let us know how Chuck is doing, okay???
We all care very much!!

God Bless You & Yours,

Love, Denise

Do you think Chuck might need a few more doses of antibiotics? It sounds, and smells, as though he still has the infection (sometimes really strong infections require extra doses of the antibiotics).

Keep us posted!

Hi everyone

Sorry I havent had time to be online. I was just outside with Chuck. Poor little fella. I just dont know what to do for him anymore... His little nose is pretty much cleared up and open, no more icky stuff. I did end up sticking him in the steamed up bathroom and he liked it I think. He sat in there and just talked away to me, and I doused his nose with vaseline(to soften up the gunk) and let it sit for a cpl minutes and cleaned it all up. It helped a lot. Then he somehow got the rest off on his own. I noticed that he has lost quite a bit of hair through his back. Hes a black and white kitty, so its easy to see his white skin thru the missing hair. The poor cat probably doesnt even weigh a pound or so. He was a small cat to begin with (like his momma) but I can feel every bone in his body. I havent seen him eat. I have tried hand feeding him dry and wet food, baby food, milk, cats milk(powderd kind), and he just want take anything. He fights me like crazy. He is going to starve to death! How long can a cat live without eating. Doesnt he HAVE to be eating something to still be alive??? He has energy, he is actually running and climbing the fence. It doesnt make sense to me. He still does smell actually a little. He is still on his antibiotics. Doc gave enuf for 2 weeks. I did find some EnerGel cat vitamin supplement in the drawer today, so I stuck that in his mouth. Its horrible to watch him starving....

Well, thanks for caring everyone. I will try to give an update in a day or 2.. Thank you again so much!!!!!!!!

I believe that if a cat has not eaten in two days a condition affecting his liver can arise and it's pretty serious. I forgot the name of it....glad to hear his nose is better and he can breath.

I'm pretty concerned he's not eating - that's not a good sign....

Keep us posted....I wouldn't let him suffer if it appears that he is...

Karen

How is Chuck doing today??



How much did Chuck weigh before this illness struck?? If he doesn't even weight one pound, that concerns me very much.

Our girl Ernestine, who was put to sleep on Feb 7, 2004, had crf. When diagnosed, she weighed approximately 7 pounds. On the day she went to Rainbow's Bridge, her weight was just about 5 pounds.
She had pretty much given up eating for about 24 hours.

Our vet told us that if she started totally starving herself, it would be very painful. She was violently retching every day, and it was very sad to see.

The kindest thing we could do was give her peace...... So, we did. And, if we had to do it again, so that our furbabies don't suffer, we would do it again.

Please, if Chuck is suffering, and not eating, I would ask the vet if it is in Chuck's best interest to have him put to sleep....
From what you wrote, it does sound to me like he is hurting.

Please let us know how Chuck is getting along.

God Bless You & Yours,

Denise

Hi everyone

Chuck, b4 he got sick, was probably abround 3lbs. He was long and thin. I have really been considering the euthanasia (sp?), its something that I reallllllly dont want to do, but I know its not about me, its about him suffering......I love my babies so much. I did another "steam" session with him tonight. He loves being in there, I tell ya. That cat rolls around on the floor and rubs up against me. He is trying so hard to fight this. The vet didnt really tell me anything when I took him, just that he has some type of infection. I didnt have the money for all of these diffrent tests and all. But I was searching the web 2nite and I found this page: Feline Upper Respiratory disease This one sounds almost exactly like what he has: Feline Rhinotracheitis Virus. It says 2-4 weeks, and this will start his 3rd week being sick. Does anyone else agree? Should I just continue trying to foce feed him and give it another week or so??? Please let me know what you guys think! Thanks so much!

Sorry to hear about Chuck. When my cat was sick, and not eating she got fatty liver disease (or hepatic lipidosis). She refused to eat, and nothing I tried worked. She was horribly jaundiced as well, and very lethargic. I had to force feed her canned Hills a/d for about a month, as well as try to tempt her with food to start eating on her own. She finally started eating Friskies, and it took a very long time to get her back to a good quality food, but I'd rather feed her garbage than nothing. Everyone thought I was crazy, and to just put her down, but she didn't seem to want to give up, so I didn't either. It was very tough, but that was over 5 years ago now, and to this day, you'd never guess she nearly died from that disease.
I hope Chuck is doing better, and it sounds like he wants to put up a good fight!
Hope any of this helped.