Wheezing & Sneezing (URI's & Asthma)

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Freckles- (1993-2011)

My beautiful old- lady!

Purred: Tue Dec 8, '09 12:05am PST


	Since winter is upon us and a couple of furts have had URI's recently I've started this thread. Please use this thread to ask questions or share your experiences - what the early warning signs were, what treatments worked for you and things to watch out for. You may lose your appetite when you have a URI so also check out the Picky Eating thread if that happens to you.

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Bobcat - Fluffy Angel- 4/19/11

Handsome and- then some

Purred: Tue Dec 8, '09 5:03am PST


	Rufus and I had chronic URIs as kittens. The vet put us on Interferon and that's what finally helped us kick the sniffles and sneezes.

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Freckles- (1993-2011)

My beautiful old- lady!

Purred: Tue Dec 8, '09 10:44am PST


	I'm on L-Lysine which helps your immune system fight the feline herpes virus. I'll have to check about interferon. Bobcat, did you just take it for a while while you had the URI or is it something tou take long term like L-Lysine?

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Biscuit- (Angel)

Guardian- Angel~23.8 Years- of Love

Purred: Tue Dec 8, '09 11:03am PST


	Some of the younger furts have sniffles right now and Little Red is a herpeskitty so he's back to snotting. This is very much a seasonal thing for them too. Breakin out the L-Lysine and stinky foods... ~Biscuit

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Pigeon - misses you!- :(

♥ Moms- Shadow ♥

Purred: Tue Dec 8, '09 1:18pm PST


	Hello Freckles! Nice to see you! Hope Mom & the family are all doing well! Not sure if you remember... I have been told I have URI, Herpes Virus and it appears as if I have many allergies , also. I recently stopped eating my dry food as you had mentioned.I have been on Arithromycin for almost a year now, every 72 hours and L Lysine also and as the Vet says the antibiotic seems to bypass the , symptoms. I continue to have reacuring sinus infections, sneezing, spasms ect..everytime I'm due for another dose? However, recently I've noticed the medicine isn't lasting as long , maybe I'm building up a tolerance to this? Has anyone ever heard of long term antibiotics like I take and if so..do they continue to battle the infection even so? Does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions? Also,, I've been told spasms are nothing to worry about...they subside and then you're fine...any feedback? I trust my Vet. and have another upcoming appt. soon however, I just would like others input. Thanks sooo much any responses would be appreciated! P.S. What is Interferon? Edited by author Tue Dec 8, '09 1:21pm PST

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Freckles- (1993-2011)

My beautiful old- lady!

Purred: Tue Dec 8, '09 6:32pm PST


	The way you are being prescribed the antibiotic is very unusual. I think this is the reason: the half life (ie it is half gone/used up) of azithromycin in cats is 12-72 hours so I think the vet is trying to give you a permanent course of antibiotics without there being too much build up of it in your system. The danger with being on any specific antibiotic for a long time is that it kills off most of the bacteria but the small number that survive are resistant or partially resistant to that antibiotic. Over time this can breed some very nasty super-bacteria that build up and aren't affected by the antibiotic any more. I think this is what you are seeing since the antibiotic is being less effective/lasting a shorter time now. I am also prone to recurrent sinus infections because I have messed up sinuses and catch infections much more easily than a normal cat. Mum spoke to my regular vet and also consulted with a vet with the extra internal medicine qualification and they both had similar advice. 1) First was to identify several different antibiotics that were generally suitable for URI/sinus infections (the ones on my list are clindomycin, azithromycin, clavamox and doxycycline). 2) Any time I get a sinus infection I use one of the antibiotics for 10-14 days usually 2 doses per day. That should clear the infection. If it doesn't start to show improvement after about 5 days it is probably resistant. Then they would take a culture (sample of my snot to see what type of bacteria grows in the lab) and confirm what bacteria it is so they could switch me to a different one that the bacteria wasn't resistant to. 3) If an infection comes back a few weeks later I treat it this time with a different antibiotic on the list. This is to make sure that if a few resistent bacteria were left over from before and took time to multiply and cause the new infection then the new antibiotic will zap them. many bacteria are (partially) resistant to a single antibiotic but few are resistent to multiple ones. I think you have a similar issue to me with a messed up nose/sinuses making it easy to catch infections so I'd advise you to talk with your vet about this approach to see if she thinks it could work for you too.

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Freckles- (1993-2011)

My beautiful old- lady!

Purred: Tue Dec 8, '09 6:43pm PST


	Re the allergies you have, did you ever have the SPOT test by the Spectrum Group. I nearly had it done when I thought I had allergies causing my GI issues. Some of the cats in the Cats with Allergies group got it and it helped them ID what was causing their issues. The senior vet where I go said she'd used it with a couple of clients in the past and it helped identify what was causing their issues. I think the danger with it is that it can potentially give you false positives but the vet said it will narrow down the options and allow you to pinpoint the allergens by trial and error much more easily.

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Freckles- (1993-2011)

My beautiful old- lady!

Purred: Tue Dec 8, '09 6:44pm PST


	Pigeon, can you tell us more about the spasms? Is it twitching or a seizure or struggling for breath? If you could describe a bit more how you act and what is happening it may help us provide some suggestions.

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Freckles- (1993-2011)

My beautiful old- lady!

Purred: Tue Dec 8, '09 6:58pm PST


	Ooh and one last thing! Having that canine root removed has helped me so it must have been causing a pocket of infection that was feeding up to my sinuses. I am still getting sinus infections because of the years of untreated URI's have messed up my sinuses but they are less frequent now. I know you are also missing some teeth so if you are missing the top canines and think this could be an issue for you too it may be worth getting dental xrays.

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Pigeon - misses you!- :(

♥ Moms- Shadow ♥

Purred: Wed Dec 9, '09 12:22am PST


	Hi Freckles! Yes, you're right ! Two different Vets. said my sinuses were messed up too( can't think of the exact wording..didn't sound very good, though) ! I do twitch but, not during the spasms. Mom thought all Kitties twitched? I twitch my front legs frequently when I 'm laying down . I have always had spasms ( that's what my Foster Mom called them) at least once a week now (it was much more a year ago)...I was told by my Foster Mom, it was nothing to worry about but , Mom still does! I scrunch up my body, put my head to the floor , make choking noises , it sounds as if it's Asthma , almost ...breathing in and out loudly and it lasts for about a minute and then I'm O.K. The Vet. didn't really seemed too concerned ...however, Mom had a list a MILE long of concerns and questions ( as I was alot worse back then, a year ago), she may have misunderstood? What are symptoms of a seisure and what exactly is it? I think what you said in the 1st message was what my Vet, had suggested ? However, Mom has spoken to her several times and she just says to keep giving this same to me. Luckily I have an upcoming appt. and Mom is going to copy what you discussed and ask her more about this. She did mention that Spot test , also...I think that may be a good idea , also. I am allergic to dust, and possibly pollen and maybe some foods? Mom has been trying , watching for symptoms of many foods! (trial & error) Mom has me on canned turkey only with my dry food , of course , too! I seem to do best (less sneezing with the turkey) and this particular texture... moist, it's easy for me to lick up to...because of my teeth, I can't eat some c anned foods. As for my teeth , the Vet says the gums look , O.K? That was a big concern of Mom's because, my back teeth were very yellow and she thought I may have a gum infection, too...they have improved some! I will have the Vet. check my gums again, also. Can I ask one more thing? I swallow constantly ...whenever I lay down with Mom, she notices ,it seems almost like I have something in my throat all the time... is this part of the URI? I also, snore! MOL Freckles I just want to Thankyou for taking the time out to help me get some answers , advise ( almost like a second opinion)! I appreciate it sooo very much! You're PAWSOME! P.S. This evening Mom put the cool mist humidifier near my bed and it seemed to have helped some ( I used it all last Winter as we have forced hot air heating )...I actually ate some dry food after a couple days.(this is unusual for me...I love my dry food! ) I also, think all the purrs and good healing energy from the Group and other furiends has helped too! Have a great day Freckles and anyone else, reading this! Edited by author Wed Dec 9, '09 12:33am PST