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Elder outdoor FIV+ cat with severe congestion and breathing through his mouth

JessicaDLC

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Leo, 12-15 years-old is an outdoor cat fed by my neighbor. I recently learned from my neighbor that Leo has upper respiratory issues every year in the winter. She puts Lysine in his water when this happens and after a week or two he recovers. This winter he didn't and has been struggling with it for over 2 months.
As a side note, yesterday we realized the bottle of Lysine she's been using expired 2 years ago. I wasn't aware Leo was sick. Two weeks ago I noticed discharge from his left eye and left nostril so I brought him indoors and took him to the vet.

1st Vet visit - April 18th

Findings:

* Severe upper respiratory infection
* FIV positive
* Fleas and ticks (found 20 of them)
* Dehydrated
* Gums and roof of his mouth very pale
* No fever

Blood work was done. I'm attaching the report.

Treatment:

* Oral antibiotics (Clavamox) for 10 days
* Frontline for fleas and ticks
* Subcutaneous fluids

He ate pretty well for the first time in days right after vet visit but only for one day. He hardly ate anything the next couple of days so I took him back to the vet.

2nd Vet visit - 4/21

Chest X-rays were taken. Some changes in the lungs from the infection, enlarged lymph nodes. Possibly start of kidney disease and GI issues.. He was hospitalized until 4/23 and received IV fluids. I was told he wouldn't eat at first but ate pretty well the morning I picked him up.

However, he hardly ate anything once back at home. I tried fish flavored cat food and canned tuna but it didn't make a difference. I emailed the vet and he suggested over the counter nasal drops. It seemed to help very little but I also wasn't sure I was doing it right as I'd never done nasal drops before.

3rd vet visit - 4/27

Leo had lost a bit more weight. I was shown how to flush his nose with saline water and was told to do it about 3 times a day to help loosen up his stuffy nose.
Doctor said his lungs seemed pretty clear and the congestion was in his nose and chest. He said we could try a second antibiotic but he wasn't sure it'll make a difference. Because he's FIV positive, his immune system is having a hard time getting rid of the viral infection.

What I'm currently doing for him:

* I have been using the saline water 2 to 3 times a days (sometimes it seems to help him cough up mucus, others it doesn't)

*I have tried smelly foods like sardines, anchovies, salmon in olive oil, baby food, etc. suggested by Dr. Christina when I had my 15min free phone consultation last Thursday. He hardly ate anything.

*Yesterday I started giving him Lysine. I could only find the human version so I'm giving him a bit more than 500mg twice a day. I mix the powder with tuna water for flavor but he still spits some of it out so that's why I'm giving him more than the recommended dose.
* I've also been giving him Reiki sessions for the past 2 weeks.

When I checked on him this morning, I was so happy to see he had eaten a good amount of food (about 2.5 oz)
I started getting hopeful again. But today so far he only ate a couple of bites

In the 2 weeks he's been with me only 3 times he's eaten an almost regular amount of food. He's getting weaker and he's pretty much skin and bones. I received Dr. Jeff's recommendations for homeopathic vets last night but it's the weekend and even though I've left messages, I haven't heard back from anyone yet.
I wonder if parasites from fleas/ticks are making things worse. Could something else be affecting his breathing? He often breathes with his mouth open.

I apologize in advance for the long post. Any suggestions, thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!
 

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  • LEO-DE-LA-CRUZ-2022-04-19-0338.pdf
    310.9 KB · Views: 4

Dr. Jeff

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Hi Jessica-

I'm so sorry to hear about Leo's health challenges. Thanks for making your great post!

The good news is that his bloodwork looks good (to me). My main concern would be his slightly low blood protein level (albumin).

It's low because he's spilling protein in his urine (the filter function of his kidneys is "off"). However, that may correct itself (along with the borderline low free t4) when his body does its job of regaining balance and optimal cellular function.

Are there fleas or ticks on him now? His blood test that reflects internal and external parasites (eosinophils) is normal. So parasites are less likely. And he has no anemia.

I'd actually say he's in pretty good shape internally.

Try using structured water (~25cc/d), Love Therapy and these awe-some herbal respiratory drops:




 

JessicaDLC

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Thank you Dr. Jeff for your fast response.
Hi haven't seen any fleas/ticks in about a week. I'll try to get someone to help me check him throughly tomorrow.
Why would you say is the reason for his pale gums and roof of his mouth. The vet we saw thought the labs may be a bit off because he was dehydrated. Just remembered the vet having a hard time taking the sample because his blood kept clotting.
I just ordered the herbal drops and will read the article on structured water.
 

Dr. Jeff

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Why would you say is the reason for his pale gums and roof of his mouth.
Physiologically speaking, this paleness is either from anemia or peripheral shut down. Dehydration and shock are common causes of the latter.

However, it is also a useful homeopathiic symptom (rubric=whiteness of parts hat are usually red). The homeopathic medicines in that rubric may be helpful.
 

JessicaDLC

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Update on Leo

He's still not eating much and so he's getting weaker. He doesn't get up much at all anymore.
I made an appointment at Smith Ridge but the sooner they can take him in is in a week.
I also tried to make a virtual appointment at Animal Wellness Center but they don't have any availability until 5/16
The other place Dr. Jeff recommended haven't returned my call.
The only person that I got a hold of is an out of state holistic practitioner. We had a virtual appointment and she made some recommendations like vitamin B12 drops, an immune system herbal tonic and natrum muriaticum. I happen to have natrum muriaticum at home that I previously used for another one of my cats.
I'm still waiting for delivery of the respiratory tonic Dr. Jeff recommended. I paid for next business day delivery and haven't even gotten an email confirming my order was placed. My credit card was charged so I know it went through but I have no idea when it'll arrive.
Any other suggestions?
Thank you
 

JessicaDLC

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I want to add that the person that suggested the natrum muriaticum is not a vet, but is holistic certified with many years of experience. I don't like to play around with homeopathic remedies but at this point I'm running out of options and time. Leo seems to be in great discomfort.
 

Dr. Jeff

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I'm sorry to hear how low Leo's BEAM is and that he is not getting up much.

He may need fluid support right away so you might even want to go to any local vet ER or 24 hour vet center for an exam and fluids.
 

JessicaDLC

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Leo ate about 1.5 oz of food yesterday
He slept most of the day and I gave him a reiki session last night. I've been giving him Natrum Muriaticum since Tuesday morning. I was told to give him the 200c but I only had 30c on hand so that's what I'm doing until the 200c gets delivered.

I finally got the respiratory tonic Dr. Jeff recommended and we just started on that.
Yesterday I started noticing greenish discharge out of his left eye. He presented thus when I first took it in almost 3 weeks ago. Maybe the antibiotics are wearing out.

This morning he was sitting up and walking around a bit. Ate a small amount of food. I think his poor eating is not so much related to not being able to smell but to something else, like not being able to breath through his mouth and eat at the same time. I say this because out of all the different dishes I laying front of him, he sometimes would choose the ones that don't have as strong smell as others.

I took him back to the vet this afternoon.
He got fluids and another antibiotic injection. The vet doesn't believe he can recover from this and mentioned again the findings of the x-rays. Only that this time they were explain to me in more detail. Twice before two different doctors in that practice had told me there were some changes due to the URI but not a single word about the partially collapsed lung, bronchitis and possibly asthma. I could've use this information before to make better decisions regarding his care.
I asked for the x-rays report to be emailed to me and I'm attaching it in this thread.
I have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Ruskin at Smith Ridge next Tuesday but I wonder if there's still something that can be done to help him. He lost even more weight ( he's 5.2 lbs today) and he's extremely thin.
Any thoughts are extremely appreciated.
Thank you!
 

Attachments

  • De La Cruz, Leo (VetRad Report 4-21-22).pdf
    138.5 KB · Views: 1

Dr. Jeff

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Thanks for sharing Leo's VetRad x-ray report.

Yes, even with the changes found on the x-ray he can still heal.

Have you tried any free dried chicken/turkey/duck hearts to get him to eat better and purr more?

If he likes them (freeze dried hearts or any treat) you can use tiny bits in a snuffle mat or to stimulate his hunting reflexes by scattering them all over the floor (so he can hunt them out, catch, "kill", and eat them).
 

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