Cat cold: not getting better or worse for a long time.
 

Hello,
I adopted my 1-year-old female cat 3 weeks ago. At the time I adopted her she already had a cold and she came with 9 days worth of antibiotics (Clavaseptin). I was told she was under a lot of stress prior to adoption - she had recently had kittens, had been spayed, & moved around through a couple of foster homes. She's very petite, and I was told that her growth may have been stunted because she had kittens... but that might not be relevant to the issue at hand.

The antibiotics were helping, and she seemed to be almost cured. However, I ran out of them before she was cured entirely and I didn't want to go to the vet because I'm so broke from all these initial cat purchases, deposit to the landlord, and the adoption fee. That, and I just don't want to stress her out with more moving about (and I don't have a car!).

I've been giving her L-Lysine with her canned food from the very beginning. Last week I also bought echinacea to mix with her food, but I'm not sure if it's doing anything.
I've been treating her nose/eyes with a mild saline solution, which seems to help relieve the symptoms but it all just comes back the next day.
I also ordered Sinu-Rite and Respo-k online and am waiting for it in the mail.

She doesn't seem to be getting worse, although she's had 2 episodes of dry coughing/hacking in the past couple of days which hasn't happened before.

She has a voracious appetite! I might actually be overfeeding her, she looks like she's getting a little fat. She also has plenty of energy and demands a lot of play-time.

Should I be concerned?
Could the antibiotics have messed with her healing process because they didn't cure her completely from the start?
I want to know if I'm doing everything I can, besides taking her to the vet. I'm a student and can't afford vet bills, though at the same time I already love this cat and don't want to give her up... I feel a bit cheated, because I was repeatedly reassured by the shelter people that she'll get over the cold and everything will be dandy.

IMO you should be phoning the shelter you adopted her from and seeing if there is some type of guarantee that if she wasn't better after meds were done you could bring her back for a check up (free) and more meds. If you are ordering things on line for her then you must have a credit card you could use to pay for more Clavaseptin for her. Could be she just wasn't on it long enough to kick all the crap out of her system.
The things you are ordering on line seem to be homeopathic? Homeopathics take a while to work. You should probably try to get to the shelters vet and see what they will do for you.

I agree 100% with 14+K. Contact the shelter.

I deal with rhino quite a bit since I pull from various shelters. My vet has prescribed Zithromax which does absolute wonders for the cats that I have treated. This is by prescription only and costs about $60.00 but I think well worth the money.

In the defense of the shelter, most cats do get over this with meds. Animals are like people, some get over illnesses faster than others. I do not understand why people cannot remember that animals are as individual as we are and no one can make guarantees for ourselves let alone an animal. I am certain that the shelter staff are doing the best they can so do not take anything as being cheated. I am certain you were not as they were providing you with information based on experience. Your case may be different but in general they are correct with their statement if in fact it is rhino.

[QUOTE=BenMax;950571]In the defense of the shelter, most cats do get over this with meds. Animals are like people, some get over illnesses faster than others. I do not understand why people cannot remember that animals are as individual as we are and no one can make guarantees for ourselves let alone an animal. I am certain that the shelter staff are doing the best they can so do not take anything as being cheated. I am certain you were not as they were providing you with information based on experience. Your case may be different but in general they are correct with their statement if in fact it is rhino.[/QUOTE]

Very well said BM. Most shelters do the best they can to keep them clean and sterilized. But with a large number of cats coming and going it is very difficult to control Rhino or any other disease.
This cat has already been in a stressful situation. Having a litter, probably having that litter taken away earlier than it should have been, being turned in at (or picked up and taken to) a shelter, being fixed, etc. all lead to stress in cats. They all react differently to stress. My girl Naddy has just been through the same thing. It took her a long time to heal. She was on Claveseptin for two weeks before she could be spayed as she was so sick at the time. Now she is on a course of homeopathics and is doing well. :thumbs up

I completely know how you feel. I went through a similar situation when I adopted Demon from the humane society. He had coccidia that he was never treated for.. and developed a full blown URI 2 days after I adopted him. He ended up having feline herpes and has URI flare ups when he's stressed. Luckily they have been minor and don't require medications. Just the odd sneeze here and there or one eye will run for a day or 2 and then stop. All my cats have now been exposed. I sure wasn't a happy camper at the time. LOL

Sometimes the URI will seems to take forever for the kitty to completely kick depending on their immune system. With Demon it was around 3 months total but he was only medicated 3 times for one week at a time. My vet won't give meds unless it's turned from viral to bacterial. Clear discharge is ok... yellow or green.. more meds.

Definitely contact the humane society and explain that she still has the URI and see if they can get their vet to check her over at their cost since she had it when you adopted her.

Thanks everyone :)
very reassuring and helpful.

[QUOTE=Nico;950611]Thanks everyone :)
very reassuring and helpful.[/QUOTE]

No problem and best of luck. Everything will be ok.:thumbs up