Chronic Respiratory Infection

[cheribob]

My cat has been struggling with a chronic upper respiratory infection.

My Aunt died in Feb 2008 & none of her kids wanted her cat. (Although they took the money that had been set aside for the care of the cat- I posted about this previously). So in August of 2008 I took in my Aunt's cat.

The cat, Crystal, contracted some sort of kitty cold. She got over it with no intervention.

My Siamese cat, Meuie, seemed to catch the "cold" from Crystal. He has never been able to get over it. He has been to the vet on several occasions. The treatment is always the same, a shot of antibiotics & a course of Cefa drops. This has been going on continuously since August of 2008!

I would like my cat to be cured once and for all! If I don't give him the Cefa drops he is so congested he can hardly breath. He coughs & sneezes & has a runny nose. But he hates taking the Cefa drops & fights me tooth & nail.

I am about to change vets over this!

Has anyone been through something like this? If so what happened? How did you resolve the problem?

[sugarcatmom]

Have you tried L-lysine at all? It's an amino acid supplement you can get from a health food store. I would give Meuie at least 250mg twice a day, mixed with wet food. Here is a link for other more holistic options: http://www.holisticat.com/uri.html

Antibiotics frequently don't do much for a URI because they're usually caused by a virus, not bacteria. They may sometimes help with secondary infections, but not with the original source of the problem. Boosting a cat's immune system through a healthy diet and minimizing stress is the best defense.

[sarahtruly]

I know what you're going through! It's like a nonstop thing for me right now too. Definitely try L-lysine, but for the actual symptoms you may want to give your kitty saline drops or decongestant drops like Little Noses (ask your vet). We give our kitty a decongestant in the morning and the saline at night. It usually keeps his symptoms at bay.