The Divine Miss M's visit to the vet...

[moosmom]

Mollie Rose's congestion has gotten worse to the point of not eating. I've tried Chlortrimeton which used to work, along with Little Noses nose drops. This morning her nose was caked in boogers and her congestion was worse. Shew threw up foam. I assumed it was from post nasal drip.

I had taken her to a vet in Milford about 6 months ago for the same problem. I explained to the vet that she had been on every antibiotic with no results. :(. The jerk didn't do much of anything except give her a shot of something and send her home with Errythramiacin which didn't work, and charged me $149!!! I was pissed and called to voice my dissatisfaction with their services. They didn't care.

So, I took her to Colchester Veterinary Hospital. I had used them before and swear by them. I asked the vet if it's possible for her to have polyps in her right ear. The vet listened to her lungs (couldn't hear much due to her severe congestion in her head not to mention her growling), took her temp, gave her a complete once over. She told me that she thinks it would be a good idea to get blood work, given Mollie's age. But she said she wanted to put her on Prednisone and Zythromax, plus ear drops for 2 weeks in an effort to get her feeling her old self again. Mollie was a complete 6itch, growling at the vet. She spent 45 minutes doing a complete physical on her. She said that she felt it would be better to do all the testing stuff at another time when Mollie wasn't so stressed out, which I totally agreed with. Nothing's too good for my Queenie. If they take x-rays of her head, they'll have to sedate her. I'm a little worried, again because of her age. :(

I said I was concerned about having Mollie on long term Prednisone because it would compromise her immune system. The vet made me realize that I had to weigh the risks vs. making her as comfortable as possible because she's 13.

The total cost, including a rabies shot, shot of Prednisone and all the meds she'll need for 2 weeks = $127!!!!

I should've taken her to Colchester in the first place. Unfortunately, I was living in New Haven at the time and it's an hour ride one way. It's only 30 minutes from where I live now .

I'm hoping that the meds will help her get better. The vet also said she may have to be on Prednisone for the rest of her life. Hey, if it helps her get well and feel her old self again, I'm all for it!!!

I'll keep you posted on her progress.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Donna, I'm sorry to hear that Mollie Rose is so congested and isn't feeling very well :( but I'm glad that you were able to take her to a great vet and hopefully the meds will help her feel like her old self again. Get well soon Mollie Rose.:)

[catlover4ever]

Donna....any update on Miss M?

[Catlady711]

Well if it's any comfort, recently Dusty had a fairly stubborn bout with a respiratory infection. The first round of antibiotic injections didn't help, so we had to switch to a different injection and she also got an injection of cortisone (pred). Dusty is 16. The last round of injections helped, the vomiting stopped, she went back to eating again, and seems not to be sleeping as much (or at least not as much for a 16 year old lol).

Dusty also has fairly bad arthritis, she's been on two different glucosamine products plus now has a liquid we add to the food daily as well. Eventually she'll have to go onto pred. when it gets bad enough that she doesn't have a good quality of life, however we're holding out on making that decision as long as Dusty's joints will allow because it will compromise her already low immunity.

I am wondering about using Chloretrimeton on Miss. M. That's more for allergies rather than respiratory infections. Just curious.

Hope Miss M is feeling much better now and stays that way.

[moosmom]

Mollie Rose is doing a lot better. Her breathing has improved drastically. She is eating good and not sneezing anymore. Her meds have now been reduced to 1x/day. She's got a vet appt. in another week. That's when they'll do blood work and possible x-rays of her skull to see what's going on.

The Chlortrimeton did nothing this time. That's how I knew it was time for a vet visit. I'm just glad she's almost back to normal. She may very well have to stay on Prednisone for the rest of her life.

[moosmom]

Mollie Rose is doing a whole lot better. Now I'm debating on whether to put her through the stress of blood tests, x-rays and whatever other tests they feel is necessary. All it will tell me is that she's got kitty asthma, which I already know. She's 13 years old and is doing very well on Prednisone. Her congestion has disappeared and she's even a little frisky.

So, do I put her through the tests and stress her out again, possibly causing a flare up in her asthma?? I don't care about the expense. Afterall, she's my Queenie (my very first kitty). I'll do what it takes to make her as comfortable and happy as possible. Or do I just keep her on Pred for the rest of her life, knowing that it's going to compromise her immune system and her liver function? She's lived a good life and seems very content (she's laying in front of my monitor as I type this, sound asleep with the tip of her tail wagging).

What do you all think??

[Catlady711]

Hmmmm hard call to make there.

13 is old for a cat but not ancient (Dusty is 16 1/2).

Being on pred full time will eventually do her in, but if it makes her time here shorter but more comfortable it seems worth it (Dusty will eventually have to go on Pred at some point also)

If it were Dusty I'd probably base it on how well she was doing at the moment, then weigh that with how stressful having the tests done on her would be.

Dusty has had a dentistry and blood work done this past Feb. She doesn't like it, however her stress never seems to cause her any health problems either. She just sleeps even more than usual for the day, but is right back to her normal self by the next day.

Whatever you decide to do with your kitty, I wish you the best.

[moosmom]

Catlady711,

She's got an appointment on the 18th. I'm going to talk to the vet about the options and see what he has to say. Right now she's doing very well. Her meds have been cut back to 5 mgs every other day. There's no congestion, no asthma attacks, nothing. Even though the shelf life of Zythromax is 10 days refrigerated, I'm giving it to her till it's gone. Can't hurt. If she can stay comfortable at that dose, I'm all for it. I would LOVE for her to live a long life. But I know her time on this earth is limited.

Thanks for your encouragement. I'll let you know what the vet says.