LOOONG post about a recurring problem
ROUND 1:
I brought my boys home in February. Havoc was sneezing on the car ride home, but it cleared up on its own before I could get him to the vet a few days later. I figured maybe he was allergic to something in the shelter or car.
ROUND 2:
The first or second week in May he started sneezing again. I'm like OK this will pass. Then he started reverse sneezing which looks pretty violent in a cat. Took him to the vet, they gave him a shot of something, and he was fine within a couple days. This was at vet clinic#1, where I used to work years ago
ROUND 3, part 1
The end of July more sneezing and reverse sneezing. I had my bf take Havoc to vet #2. (I actually prefer vet #2 because it's a little closer and I knew the doc (just one doc here) from when he briefly worked at vet #1). Vet #2
sends them home with some Clavamox drops. I see the bottle is opened but I figured they gave Havvy a dose before he left.
6 days later I realize the bottle was not full because I've run out earlier than what should have been in the bottle. Havoc has barely sneezed at all since the meds ended, so I didn't worry. He looked to be over it.
part 2
a few days later Havoc starts up again. This time Toby snorts a little also, but stops in a couple days. I call vet #2 to see if I need more meds, or should bring them in. Doc is not able to come to phone but relays message thru receptionist that no more meds are needed, just let it run it's course. if it gets bad or he stops eating call them. This was a week ago, August 10th
part 3
Havoc seems stable enough but then around Friday or so, it starts getting a little worse. Saturday evening he's sneezing, reverse sneezing, and blowing actual blobs of snot on my windows....and occasionally me.....while I'm asleep. Talk about a rude awakening! YUCK! Come Sunday, he's looking miserable, his nose is running and he's snorting and gagging randomly. He still seems perky and playful oddly enough, but I know he has to see a vet. Soonest I could get him anywhere was this morning.
follow-up:
Hmmmm.... which vet? I like vet #2 better, but he doesn't open until 8 and I'm supposed to be at work by 7. Vet #1 opens at 7 but I know the head tech gets there a lot earlier, and I am trying to get to work on time if possible. I drop him off at vet #1 and head on to work. They'll have all day to look at him and I'll pick him up on my way home.
I call them before I leave and they say Doctor A had looked at him and was conferring with Doctor B, but Havoc wasn't quite ready to go. I tell them to call me at home when he's ready.
They call later and I talk directly to Doctor A, which is a plus because I can ask questions. Doctor A was a mere technician waaaay back when I worked there and honestly I still see him as a dopey tech that never impressed me much. But everyone else swears by him (eventhe head tech who I've known for like 15 years) so I'm like OK, I'm just re-living the past and that's not fair to him. Doctor A says he looked Havoc over this afternoon and he seemed perfectly fine! No runny eyes, no sneezing, no boogers, just a little bit of congestion in his lungs. I told Doc that Havoc was blowing big ol' snot boogers just this morning and he seemed surprised to hear it. I told him Havoc has a history of these supposed URI's and wondered what may cause it. He says probably asthma or allergies. Asthma is tricky to diagnose and requires complex possibly long-term medications or inhalers. Allergies may come and go as the allergens appear and disappear. Finding the source is often difficult. I say "well if he seemed fine at the clinic, I'm gonna go with allergies, gimme some anti-biotics to clear up the crud and we'll start all over" He says "fine I'll get you 3 weeks worth just to be absolutely sure we've gotten it all". I go to pick "perfectly fine" Havoc up.
WTF? Havoc's right eye is running and his left nostril is crusted shut. Did this moron even look at the right damn cat? "Pefectly fine"? At this point I'm truly getting annoyed. The afternoon rush is coming in and I know there's no way in hell they'll let me talk to the doctor again. Frustrated I take my cat and my fresh new bottle of antibiotic tablets home. Havoc seems tired but very relieved to be home.
sooooooo...... now what? Have faith in Vet #1, and give the antibiotics a few days to kick in? Go to vet #2 and tell them they didn't give me enough meds the last time? Find a vet #3? I am starting to think that no vets out there are willing to slow down enough to really look at animals any more. I have a co-worker who's boyfriend is a vet that maybe I can get somewhere with but he's in the middle of the city and I'm on the outskirts of the suburbs.
Or maybe I'm just paranoid that I'm gonna lose a cat to something that could have been diagnosed and dealt with long before it became a problem.
Sorry for the loooooooong post. I'm just worried about my poor widdle Havoc and his frequent respiratory woes.
Oh yeah Doctor A said he had no idea why Havoc's fur wasn't growing back after his surgery in March, nor could he offer any suggestions on what to do about it.:rolleyes: It grew back about halfway and seemed to stop...or at least slow waaaay down.
