PT Prayers for Tiger...

[Catty1]

Here's part of an email from Emeraldgreen I got this morning. PT Prayers can work wonders...and any suggestions to help Tiger. I suggested plain vaporizing again without the Vicks - hopefully that will loosen stuff so Tiger can cough it up. Are there stronger antibiotics that anyone knows of?

And the house selling isn't helping...

We did get an offer in and then we countered it and that has been accepted but it is subject to the sale of their house which isn't even listed yet so our agents have put a clause in the contract that says we can accept other offers but they have 5 days to remove all their subjects if they want the house. So, it looks like it's going to be a long summer.
Tiger is not doing that great. He has been on Baytril for 8 days now and nothing much has changed. It seemed at first that it was helping but he is back to his worsened condition. I called the vet and asked them if I could try giving him Benedryl to help with nasal congestion. She said I could try it but she didn't think it would help. She was right, it just made him really wobbly and tired and I later found on the internet that Benedryl is helpful for a runny nose but can worsen congestion. Yikes.
I went and bought a Vicks vaporizor and put him in the bathroom and put the shower on to steam up the bathroom, along with the Vicks vaporizor. He seemed even worse the next day. I later found out that eucalyptus isn't good for cats and it's one of the ingredients in Vicks. I don't really know what else to try, I just hate to see him trying so hard to breathe. It isn't right. I think I'm nearing some kind of decision but I'm grasping at straws trying to find one more thing that might work.

Thanks all...

[jennielynn1970]

Oh gosh, poor Tiger boy.

He'll be in my thoughts and prayers. He deserves so much to feel healthy and happy after all he's been through.

Big hugs and kisses to Tiger!

[Medusa]

Oh my, I've not had any experience w/this type of thing so I'm afraid that I can't be of any help other than prayers, which I do w/out ceasing anyhow. Gonna pump up the volume! Hang in there, Emeraldgreen. I'm so sorry you have to go through this.

[MoonandBean]

I was just thinking about Emerald and Tiger this morning and hoping they were all doing well! I'm so sorry to hear he's still struggling! I just said a prayer!

[Moesha]

I wish so much there was some advice I could give. I think of Tiger often and hope something will help him.

[Catty1]

Humans can take cough syrup with an expectorant, which gets the gunk out...don't know what there is for cats...

Stepronin (SPN): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8177972

http://compepid.tuskegee.edu/syllabi.../chapter3.html
3.26 Mucokinetic Therapy (NT)

* Mucokineses achieved by:
o - Thinning Viscous Secretions
o - Improving ciliary activity
o - Improving air way mechanics
o - Water most valable Agents
+ (a). Mist (steam)
+ (b). Vapor (aerosols) Mouth
# Caution - Bronchospasm with (a) & (b).
o Agents - water, Saline. 2% Propylent glycol 2 ml
o - Acetylcysteine - Breaks mucoprotein mol. 2 to 5 ml, 10% Sol for nembulization
o - Sod. Bicarb 2.5% for nembulization natural proteases, Adhesiveness Resp. secretion by osmotic effect
o - Ethanol - Surface tension of Resp. T.
o - Eucalyptus, menthol and camphor - ?

3.27 Oral Mudcokinetic Agents (Expectorants)

Reflex stimulation of vagal efferents to Bronchial gland through gastric mucosa.

* - Oral W.K. Salt sol. - Amm. bicarb
* - Amm. chloride, KI, Sod. bicarbm NaCL
* - Volatile oil
* - Phenolic Compounds - Creosol, G. Guaiacolate.

3.28 Aerosol Therapy

* - Suspension of a liquid as fine particles dispersed in a gas. Idea particle size 2-4 u
* - A plastic bag tapped to the neck and a nubulizer attached at one cut corner

3.31 Decongestant Therapy

* When specific etio. lacking
* Antihistamines - chlorpheniramine
* Alpha adrenergic sympathomimetics
* Cause vasoconstriction. Rebound congestion?
* e.g. Phenylephrine, phenylpropanolamine

3.46 Pneumonia - Inflam. of Lung

* Classify - Broncho. Lobar., Intgerstitial, Br. Vascular, Thromboemoblic,
* Granulomatous, Atelectasis
* Etiopath - Physical, chemical, biological agents
* damage resp. mucosa, Inflam, reduced cilliary activity, fluid accumulation, Pneumonia
o - Ecoli, Pseudo, Pasteu. Proteus, Strep, Staph
* Bordetella. Virus, Fungal.
* Parasitic - A. Abstrusus, P. Kellicott
* Signs - Anorexia, depression, dehydration, fever
* Prod. cough, Rhinitis, Sinusitis, Conjectivitis, moist roles on Auscultation. Dyspnea, activity.
* Dx - MDB, Leukocytosis, "Stress response" degenerative left shift. Metabolic and Resp. acidosis. x-ray-alveolar pattern
o - Culture & Sensitivity through Bronchial wash or Percutaneous route
* Rx - Same as in chr. Bronchitis, AB. through clinical recovery Anthilminitics

3.43.2 Chronic Bronchitis

* Etio - Viral, Bact, Allergy, Mycoses, neoplasia, C.V.
* Signs - More common in > 4 yrs. Persistant Harsh cough with retching
o - Productive moist. Moist rales on Ausc.
* Dx - MDB., x-ray, cBC, - "Stress". Bronchoscopy
* Cytology, culture
* Rx - Control/Cure - AB, Bronchodilators, expect.
* Antitussive Prednisilone 0.5 mg/lb/day
o - TLC, Humidification, Hembulization.
o - Treat the cause


Lara, the above page also mentions steaming as good. Is there a med the vet could give Tiger to inhale in the vaporizer? Camphor and menthol is mentioned also, but check and see if it's ok.

Your vet may be able to translate the above.

HUGS!

[Romy]

A couple of suggestions for precious Tiger:

http://www.nativeremedies.com/petali...dog-noses.html

And the following from a vet:
OPEN THE AIRWAYS. For some cats with severe nasal congestion I have used Pediatric Otrivin. Use one drop in each nostril 3 times daily for 3-5 days.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Poor Tiger. Is there anyway that he could get a change of environment? A couple of days away from all the household stresses might help. I would imagine that with constant viewings etc you have upped the cleaning and use of chemicals which may be aggravating his condition

[jennielynn1970]

We used nose drops on a cat at the shelter too... his name is Calvin. He had some kind of nasal tumor too as I remember. He looked like crap for a long time, but I just saw him last monday, and he's is looking amazing. I'd definitely see if you can use nose drops.

[Medusa]

We used nose drops on a cat at the shelter too... his name is Calvin. He had some kind of nasal tumor too as I remember. He looked like crap for a long time, but I just saw him last monday, and he's is looking amazing. I'd definitely see if you can use nose drops.

Yes, now that I recall, I used nasal spray on Pidge, just a regular saline solution. I got more on her than in her but it did help.

[krazyaboutkatz]

You can also try the pediatric nose drops called "Little Noses". I think you use one drop per nostril 2 times a day. I'm so sorry to hear that Tiger's still not doing well. I'll continue to keep him in my thoughts and prayers. I also hope that you'll sell your house soon.

[Emeraldgreen]

Catty1 wrote:

Here's part of an email from Emeraldgreen I got this morning. PT Prayers can work wonders...and any suggestions to help Tiger. I suggested plain vaporizing again without the Vicks - hopefully that will loosen stuff so Tiger can cough it up. Are there stronger antibiotics that anyone knows of?

Thank you Candace so much for starting this thread on behalf of Tiger. It's very kind and I think I didn't do it myself because I've posted so many times about him and asked for so much advice already and I just didn't know what else to say or ask at this point.
Also, thanks for posting all the detailed info in your post. It made me think of a product that I see commercials for about getting rid of mucous. It has those cartoon guys that are little blobs of mucous (yuck!) and it gets rid of them. I'll see if I can find it and look into it to see if it's safe for cats.

But in true PT form, everyone has been so helpful and caring and it means a great deal. Thank you to everyone who posted in this thread and for caring about Tiger and his well being. It's so great and I really appreciate it.

kb2yjx wrote:

Back in February, our soon to be 16 yr old Norton, had a terrible URI. I used the vaporizor, but I also mixed up GOLD SEAL Elixir(available at health food shops). I took several dops of the exilir and put it into about 30cc's of normal saline. And with the help of an army, Barry and I put 2 drops in each nostril several times a day. The gold seal helps in relieving the congestion and reduces the inflamation(sp) of the mucos membranes. Maybe that will help your boy!!! Sending prayers along, too.....

PS: If you can get a copy of Anitra Frazier"s the " New Natural Cat " this info is in there!!!

I will look for this today at our local health food store. I tried to Google it but only found vinegar products. It sounds like it might really help so I hope I can find it. I'll also check at the library to see if they have 'The New Natural Cat' book.

Catmandu wrote:

I AM GETTING A BOOK ON HERBAL REMEDIES FOR MICHAEL AND BO BO, AND ONE FOR SORE TEETH FOR JJJ3 MONDAY.
IF I SEE ANYTHING THAT CAN HELP TIGER I WOULD BE GLAD TO PASS IT ON, ALONG WITH OUR PRAYERS FOR YOUR DEAR FRIENDS RECOVERY.

That would be great if you find anything in the book that might help. Thanks for looking!

Romy wrote:

A couple of suggestions for precious Tiger:

http://www.nativeremedies.com/petali...dog-noses.html

And the following from a vet:
OPEN THE AIRWAYS. For some cats with severe nasal congestion I have used Pediatric Otrivin. Use one drop in each nostril 3 times daily for 3-5 days.

This really interests me but I'm concerned about the amount of time it will take to get here by mail. I've ordered something from this company before, I can't remember what but it was for Tiger and it does take weeks to get here. But I think I might still order it because it could also be useful for my other cats with respiratory issues (Jimmy and George). Thanks for the suggestion.
I'm also going to look at the Pediatric Otrivin and will decide between that and the Gold Seal to see which might be best to try.

Brody's Mum wrote:

Poor Tiger. Is there anyway that he could get a change of environment? A couple of days away from all the household stresses might help. I would imagine that with constant viewings etc you have upped the cleaning and use of chemicals which may be aggravating his condition

These are both good thoughts but for the last two showings, we've put Tiger in the outdoor enclosure so he doesn't have to go in the truck with the barking dogs. Also, we've been putting them outside in the enclosure (4 of them) before we start getting the house ready so they aren't stressed by our moving things around and vacuuming etc..
I do mop all the floors each time but I use hot water and just a dash of liquid dish soap, hardly any at all so I think he isn't being affected by the cleaning. We do spray a bit of Febreeze, but not much and it's a few hours before he comes back inside. I hate using chemicals myself as I'm ultra sensitive to that kind of thing. I just use hot water and a minimum amount of dish soap to wash the counters too. He doesn't get up on the counters anyway.
I do wonder if I should switch the litter though. We did switch them to Swheat Scoop a month ago and it was good because there is no silica in it for the cats to breathe in or us. But the mess it made with tracking was unbelivable!! We were finding little pieces of wheat on our socks, in our bed, everywhere! My husband was really unhappy with it. But, I might talk with him again today about switching back. It's not as if the clay scoopable is much better. It tracks everywhere too. We should probably just pick up some tracking mats to improve the situation.

Jenn_Librarian wrote:

We used nose drops on a cat at the shelter too... his name is Calvin. He had some kind of nasal tumor too as I remember. He looked like crap for a long time, but I just saw him last monday, and he's is looking amazing. I'd definitely see if you can use nose drops.

I think this is definitely something we need to try. It's the one thing we haven't tried so far. I'm a little scared about making his situation worse by forcing drops in his nose but at the same time, he is worsening and if it helps, then it will be worth it.

krazyaboutkatz wrote:

You can also try the pediatric nose drops called "Little Noses". I think you use one drop per nostril 2 times a day. I'm so sorry to hear that Tiger's still not doing well. I'll continue to keep him in my thoughts and prayers. I also hope that you'll sell your house soon.

Thanks, I will look into this one as well.

Thank you also to Medusa, MoonandBean, Moesha, Freedom and Abby's Mom and anyone (readers of this thread) who has made prayers for Tiger and for your continued support.

[Catty1]

Emeraldgreen - by all means, check out whatever you can find at health food stores and other local places.

But DO ask your vet if there are any nose drops or anything you can put in the vaporizer. I like the vaporizer idea because you said his lungs are "gargly", so if he can inhale safely medicated steam, that should help.

Also - try printing out all the vet medical stuff I found and faxing it over to your vet. I am NOT trying to play vet here, or doubt your vet at all - but you could ask which of those methods might be good.

It's written in your vet's language - "Vettinese".

HUGS!

[kb2yjx]

NO!!!!!!!!! Gold Seal is not a VINEGAR!!!!! Try to ask someone in your health food shop. It is also mentioned in the Anitra Frazier book!! This is great stuff, but not a vinegar(I googled it and came up with the vinegar!!).

[Medusa]

NO!!!!!!!!! Gold Seal is not a VINEGAR!!!!! Try to ask someone in your health food shop. It is also mentioned in the Anitra Frazier book!! This is great stuff, but not a vinegar(I googled it and came up with the vinegar!!).

Are you by any chance talking about golden seal, which is an herb?