NOT experienced in URI's need your help..

[Laura's Babies]

OK, I got Jax back from the vet and I feel so sorry for him, he is so thin and sounds so bad when he breathes.... plus he is SO lonesome and wants to be held..

Anyway, I have never delt with a upper respiratory infection before so I have some questions.. She said he has to be isolated still so I have him shut in my bathroom..

Now, can I carry that on my clothes or feet to the rest of the kitties here in the house. I know to wash my hands after handling him but what about my clothes after holding him? Should I feed him wet can food instead of dry? would giving him adult can food hurt him (that is all I have).

What should I watch for, signs that he is getting better or worse.

How long will this be contagious?

I know nothing about this, never delt with it before so start at the beginning since I am a beginner with this...

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Craftlady]

Here's a good site with loads of information about URI

http://www.sheltermedicine.com/porta...pper_res.shtml

[Catlady711]

I'm surprised your vet didn't go over that with you at your appointment.

Feeding soft food is ok if your baby is having a bit of a problem wanting to eat anything. Nuke the food just a bit to get it good and stinky as cats sometimes won't eat what they can't smell, and a stuffed up nose doesn't make for good sniffing power. How old is the kitty? If he's older than 6 months it's ok to feed the adult food just for now while he's sick. Younger than 6 months I'd stick with kitten canned food if you go that route.

It's possible to carry the virus on your clothes. To be on the safe side have a pair of coveralls or pull on sweats over your clothes, and slippers for your feet, for when you go in the sick kitties room, then shuck them when you go out. And yes, wash your hands good, lathering for a minimum of a full count of 30 seconds with antibacterial soap. Don't share bowls or litterboxes between sick/healthy cats. When the kitty is no longer sick you can disinfect the bowl/litterpan with bleach, then wash in HOT soapy water and resume using it again with other pets.

If symptoms aren't at least improving over the next 3-5 days you need to call your vet. It may take a week or two for Jax to be feeling normal again.

I'm unsure of how long they are contagious, I think that depends on the virus suspected, your vet is the best one to answer that question.

If symptoms get worse (not knowing how bad your kitty already is) ie; bloody nasal discharge, refusing food even goodies, lethargic, not using litterbox, or not going at all, neglecting to groom, vomiting (more than once), difficulty breathing/wheezing, open mouth breathing, drooling, or thick green or yellow nasal discharge, then get your kitty to the vet again.

[Laura's Babies]

While Jax has improved a lot, he still sneezes a lot but not as much as before, just now and then... However Jaz is really sick, sicker than he was and she has scared me several times to the point I was ready to run her to the ER vet but waited it out...

Yesterday, I figured to spend the day cleaning and sanitizing the rest of the house, scrubbing down everything kitten high with bleach water, spraying the cage real good and leaving it out in the sun to dry, moping the house with bleach, etc.. in a effort to keep it from spreading.. I didn't get half of what I wanted to do done.. I found I could not get down and get up without getting so dizzy I almost passed out a couple of times.. Almost blacked out twice and it scared me so bad I gave up..

That made me realize I am in way over my head and I am not able to do this. With my dizzy/balance problem, I have no business doing this so I sent Blaine a email last night and told her she will have to make other arrangements for the J's... She is coming to get them today after adoption day is over...

I hate having to do this, they are so cute and so sweet and Caramella was SO happy having real playmates but now instead of having a real live buddy to play and snuggle with, she has to do this now.. She misses them so bad..It breaks my heart to see her doing this and she is so clingy to me now.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

Havoc had what appeared to be a recurring URI that went on for like 6 months (off and on, with antibiotics). I was getting suspicous of the diagnosis because URI's are extrememly contagious, yet Toby never so much as sneezed a single time. I was on my 3rd vet when he determined my boy had plain old seasonal allergies. I gave him one last heavy round of antibiotics to knock any lingering infection caused by the mucus buildup, and then switched to over-the-counter allergy pills that are super-cheap and only used as needed. I also bought a table-top air filter thingy that helped a whole lot. I just used the air filter thingy for almost a year and the pills on rare occasions (maybe once a month) and didn't have a problem for almost a year. He started sneezing a bit a few weeks ago, but I give him a "booger" pill and he's good for a few days now.

I don't know how long you have until the J's go elsewhere but you might look into an air filter in with the room with the sickest one...just in case. The thing I bought was like 30 bucks and I don't know how I lived without it.