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The Drastic Spastic
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Post by The Drastic Spastic »

I seem to have acquired a foster cat. Oopsie. :D
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Post by Saint Kurt »

Pictures!

(please?)

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Post by The Drastic Spastic »

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He has a cough and a runny nose, and he won't eat. He begs for food, but then he won't eat it. I tried putting food in his mouth and he ate it, but it made him cough a lot. I saw him eat a little at the shelter so I'm not too worried yet. He's very friendly and sweet, and about 8 years old. His name is 대군 (Tae-gun - Prince) but he responds better to Kitty.

Going to check with the shelter contact tomorrow, I think they were supposed to give me medicine but they forgot to send it with him (he was living at a clinic somewhere), or the person who had it wasn't available when I picked him up, or something. It's a volunteer-run shelter and they've had an awful time this week which is why I took a random sickly cat home. No one has time to take care of this one.
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Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

Aww kity! And aww spaz! That's sweet of you. Thought I get the inner kitty urgings that drove you to it. He's got a funny brown moustache too eh?
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Post by Elfdame »

He's gorgeous. And lucky to have a caring person looking out for him. Hope you enjoy each other's company.
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Post by The Drastic Spastic »

I tried putting food into his mouth again today. He chews and swallows, then sits patiently while I do it again. :? No coughing now, just eating. What a weird cat!
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Post by Saint Kurt »

Originally posted by The Drastic Spastic
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He has a cough and a runny nose, and he won't eat. He begs for food, but then he won't eat it. I tried putting food in his mouth and he ate it, but it made him cough a lot. I saw him eat a little at the shelter so I'm not too worried yet.
I can see the stuff around his nose in the picture.

I can think of two ideas for what is going on with the Kitty:

#1: Coughing cats usually have asthma. It's the #1 reason cats cough. That can cause a runny nose too from a secondary bacterial infection. Cats that are feeling crappy because they can't breathe (cats are nose breathers so asthma plus stuffy nose = really hard to breathe) don't like to eat because they have to choose between eating and breathing. It also explains the coughing when he eats.

#2: Cats that are reluctant to eat, and have a runny nose also make me think of tooth problems. Can you see in his mouth? How do his teeth and gums look? Is there redness, broken looking teeth, super stinky breath? Does he get stuff in his eyes too?


Both are issues that can be treated pretty easily by your vet. Feeding him like you are is good though. The antibiotics from the shelter should help with the runny nose.

Good luck with your new kitty!
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Post by The Drastic Spastic »

Internet says a bacterial infection makes the nose discharge greenish-coloured, but it's clear. He doesn't have any medicine. His teeth are fine. Eyes, just the normal cat eye goop. I've figured out what he wants when he begs for food... I have to hold it in my hand then he eats "normally" out of my palm. :rolleyes Someone has been spoiling him! Coughing is much better today.
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Post by Elfdame »

Okay, it's only a local freebie tabloid, but a short opinion piece I submitted is actually gonna get printed! Woot-woot! No money but will have my first tear sheet.

The article is about NaNoWriMo. I know, I'm disgusting. (Outlined several chapters last night. I'm gonna be sooooo ticked if something happens to prevent my participation.)
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Post by Angelique »

I have gone from having a 42" to a 29" waist since July. Clothes I haven't been able to wear in almost ten years fit me now.
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Post by steyn »

Congrats Angelique!
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Post by The Drastic Spastic »

Originally posted by Saint Kurt
Does he get stuff in his eyes too?
His right eye is all watery and goopy now. :bawl But he has more of an appetite, and his breathing seems better. Cough is still bad. I keep googling feline cold but I can't decide which one is closer. (Herpes or calicivirus.) I'm not a vet and I barely know the cat. It could be either, or both for all I know. He doesn't have a fever. He sneezes quite a bit. Joint pain - maybe. He seems stiff when he stretches. Maybe he's just old! I only have a month of medical history on him so I don't know which symptoms are new.

I think the appetite thing is just him, he's a fussy bastard. He gets hungry, but he will only eat if I "stand guard". He wouldn't eat this morning and he freaked out when I got home with how much he wanted food. HE HAD FOOD. He just wouldn't eat until I sat next to him and patted him gently while he ate.

I am obsessed with this cat. It's good, I need a productive hobby.
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Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

Awww. He loves you.

Calici usually causes mouth ulcers. You can see them pretty well - they look like cancer sores and are often on the tongue. Often there is multiple infections involved with shelter cats anyways - so it's hard to tell which one is what. May be chlamydia too with the eye stuff. Or secondary bacterial infections. Fun stuff when shelter animals are involved - so many of the poor buggers end up with it.

Best thing is to continue what you are doing - it looks like you are doing the right things hun. Just keep they eye clean with swabs dipped in warm water and go to the shelter if it turns all nasty and pussy. (and wash your hands well after that - which duh)

You are so cute spaz. I love what you are doing for the kitty.
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Post by Elfdame »

Last night I received two happy reviews of my stuff at fanfiction.net. Who woulda guessed?
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Post by Ult_Sm86 »

I saw W. and was deeply impressed with it.

Also, the Student Newspaper just took off like a bullet. Almost overnight we are on the way to have the largest distribution of student newspapers in the STATE!
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Post by Saint Kurt »

Originally posted by The Drastic Spastic
Originally posted by Saint Kurt
Does he get stuff in his eyes too?
His right eye is all watery and goopy now. :bawl But he has more of an appetite, and his breathing seems better. Cough is still bad. I keep googling feline cold but I can't decide which one is closer. (Herpes or calicivirus.) I'm not a vet and I barely know the cat. It could be either, or both for all I know. He doesn't have a fever. He sneezes quite a bit. Joint pain - maybe. He seems stiff when he stretches. Maybe he's just old! I only have a month of medical history on him so I don't know which symptoms are new.

I think the appetite thing is just him, he's a fussy bastard. He gets hungry, but he will only eat if I "stand guard". He wouldn't eat this morning and he freaked out when I got home with how much he wanted food. HE HAD FOOD. He just wouldn't eat until I sat next to him and patted him gently while he ate.

I am obsessed with this cat. It's good, I need a productive hobby.
That's cute that he likes to have you around when he eats. Some cats are just like that.

As for his symptoms, all cat respiratory viruses require exactly the same treatment so it doesn't actually matter whether it's calicivirus or feline viral rhinotracheitis (most common) or ... whatever.

Like us, cats get colds and like us, they feel crappy for a bit and eventually they get over it. So if it's a viral infection, it just needs to run its course.

You can do supportive care though. For the sneezing and stuffy nose, you can use nose drops like neosinephrine (or any other nose drop containing ephedrine sulfate). An OTC antihistamine we commonly give cats is chlorpheniramine maleate (I think it's called Chlor-trimetron in the US). You can give half a 4mg tablet up to twice a day. And this is VERY important - it must not have ANY additional ingredients in it, particularly Tylenol or Aspirin. One extra strength Tylenol is enough acetaminophen to kill a cat so ... read carefully. :) Aspirin is a little safer but ... still. Bad idea. Cat's livers don't work like ours so those 2 drugs are really toxic to them.

Another OTC drug store thing that really makes a huge difference is L-Lysine (250mg 2 to 3 times a day). It's in the vitamin area and it's an amino acid that boosts a cat's liver metabolism and since viral replication occurs in the liver, it has been shown to reduce the severity. The pills are huge and cats hate it, but it works great. Some vets think that all cats in shelters should be given extra L-Lysine in the diet to reduce the incidence of viral outbreaks.

Water is key so if he's not drinking from a bowl, using a syringe (like they sell at the drug store for giving medications to kids) will let your squirt it into his mouth.

You can use plain saline (like for contact lenses) and cotton balls to wipe the stuff from his nose and eyes. And if they sell an over the counter antibiotic ointment for eyes, you can use that to protect his corneas. (Animals with goopy eyes are prone to corneal ulcers because it means the goop is not staying on the cornea where it belongs.)

Herpes virus is endemic at most animal shelters and most of the time it manifests as a chronic normally dormant eye infection that recurs when the cat is stressed. (Kind of how genital herpes and cold sores work in people.)

So what could be going on is: Cat with rhinoviral infection (pretty typical in shelters too) is stressed so his herpes flares and everything is a big drippy mess. Poor guy.

The good news is that mostly the cure for all of this is TLC and some over the counter stuff. And obviously this is all based on the typical sneezing snotty cat presentation that you see in U.S. shelter cats. Your cat is in Korea and without examining him I can't know for sure. It's a good start though. Comfortable cats are happy non-clingy cats that eat during the day when nobody's home. :)

A few things that might throw a wrench on my 90% of all cats have this so yours does too are if your cat:
- has a fever. (above 102 is borderline too hot for a cat. If it's 103 or above, that could be a big problem. And you have to take it rectally.) :yuck
- Has really really pale gums that feel sticky
- Is unable to pee

Those are a few markers of a more seriously ill cat and they definitely warrant a visit to a vet who is actually able to touch the cat, listen to his chest etc.

I think a kitty is a good hobby though. He's lucky to have such an awesome home!

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Post by wingyding »

*looks up and gapes*

It's like house, M.D. ... just, online. That's kinda amazing. And kinda scary.
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Post by Ult_Sm86 »

We Got a FIFTEEN INCH RULER in the office!!!?!
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I mean like WTF?! right?! :LMAO
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Post by steyn »

Fifteen inches eh? :shifty You can barely measure some parts with that :shifty
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Post by Elfdame »

Grandson (grandchild #9) came today; 4 lb, 5 oz. Mama did fine. I don't know much; he's in NICU because of weight but I haven't heard anything worrisome yet.

Mama forgot that tonight was the middle boy's school Halloween shindig, so I took him -- his Batman outfit was at his house, so he had to {huge grin} wear some of my Spidey paraphernalia. Got lots of compliments, too. Heh heh.
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Post by Esynthia »

aww!!! congrats, elfie!! :D babies are so much fun.

and woot for spidey costume! LOL
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Post by Angelique »

Originally posted by Elfdame
Grandson (grandchild #9) came today; 4 lb, 5 oz. Mama did fine. I don't know much; he's in NICU because of weight but I haven't heard anything worrisome yet.

Mama forgot that tonight was the middle boy's school Halloween shindig, so I took him -- his Batman outfit was at his house, so he had to {huge grin} wear some of my Spidey paraphernalia. Got lots of compliments, too. Heh heh.
Can't say I blame Mama for forgetting! Congrats all around!

And my son would say Spidey is better than Bats any day.
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Post by Elfdame »

Originally posted by Angelique
Originally posted by Elfdame


Mama forgot that tonight was the middle boy's school Halloween shindig.
Can't say I blame Mama for forgetting! Congrats all around!

And my son would say Spidey is better than Bats any day.
Yeah, she thought it was NEXT week, so the new baby's daddy didn't bring Jr's costume along with all his clothes, but I noticed the flyer on the wall when I took him to school. So I wasn't sure, nd by the time Mama and I had the confusing discussion, it was too late to call the school. Then as I dropped by Post Ofc to mail my contest entries (finally!), Junior saw one of his classmates, so I asked the mama if it were tonight. Talk about Providence!!

And then after the festival, Jr. initiated a conversation about which comic book characters could be sneakiest, and we compared Nightcrawler to Spider-man, so his education is continuing apace while he's at Grandma's. I even read him a comic with Spidey & Nighty, because we all know how *important* it is to read to the little ones.
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Post by The Drastic Spastic »

Originally posted by Saint Kurt

Herpes virus is endemic at most animal shelters and most of the time it manifests as a chronic normally dormant eye infection that recurs when the cat is stressed. (Kind of how genital herpes and cold sores work in people.)

So what could be going on is: Cat with rhinoviral infection (pretty typical in shelters too) is stressed so his herpes flares and everything is a big drippy mess. Poor guy.
That's probably it. His eye was grotesque yesterday with swelling, but it looks better today. He's less drippy all around. Medications are hard to find here, and reading labels is impossible, so I'll stay away from that. Stick with the humidifier and making sure he stays warm and eats/drinks enough. He's eating lots now so I'm less worried. He also cleaned himself up so he isn't stanky and greasy-feeling any more. Yay!

I'm happy cause it's the weekend! I finally found a futon, and it's only half a block away.
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Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

Yay elfdame - congrats on your new grandchild! And good for you for improvising. :)
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