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Not sure if something is wrong...

heather

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By now, my whole fam thinks I'm nuts since it seems I bring Soph to the vet at the drop of a hat. Part of me just still feels something might not be right. Most of the time she acts fine but sometimes she's just so strange!

Basically, we have been to the vet every two weeks since I got her in Oct. Her last visit was on 12/1. I've pretty much chronicled her visits in my Diary section of the site. About a month back I thought she might have an URI since she was sneezing and doing a cough/hack thing. It wasn't very bad because her nose wasn't runny but her eyes were a bit watery and red. The vet sent me home with erythromycin for her eyes and viralys gel and continue her Tresaderm ear drops for her bacteria she had in there. So we did all this and she went back 2 weeks later on Dec 1st and the vet said she was fine and he would see her next year for a regular checkup. I told the vet she was still sneezing/cough/hacking once per day that I observed but he was not concerned and said use the viralys gel til its gone. So we've been doing that. She sneezes maybe once per day and cough/hack maybe every other day. Sometimes I think her eyes seem a little red when I check them and sometimes they aren't. Her breath is stinky which from what I googled may indicate a URI since she's a kitten and has no rotten teeth.

Then, there is the way she acts. I've been staying at my moms for a few weeks and she is home with Soph during the day. Sophie walks around on the ledge of a loft usually with no problem. Well, last week she had a fall. She fell probably 15 feet onto a speaker with pictures on it. Not sure exactly how she landed but she knocked over the pictures then dashed to hide under my bed. She seems completely unharmed since she plays like normal. I poked, prodded and squeezed her entire body and she has no sign of discomfort, bruising, nothing. She walks, runs, jumps, plays all the same as before. But sometimes, not every time, when I pick her up she cries a horrible cry that seems like I'm hurting her. The past two weeks she has been horrible with bath time. Not so much in the bath but picking her up out of the bath then clipping her nails has been the WORST it ever has been. She cries and cries then does this jungle cat scream like I'm trying to kill her and runs off. I let her cool off and hide and try again, same thing. She's wrapped up in her towel like a kitty burrito and even if I'm not doing anything just cries. I couldn't even get her back paws trimmed today it was so horrible. She also hisses at other people for no reason. She has done this to my dad a few times this week. She sits on his lap and almost falls asleep then has a hissing fit and runs off. No warning, nothing and it seems frantic.

Well if you made it this far in my rambling, thank you! Sorry so long, I just can't make sense of this. Is it related, or is it not. Is it a basis for another vet visit? I mean, her breath is bad but her sneezing/coughing is sporadic maybe the lysine is keeping it at bay but her immune system isn't totally getting rid of it?
 

Brooke

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What's the dose of the lysine you're giving her? Maybe she would benefit from an increase (up to 1000mg) just until the coughing/sneezing is gone and then go back to the lower dose. I had a similar situation with Helen, where she had a mild phlegmy sounding cough and my vet, like yours, wasn't concerned about it. He basically told me to ride it out for a few days and see if it didn't get better. And, it eventually did go away on it's own (all I did was increase her lysine to help boost her immune system).

Do you think her odd behavior lately could be because she's in a new environment? Maybe you could put a few Feliway diffusers around the house (Each one covers about 600 square feet). Those worked wonders for me when I brought Nelson and Mandy into the house.
 

Maggies mommy

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Heather I am so sorry to hear about baby soph! I really hope it's nothing bad or serious! Maybe you should get a second opinion. I would deff tell ur vet & say she is not acting herself besides u know her better than any1. If Maggie was acting diff I would so bring her to the vet..... Like they say "it's better to be safe than sorry". Good luck Heather & Soph! Keep me updated Heather. xoxoxo Jess & magg
 

Maggies mommy

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What's the dose of the lysine you're giving her? Maybe she would benefit from an increase (up to 1000mg) just until the coughing/sneezing is gone and then go back to the lower dose. I had a similar situation with Helen, where she had a mild phlegmy sounding cough and my vet, like yours, wasn't concerned about it. He basically told me to ride it out for a few days and see if it didn't get better. And, it eventually did go away on it's own (all I did was increase her lysine to help boost her immune system).

Do you think her odd behavior lately could be because she's in a new environment? Maybe you could put a few Feliway diffusers around the house (Each one covers about 600 square feet). Those worked wonders for me when I brought Nelson and Mandy into the house.

What is feliway diffusers???
 

heather

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Thank you both!

She's getting roughly 750mg per day if I had to guess. The gel is 250mg per dose and I give it to her twice per day. Then I always give her some lysine treats so 5 of those is another 250. I will definitely take your suggestion and take it up to 1000 mg measured to make sure.

Its hard to tell with her acting strangely since she seems to love it here! She has a perch up high and has the privacy of my room if she wants to get away and run of the house with my mom home during the day. I do have a diffuser so I'm going to plug it in.

Its the jungle cat screams that are the worst. I just don't understand it. She's had her nails clipped once per week since I've had her! Then the hissing- its happened to my dad and sister a bunch of times each and never to me. I just keep thinking maybe its due to her not feeling well. The URI has definitely improved I just want it gone completely. And her breath never smelled before and she has a bit of a snort when she plays too hard and sometimes a little snore.

Thanks for the suggestions!
 

georgehairlesson

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By now, my whole fam thinks I'm nuts since it seems I bring Soph to the vet at the drop of a hat. Part of me just still feels something might not be right. Most of the time she acts fine but sometimes she's just so strange!

Basically, we have been to the vet every two weeks since I got her in Oct. Her last visit was on 12/1. I've pretty much chronicled her visits in my Diary section of the site. About a month back I thought she might have an URI since she was sneezing and doing a cough/hack thing. It wasn't very bad because her nose wasn't runny but her eyes were a bit watery and red. The vet sent me home with erythromycin for her eyes and viralys gel and continue her Tresaderm ear drops for her bacteria she had in there. So we did all this and she went back 2 weeks later on Dec 1st and the vet said she was fine and he would see her next year for a regular checkup. I told the vet she was still sneezing/cough/hacking once per day that I observed but he was not concerned and said use the viralys gel til its gone. So we've been doing that. She sneezes maybe once per day and cough/hack maybe every other day. Sometimes I think her eyes seem a little red when I check them and sometimes they aren't. Her breath is stinky which from what I googled may indicate a URI since she's a kitten and has no rotten teeth.

Then, there is the way she acts. I've been staying at my moms for a few weeks and she is home with Soph during the day. Sophie walks around on the ledge of a loft usually with no problem. Well, last week she had a fall. She fell probably 15 feet onto a speaker with pictures on it. Not sure exactly how she landed but she knocked over the pictures then dashed to hide under my bed. She seems completely unharmed since she plays like normal. I poked, prodded and squeezed her entire body and she has no sign of discomfort, bruising, nothing. She walks, runs, jumps, plays all the same as before. But sometimes, not every time, when I pick her up she cries a horrible cry that seems like I'm hurting her. The past two weeks she has been horrible with bath time. Not so much in the bath but picking her up out of the bath then clipping her nails has been the WORST it ever has been. She cries and cries then does this jungle cat scream like I'm trying to kill her and runs off. I let her cool off and hide and try again, same thing. She's wrapped up in her towel like a kitty burrito and even if I'm not doing anything just cries. I couldn't even get her back paws trimmed today it was so horrible. She also hisses at other people for no reason. She has done this to my dad a few times this week. She sits on his lap and almost falls asleep then has a hissing fit and runs off. No warning, nothing and it seems frantic.

Well if you made it this far in my rambling, thank you! Sorry so long, I just can't make sense of this. Is it related, or is it not. Is it a basis for another vet visit? I mean, her breath is bad but her sneezing/coughing is sporadic maybe the lysine is keeping it at bay but her immune system isn't totally getting rid of it?

Do you brush her teeth?
 

heather

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Do you brush her teeth?

I do! It's hard to describe the smell. I guess smells like mucus. It seems to be a symptom of URI which she did have but her breath didn't smell before.

I wish I knew if it was a symptom of getting over a URI or if it means its getting worse? Which it seems to be just staying the same and not going away completely.
 

ssummers

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Heather,
Coraline's behavior changed in almost the same way when I brought her home with me over Thanksgiving. She hissed (and she had never done that before), she screamed when people picked her up, and she acted really bratty when I tried to clean her nails, etc. I left her here between my Tgiving and Xmas break, and now that I'm home again she's doing fine. It took her a good three weeks to be fully adjusted though. She doesn't hiss anymore, and she only screams if she gets picked up too much. (Which sometimes happens in a house of six people!)

Of course, if you think something is wrong, you should trust your instincts, but this is just to say that she may adjust if you give her some time. Good luck!!
 

ultra_stella

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Going to the vet every two weeks has been a common event here as well! No doubt we understand the feeling you get when you discover that something might be wrong so you have to schedule another vet visit. We worry about our babies and would probably set up camp at the vet's office just to be on standby if that were possible!

I'm glad the URI has improved! Hopefully Sophie is just acting a little timid from being in a new environment. Perhaps the Feliway Diffusers will help with the way she's been acting. Keep us posted! I hope you get to feeling 100%, Sophie!
 

PitRottMommy

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By now, my whole fam thinks I'm nuts since it seems I bring Soph to the vet at the drop of a hat. Part of me just still feels something might not be right. Most of the time she acts fine but sometimes she's just so strange!

Basically, we have been to the vet every two weeks since I got her in Oct. Her last visit was on 12/1. I've pretty much chronicled her visits in my Diary section of the site. About a month back I thought she might have an URI since she was sneezing and doing a cough/hack thing. It wasn't very bad because her nose wasn't runny but her eyes were a bit watery and red. The vet sent me home with erythromycin for her eyes and viralys gel and continue her Tresaderm ear drops for her bacteria she had in there. So we did all this and she went back 2 weeks later on Dec 1st and the vet said she was fine and he would see her next year for a regular checkup. I told the vet she was still sneezing/cough/hacking once per day that I observed but he was not concerned and said use the viralys gel til its gone. So we've been doing that. She sneezes maybe once per day and cough/hack maybe every other day. Sometimes I think her eyes seem a little red when I check them and sometimes they aren't. Her breath is stinky which from what I googled may indicate a URI since she's a kitten and has no rotten teeth.

Then, there is the way she acts. I've been staying at my moms for a few weeks and she is home with Soph during the day. Sophie walks around on the ledge of a loft usually with no problem. Well, last week she had a fall. She fell probably 15 feet onto a speaker with pictures on it. Not sure exactly how she landed but she knocked over the pictures then dashed to hide under my bed. She seems completely unharmed since she plays like normal. I poked, prodded and squeezed her entire body and she has no sign of discomfort, bruising, nothing. She walks, runs, jumps, plays all the same as before. But sometimes, not every time, when I pick her up she cries a horrible cry that seems like I'm hurting her. The past two weeks she has been horrible with bath time. Not so much in the bath but picking her up out of the bath then clipping her nails has been the WORST it ever has been. She cries and cries then does this jungle cat scream like I'm trying to kill her and runs off. I let her cool off and hide and try again, same thing. She's wrapped up in her towel like a kitty burrito and even if I'm not doing anything just cries. I couldn't even get her back paws trimmed today it was so horrible. She also hisses at other people for no reason. She has done this to my dad a few times this week. She sits on his lap and almost falls asleep then has a hissing fit and runs off. No warning, nothing and it seems frantic.

Well if you made it this far in my rambling, thank you! Sorry so long, I just can't make sense of this. Is it related, or is it not. Is it a basis for another vet visit? I mean, her breath is bad but her sneezing/coughing is sporadic maybe the lysine is keeping it at bay but her immune system isn't totally getting rid of it?


I agree with Brooke that upping the Viralys won't hurt and might be good for her. Since she's only doing it once a day, I wouldn't be that concerned. The changing of the seasons and the increased amount of dust and mold in the air from the air vents/heaters can attribute to this behavior, really. It could also explain her eyes being red at times, so could an increased blood flow--which is normal when animals get "worked up". I'd be more concerned if this were on-going and happening consistently. However, that's not how you describe it---so, keep going with the Viralys.

Make sure you put the Feliway diffuser in/near the room you bathe her in, so you're getting a heavy amount of the pheromone when she's being cleaned.

I would also make it a large effort to keep her from walking on ledges that could get her hurt. A 15' fall could be a death sentence for a cat of her size. Cats do NOT land on their feet every time. A single wrong move and she could be paralyzed or have a broken limb, I've seen it so many times with cats living in 2+ story homes.

If the Feliway diffuser doesn't work well alone, try Rescue Remedy in addition. If there are no improvements, I'd recommend having her limbs x-rayed to ensure she hasn't broken a toe or cracked a bone.
 

heather

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I have to say I have definitely noticed a difference after upping her Lysine level. AND her moods have been much better! Maybe she was acting out due to not feeling well. Her sneezes are much more spaced apart. Instead of witnessing her sneezing attacks 1-2 times per day now its once yesterday morning and that has been it!

Hopefully she will kick this once and for all. Thank you all for caring and your suggestions! :Smile:
 
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