Conference misery::feline_v1

       When Pippin and Merry were 4 months old and Sam was Three months
    old and Gandalf was 10 weeks old, we brought Gandalf home from the
    shelter, a day or two later he developed a sniffle.
    
       It wasn't too bad so we thought we'd wait and take him to the
    vet in a day or so if it didn't clear up.  MISTAKE!  It was Friday
    afternoon.  By the time We could get him to the Vet Monday,he was
    so stopped up that he couldn't breath through his nose.  Poor kitty
    sat around with his mouth hanging open.  The vet had to use nose
    drops and a suction pump to clear his nose.  (You ain't heard mad
    til you've heard a cat scream with nose drops in his nose!)  
    
       The cold was treated with liquid amoxicillin (an antibiotic),
    another liquid medicine (I don't remember what it was) and infant
    strength drops.  A hint, if you have the choice of pills of liguid
    go with pills.  The liquids were purple, and gummy pink and the
    cats loved to dribble them out of the sides of their mouths when
    you tried to make them swallow.  As if the cat snot from 4 cats,
    sneezing all over the house weren't enough, we now had drops of
    pink and purple medicine all everything too.  It's very hard to
    tell if the cat got enough medicine in him when it's spread over
    half the house, (and you and him and the other cats...).
    
         Not one of the more joyful cat owning experiences I've ever
    had.  Oh well, It was all over with within a couple of weeks.
    
         If you'll tell my what in particular, you'd like to know, maybe
    I could be a little bit more helpful.
    
    tlh
    

         I've on occasion had kittens with eye infections that were
    caused by some kind of virus.  If not too severe I've had good
    success using Boric Acid to clean the eyes several times a day.
    (Boric Acid is available at your local drug store and isn't as
    bad as it sounds.)  The infections usually clear up in 3-4 days.
         So far as respiratory problems in young kittens this could
    be fatal so a trip to the vet is highly recomended.  I've had
    cats with colds that even when treated took 3-4 weeks to recover
    even when being treated.  In kittens it is very dangerous.
    Hope your kittens aren't too tiny!
    
    					Good luck,
    
    					Debbie
    

    When we first got Kimi as a twelve-week-old kitten he had quite
    a severe eye infection. He had been slightly weakened by a long
    plane trip as a tiny kitten, and this had lowered his resistance.
    The breeder had taken him to the vet, and he was on antibiotics
    (sorry, I can't remember the name) and eye ointment. That cat was
    amazing - he would lie quietly to let us put the ointment right
    on his eyeball. This is a cat to whom you can not do ANYTHING that
    he doesn't agree to, but he seems to understand medical treatment,
    and is always very good for the vet.
    
    A permanent legacy of the antibiotics is yellowed teeth, but that
    is a small price to pay for his bright eyes. He is a premier three
    times over, so it hasn't held him back. He also sometimes has a
    running eye, but it is always clear, with no sign of infection,
    and seems to be due to an inadequate tear duct.
    
    I don't want to sound like a scaremonger, but please don't ignore
    eye infections. Our vet had come across several kittens who had
    to have eyes removed, the infection was so severe. For some reason
    Abyssinians, at least in this country, seem to be prone to these
    eye infections as kittens.

    I called my vet one Saturday evening because Honey seemed to be
    developing an eye/respiratory infection.  I felt a bit over-reactive
    doing that, but he told me that eye and respiratory
    problems are an emergency and should never be put off.  Honey
    also got amoxicillin and eye ointment and recovered nicely.  But
    the point is, these problems should be considered serious...don't
    wait to call the vet!  Of course, he did tell me that I over-reacted
    when I called him when Honey was a kitten and his one of his teeth
    fell out....I didn't know that a kitten's teeth are like baby teeth.
    The things you learn about kitten care!!

    Paul,
    
    1) When did you change your name to Norma?
    
    2) Take the cats to a vet ASAP and have them checked out.
    
    3) Come to my office, buy me a cup of coffee, and we can discuss
    	the problem.
    
    4) Read #2 again.
    

re: 239.5

>    Paul,
>    
>    1) When did you change your name to Norma?

A little before he changed his name to "Sharon" in 240.0!

My wife and I had dinner with Norma and Sharon last night, and Jose' (the 
tonk with the upper resp. problem) is better than he has ever been.

Ray