Conference misery::feline

    Could they possibly be coming down with a cold....I know in
    the beginning of the winter all my cats came down with the
    sneezes.  If your in New England...this time of year can be
    hard for cats because of the drastic change in the weather.
    (50 one day....0 the next)
    
    Or could you have changed the type of litter they are using???
    Sometimes the fine litter or one that is not dust free... can 
    cause sneezes too!
    
    Ah...the sneezing in the face...I remember!!!
    
    Sandy
   
    

    My kitty gets a sneezing "thing" frequently...  Every few months for
    the past 2 years.  I end up taking her to the vets and she is put on
    some antibiotic...  That helped the first time for a while...  The 2nd
    time it didn't help, so the vet took different kinds of samples.  He 
    said one came back that was a "fungus" and prescribed a 30 day
    medicine.  That worked that time and the next 2 times...     Two months
    later, she is sneezing again.  And these are little sneezes...  More
    mucous comes out when she sneezes than when I have a bad cold and
    sneeze...   Back to the vet I guess...  Anyone else have any experience
    with "fungus"?
    
    /gina

    Fungus is a common name for Ringworm.  Was the 30 day medicine that the
    vet gave you called "fulvicin?"
    
    Four of my cats are currently suffering from a mild upper respiratory
    illness.  One of the four has some eye involvement to go along with the
    sneezes.  She is seeing the vet today.  Usually these things are viral
    in nature, so the illness just has to run it's course.  But, it is
    always a good idea to call the vet when something like this happens,
    because antibiotics will help ward of secondary, opportunistic
    illnesses.
    
    Jo

    Yes, it was fulvicin...  Thats what is prescribed for ringworm?
    thnx,
    /gina

    Fulvicin is the medication prescribed for ringworm. The cat may have
    the sniffles because her immune system is busy fighting off the
    ringworm and can't handle keeping a cold at bay at the same time.
    
    Jo

    
    Fulvicin is EXTREMELY taxing on a cat's system.  When Callie was
    on the fulvicin I was also battling an ear infection and sinusitis.  
    I got to the point where I tested for FIV because I was encountering so
    many infections.  I took her off the fulvicin and treated her topically
    for the ringworm. We did a c & s to find out the sinusitis was
    resistant to the meds we were using and the ear infection which at
    one point had cultured for staph, was now fungus in the middle ear.
    I suggested to the vet months before the possibility that the fungus
    had spread to the middle ear but because they had never heard about 
    or seen a case of it they thought it wasn't likely (read that last
    statement as "go with your gut feeling").  Obviously the fulvicin had 
    no effect on the fungal infection in her ear so I began treating her 
    with ear washes and topical medication. 
    
                                           

    well, i took medea to the vet a week and a half ago with the sneezing
    problem again...  he this time prescibed chloromphenicol...  
    Jo, i saw what you wrote in another note about either you or your vet
    had some "hang-ups" about certain meds, and that chloro. was one...
    is this a good thing or bad thing?  the vet told me that medea's 
    culture from the previous time she was sick isolated a "fungus" (which
    he thought he treated with the fulvicin) and seeing as she was sneezing
    again, he'd go after the "bacteria" that also grew with the culture...
    
    thnx,
    /gina

    The hang up that we have with chloramphenicol is that it has been
    connected with the development of a illness called Aplastic Anemia in
    humans and cats.  Dr. Rue feels that using chloramphenicol on most
    illnesses is like trying to get rid of an anthill with a nuclear bomb
    (not worth the risk).  Anyway, unless a culture and sensitivity shows
    me that chloramphenicol is the *only* medication that will take care
    of my cat's problem, I don't use it.
    
    I am a little confused by your note about your vet growing a fungus
    culture and a bacterial culture.  What did he take to grow the culture
    with?  With a typical ringworm/fungus culture, usually a few hairs will
    be removed from the cat using tweezers (or sometimes they will take a
    sterile toothbrush and brush the skin and then flick the skin cells
    into the culture dish) and put into the culture dish and left to grow. 
    Normally bacteria wouldn't grow in a culture like this.
    
    With a typical culture for a URI, they would either take a sterile swab
    and wipe it across the conjunctival tissue of the eye, or in the nose
    or throat and then wipe that across the agar in the culture dish.
    
    These are usually two separate cultures.  Can you remember which type
    your vet did?  Did he tell you which type of bacteria grew?  
    
    I don't want my hang up with chloro to get in the way here.  If you are
    personally uncomfortable with giving this med to your cat, talk it over
    with your vet.  He may be able to either prescribe a different
    medications, or convince you that I am a lunatic!! :') :')  Old habits
    die hard with me so I will probably hold this grudge against chloro
    years after they determine it to be safe. 
    
    Jo

    Hi Jo,
    
    the culture he did was a swab (but i can't remember if it was the eyes
    or the nose).   he never took any hair...   at the time he did the
    culture, he prescribed, i believe, erithromycin.  at the end of the
    week, medea was doing much better...  a few days later, she started 
    sneezing...  in the meantime the culture results were in and he said
    it was "a fungus".  that's when i got the 30 days of fulvicin.
    repeat above scenario a couple months later minus the culture...
    
    this time again a couple months later i took in medea and said i 
    heard fulvicin wasn't good for cats, especially purebred (medea
    is a burmese) and he said, well, it's not bad for young cats  (medea
    will be 12 in july).  he then said well, i looked at her records and
    the culture had also singled out a bacteria, let's try treating that.
    he prescribed the chloro.  she has finished the 7 days worth...  
    she's not sneezing, (wait a couple weeks or so  :(          but her
    eyes are very runny.   i wish she could talk to the vet!  
    
    thank you for your input!
    
    /gina

    Why not call him up and talk with him about treating her eyes with
    an ointment since the sneezing is gone.  She may have a little eye
    infection.
    
    To be honest, I didn't know that you could grow fungus in the eyes or
    nose.  Learn something new everyday.  Anyway, the fungus that is the
    cause of most ringworm is called microsporum canis.  Maybe she had a
    different type of fungus.  Will have to check this out with my vet next
    time we talk. 
    
    Good luck with Medea.  Hope she stays well this time, although if her
    eyes are running it sounds like she may not quite be over it yet.
    
    Jo