Help with sick cats?

Ouch, rough. When my dogs were at they’re worst, they would eat or drink out of my hand. It sounds like your cats need hydration. Will they drink out of your hand? Just water. Sorry I’m not good with cats. :(
Edit, How about some warm chicken broth? Nourishing, soothing, and electrolytes. Sorry my knowledge base is so small here.

@Adirondackwannabe They both already have the desire to eat and drink – and will sadly sit in front of their food, staring at it for a while, but then they walk away. I think the only reason they aren’t doing it is because they literally can’t breathe (cats can only breathe through their nose).

Ugh, this sucks. I don’t know what to do or how to help them.

@DrasticDreamer That wasn’t a real GA just a this sucks GA. That they’re thinking of eating and drinking sounds better. The breathing thing is scary.
I would try the chicken broth. They can’t get solid food down is my guess, plus they need fluids. it’s worth a shot.

Ah peeps, this sounds serious. Any help?

Following but have no experience with cats. Worried for DrasticDreamers cats.

@chyna I know, my knowledge sucks. :(

Sorry. I really don’t know much either, so I’m hesitant to respond. The first thing I thought of was a reaction to the air in your home but if it’s a virus then I see how it’s difficult to manage. Is there such a thing as Cat-quil or Meowcinex? I really do hope everything turns out okay for your cats, though.

1. Are they on any medication?
2. Did it come on suddenly?
3. Spending time with them can be good for everyone. Nurse your cats: They benefit and so will you. Fog up a bathroom, a lot, a lot. Try to get them into a path of steam. If they really don’t feel well they shouldn’t fight you. Get them in a steamy area, put towels over them to make like a teepee. It will make you feel better if you do something. The anxiety comes from feeling like you can’t do anything.

I have dealt with this and I have yet to lose one. Answer my questions.

Feline upper respiratory illnesses are caused by viruses; just as with humans, there’s not a lot you can do about the virus except support them until they can fight it off. They will usually be put on antibiotics to prevent a secondary bacterial infection (pneumonia). Most cats do fine with some time, but they’re miserable for a few days.

Cats don’t eat when they can’t smell their food (and it’s hard to eat when you can’t breathe, too). Adult cats, especially overweight cats, should never go for extended periods without eating, however, to avoid hepatic lipidosis.

In severe cases, cats may require hospitalization with IV fluids, a feeding tube, nebulization (in effect, what you are doing with steam in the bathroom), and even oxygen supplementation.

Stay in close contact with your vet, and if you feel that they are not taking your concerns seriously enough, ask about 24 hour monitoring at an emergency clinic.

@tinyfaery One of them was given antibiotics, but the vet wasn’t positive if it would help or not. It’s a slow-release medication (over the course of a week or two, I think), but the other one wasn’t given the antibiotics (presumably because she wasn’t as bad yet).

And yeah, it actually came on immediately after people in the house were sick, so we’re finding it hard to believe it’s a coincidence – especially because the symptoms are identical and the fact that the virus the people got was also really, really bad.

I have been spending time with them. As anxious as I am, I can’t stay away because I find it impossible to not try to comfort them, even though it’s also really hard for me. We have put them in the bathroom multiple times now, and got it really, really steamy. It improves their breathing every time, so we’ll keep doing it as often as we need to – especially because one of them is still opening her mouth every time she takes a breath.

Neither one of them are drinking or eating still, and tomorrow will be three days since the oldest has had any water at all, so I think we’re just going to take her in and ask them to give her an IV. I know they can go longer without food than they can water, but I’m really concerned about that part.

Thank you @tinyfaery and @syz for trying to help me.

@DrasticDreamer First of all I just want to send some hugs and comfort your way. It’s a horrible thing to have to go through to see your babies sick like this. Do you have a humidifier you can put in a room? Maybe that would be less scary for them than the shower going. You can get them for like 15 bucks at Walmart.

Also if they will let you, wipe the goobies out of their eyes and nose. If they have mucus stuffing up their nose you could try a Newborn baby aspirator . Definitely get them medical help again if they aren’t even drinking anything. They will need some kind of fluid therapy. Again, I am so so sorry you are going through this.
If they get to a place where they feel well enough to eat/drink, it’s good to heat it up first as that will make the smell more pungent for them.

How are the cats doing today?

Try very bad wet cat food. Fancy Feast or something like that. When my cats won’t eat the FF usually does the trick, even if they don’t eat too much.

Good luck! I’m so sorry.

Took them back in this morning so they could both have IVs since they were definitely dehydrated. Once home, the oldest ran to my bedroom and I managed to get her to nibble on some food, so I went to the kitchen and got her some wet food, which she also nibbled on. The IV definitely helped. As for the other one, we had to give her a pill that was an appetite stimulant before she ate, but she did nibble food after that.

We still have to steam up the bathroom for them, especially the younger one, but it helps her every time. We were also given eye drops for the gunk in their eyes, which should also help with the congestion and hopefully keep infections at bay. So in general, I’m starting to feel better – especially now that they’ve had IVs.

Thank you for the concern and help, guys. It really does mean a lot to me.

Good, signs of improvement. Respiratory ailments are always scary.

When our old cat was too weak to eat, egg yolk was the only thing she would still get excited about. May be worth a try, but please do your research first. I am not an expert when it comes to felines, and I don’t know whether feeding eggs to cats is advisable.

@syz; @tinyfaery What do you say?

Good news! Thank you for updating us. Here’s to their continued recovery.

Glad to hear your cats are on the mend @DrasticDreamer. I’ve never experienced this with one of my cats. I can imagine it was very frightening. I hope they continue to recover.

When my Smoochie completely stopped eating following her spay, in addition to the appetite stimulant med, my Vet had one of the technicians show me how to do assisted feeding with liberally diluted pate-style canned food. This gave her some liquid along with the food.

You can get pediatric oral syringes for free at any pharmacy (used for giving meds to children). Some have a narrower nozzle than others. I prefer the narrow, less mess.

So, you basically wrap kitty up in a towel and use the syringe to deposit small amounts of the mush in the pouch in the gum area just prior to the molars and after the canines; there’s a natural space there (NOT directly down the throat to prevent aspiration) so kitty laps it down. Take your time and do a little at a time to allow her to swallow it.

You can get more detailed info by Googling the term assisted feeding if you need to.

Fortunately, I only had to do it a few times and she started eating on her own again.

It would help also if you used chicken broth to dilute the food and also warm it up a little. Cats need to smell their food and obviously a respiratory problem effects this. That’s why warming it up a little helps for that.

Also, this is the time to go for what works regardless of expense so get some Fancy Feast Pate style canned food.

It’s well known among groups who deal with cats with chronic poor appetite problems (CRF cats) that Fancy Feast is known as “Kitty-Crack”. If they’ll eat nothing else, FF will usually do the trick.

So, go get yourself some child oral syringes and some Kitty-Crack and hopefully they’ll soon be eating on their own.

It really worked with Smoochie and she really didn’t protest at all about being wrapped up and fed by syringe as I was apprehensive she might. I think she realized it was helping her and didn’t fight it.

Hopefully this will help your kitties (and it’s cheaper than IV fluids so at least worth a try).

Yay! Sounds like they’re on the mend. Keep watch. Good job. It’s scary when this happens.

Just wanted to quickly update everyone that the youngest one didn’t start eating by herself until a couple of days ago, and she came close to not making it. But once she accepted the fact that we were going to get food and water in her whether or not she liked it, things started getting much better.

She’s a Manx, and she hated being force fed. At a certain point, she realized she wasn’t going to get her way, but she struggled until we let go of her head to give her the chance to sit in the towel but willingly eat from the syringe. Once she realized we’d at least give her freedom to move her own head if she cooperated, she sat there calmly, but… was growling as she ate – every time. It was adorable and hilarious, even though it was also sad. Lol

Anyway, thanks again, guys. :)

Good luck. And thanks for the update.

Yay. Told you it would be ok. Good job.

I’m so glad to hear they’re on the mend.

Yeah, the feeding can be a bitch of an experience. I frequently ended up with more food on the towel, countertop, and the outside of Smoochie’s face than actually in her tummy.

It’s not the most wonderful experience, but it works :)

The things we do for our little darlings….