Max Herpes flare-up

I was woken at silly o'clock today by the sound of one of my lot throwing up *somewhere* upstairs, followed 20 minutes later by the same sounds from downstairs. I thought it was the one cat but seemingly not as Bosley, threw up in my bedroom as I was getting up and Max, threw up in the hall when I got downstairs.

All 4 of my cats had been given exactly the same food for their last meal, so the thought of my having given them dodgy food sprang to mind, 4 ill cats at once would be hell to cope with. Thankfully they all appear fine and demanded brekkie as soon as I got into the kitchen, even cleaning the mess up (*much* later) won't be so bad now I know they're all ok.

Ian

Bosley might have thrown up twice, but it didn't put him off trying his hardest to snatch bacon off the grill as fast as I was trying to put it on. Needless to say he ended up with a rasher

Ian

Not happy as Max is still retching and coughing, he's brought a few kibbles up but that was it. I *knew* something wasn't quite right after I got back from the pub late yesterday afternoon and finally found him hiding on a chair under the dining table, very unlike him.

He's happy enough and playing/tearing round the house as usual, but I'll be keeping a close eye on him for a while.

Ian

He stayed downstairs last night but didn't wake me with this coughing, he hasn't stopped and it seemed to get a bit better as the day went on yesterday. He fell asleep on my lap last night, typically about 10 minutes before I was ready to go to bed, but he looked so comfy I stayed up a extra 1/2 hour during which he didn't cough once.

I'll leave it till around lunchtime, if he hasn't noticeably improved we'll be off to the vets asap as I've never seen/heard anything quite like this before with a cat. He's fine otherwise, no sneezing, he's eating and drinking normally and his eyes are clear and bright. It's bizarre, it's like he's developed a nervous cough, when he does it it doesn't lead to a series of them, he only coughs the once

The only good thing, whatever is wrong, at least it's not infectious, I'd struggle to cope if they all went down with something.

Ian

He's fast asleep atm and must be tired after the coughing stopping him getting anything more than a catnap.

Ian

Enough was enough, after yet more coughing and retching Max is now at the vets for investigation, but not before I'd found a small pool of *froth* he must have brought up under the dining table some time yesterday.

Having a closer look at it I soon realised it contained several solid foreign bodies, which looked for all the world like either plastic or bone fragments I took them with me to show the vet and neither of us could decide what they were, but either way they were large and sharp enough to have caused major irritation if not actual damage to his throat. Max simply doesn't eat raw, so God alone knows what he's been eating or where it came from



Typical cat, he didn't cough or retch once after closing the front door and watching him trying to get back in the carrier at the vets after the struggle I had to get him in at home and generally behave like he'd always lived there was the usual eye opener. I'll be (hopefully) picking him up later after he's been checked over, tho' this needed anaesthetic to do the job properly. I had the option of a antibiotic jab/come home/go back again if he was still coughing, or a full investigation from the start and that seemed the best way to go given the fragments of *whatever* I'd found.......tho' I'll be close on £300 lighter if I include taxi fares.

'EDIT'

The vet has just called and nothing untoward was found other than him having a incredibly inflamed throat, so bad, even under anaesthetic he reacted to it being touched. He's had both nostrils washed out in case something was lodged there and besides traces of blood from one nostril all was well, his airways are clear, which was a relief as he'd started to mouth breath a little.

I'll be picking him up around 7pm and it's a boiled chicken diet for the next 24 hours, and hopefully that will be it. It seems like the fragments were the cause and once they were coughed up, the rest has just been bad throat irritation from him having tried to swallow them

Ian

Poor Max, I hope he gets better soon, it must of been frighteneing for him with all the coughing. Glad he got sorted out though.

Thanks Lynn, but it's not over yet, if he's still having problems he'll need to go back and he's back to coughing after seeming ok when we got home. He's not retching any more and the coughing could be just severe throat irritation, but as warned by the vet, he's coughing up a fair bit of phlegm.

I'll see how he goes on and if there's no improvement we'll be back to the vets in the next couple of days. It's possible there's still something lodged in his throat as they only checked so far, if needed it'll be a endoscopy of the throat next time.

'EDIT'

After cleaning his plate (very unusual) of wet food with a bit of warm water added, he settled down on the sofa and was soon fast asleep..............tho' that didn't last long as Jimmy appeared and was determined to share the pillow Max was on. He woke Max up and set him off coughing again

Ian

It's a good job the vet advised I restrict his food for a few days as the poor lad is struggling to eat, only managing a few mouthfuls before the irritation triggers another lot of phlegm coming in the opposite direction.........I'm running out of tissues atm.

I've not seen him drink today, tho' as he's not been grazing all day on dry as usual that's perhaps not surprising and he is getting some moisture from the food he does eat. If the weather carries on getting better overnight I'll nip out tomorrow and get him some sardines/pilchards/whatever in tomato sauce as boiled chicken hasn't interested him.

Jimmy has been in most of the day and it's been cute watching him get as close to Max as he could on the sofa, even with a bit of him grooming Max, but the downside is it keeps waking Max up when he's finally getting some well deserved sleep.

Ian

He looked so sorry for himself late last night I wasn't looking forward to getting up today, fully expecting him to have got even worse overnight. I'd left him on my recliner with a small bowl of wet in the hope he might be tempted and said bowl had been licked clean, but he was back on the sofa he may not have eaten it. I found two pools of phlegm, one on the sofa the other on the carpet, tho' this was less than I expected and I didn't hear him coughing.

I've just given him another small bowl of wet and he managed most of it, for the first time since all this started he managed to swallow without that making him cough/retch, which can only be a good sign As he's the only one who poo's in the tray under the stairs and it had been used I'm assuming it was him, but there's been so little going into his mouth I'm amazed there was anything to come out of the other end.

'EDIT'

He's got down from the sofa and eaten a bit more, but better still, he's just eaten a full Webbox cat treat after trying to eat one yesterday but not being able to swallow it.

Ian

Glad he's feeling better and managing to eat something.
If he did have anything in his throat he may have dislodged it, or it could of been irritation because of the bone.

Thanks Lynn

He's still not right but a damn sight better than yesterday, I fully expected having to take him back to the vets today, but as long as he's eating ok it can only mean his throat isn't as sore now. I'll be happier when I've seen him drink, tho' as he's not touched any dry (that I'm aware of anyway) he's perhaps just not thirsty atm.

Ian

OMG, poor Max, those *things* look really sharp edged I'm not surprised his throat was raw, it will definately be sore for a few days. Wonder what they were, looks like it could have been ivory, maybe a broken ornament left lying outside somewhere.
Really hope he recovers 100%.

They were Kath, the pic doesn't even come close to showing how sharp, which is why I thought they were plastic as I've never seen fragments of bone like that.

He's eaten ok today, even wolfing down some boiled chicken and has at long last had a drink, even better the coughing up phlegm seems to have stopped and he's been washing himself again.......but there's always something else isn't there?.

He's started sneezing and with the amount he's done I'm starting to think bringing the fragments up was just coincidence and what he has is just a very, very nasty infection. To be fair, the vet did mention this but went on to say he'd never seen a throat as inflamed/angry as this before.

I feel so sorry for Max (inbetween laughing that is ) as all afternoon he's either been sneezing or desperate to but couldn't. We all know what it's like when we feel a sneeze starting but it stops just short, so it must be incredibly annoying for him. He's still a bit chesty as well, tho' his breathing is fine, but if he's still like this tomorrow I'll be calling the vets again, tho' he's seemingly had a long lasting antibiotic jab.

Ian

Just back home after rushing him to the vets again

After his sneezing/trying to, all afternoon, I'd left him peacefully asleep on my recliner at 5pm, but found him lay there at 6.30, mouth agape and while not gasping for breath, something was obviously wrong. That he didn't react when I touched him made things worse, cue mad panic as I phoned the vets and tried to arrange transport up there.

I've left him there overnight as there seemed little point in him having the suggested immediate treatment, coming home only to have to go back again tomorrow if there was no improvement. The vet is baffled as to why he seems to be mouth breathing as his sinuses appear clear, tho' he was nowhere near as bad there as he'd been at home. I'm pretty much convinced the problem is viral (backed up by his temperature being raised?) so hopefully easily treated, but I won't know till tomorrow, or if not viral, what else it can be and the next steps to get to the bottom of this.

Ian

OMG Ian, just logged in to see how he was doing and read this. I'll come in again later and see what's happening with him,thinking of you, what a worry.

OMG poor Max and you it must be so stresssful for you both. I hope it is nothing serious, just a virus like you said. Please let us know how he is when you hear something.

Thanks Kath and Lynn

Finding him like that last night scared the hell out of me, I honestly thought he was dying He'd lost a bit of weight, tho' nothing major, hardly surprising to me as he'd only started to eat properly again yesterday morning when he made up for lost time by pigging out on everything I put in front of him.

I'll update as soon as I know anything.

Ian

keeping my fingers crossed you get good news.

If they need to do a endoscopy/x-rays etc, it's going to be expensive (around £1k) so it's a good job I've been putting money to one side each month to cover emergencies like this, tho' I may still struggle if it's more. Even tho' Bola and Fudge are insured, this money was really intended to pay the vets up front before submitting a claim, but it's a good job I have it.

I'm hoping Debbie didn't cancel his insurance, tho' I asked her to as he was all but mine now. If she hasn't I'll ask her to submit a claim and suggest we split the payout 50/50, so I'm not totally out of pocket.

Ian

Awww Ian I'm so sorry, keeping everything crossed for max and you, hope he's better soon!!

Thanks Nicola

The vets have just rang to say they didn't see the distress overnight that I saw which caused me to rush him up there. He's had a restful night, his heart and lungs are fine, tho' he's a little chesty, and he's eaten ok. They're keeping him in for another 24 hours just to be on the safe side to administer the new antibiotics and pain killers, but based on what they've seen so far there'll be no need for a second lot of anaesthetic, endoscope and x-rays.

It appears to be just a very nasty throat infection, he keeps wanting/trying to purr but giving up as it's so painful. It was obvious yesterday both his purr and miaow had changed, but hopefully by this time tomorrow he'll either be back home or I'll have a time to collect him.

Ian

Good news there Ian, poor soul, that must be so painful for him. Would love to know what those sharp objects were, am not surprised his thoat became infected.

That's positive news Ian, at least it isn't anything too serious. Hope he feels a bit better with the medication.

Thanks Kath & Lynn

The fragments of *whatever* may have nothing to do with it as he could easily have just eaten something and then had a retching fit and brought them back without them causing any trouble. That said, the vet told me last night and a nurse repeated the same this morning, it's still possible he has something lodged somewhere. Whether that might be another fragment nobody knows for sure, and the only way to find out is knock him out again for a endoscopy/x-rays, and even then there'd be no guarantee they'd find anything/it would show up.

They're also giving a decongestant of some kind, I'm hopeful all this is just viral and the meds will do the trick. That they said he was bright and alert and also eating suggests he was feeling better earlier today, all being well this will carry on and he'll be home late tomorrow afternoon/early evening.

For all I've complained here about him carpet scratching, he's not that noisy or even really attention seeking, but how I've missed him about the house today

Ian