Kitties

[fireflytrance]

I'm worried about my cats, both seem a little sniffly and congested and sneezy. Winston has seemed this way for at least a few weeks. I took him to a local vet last week and the vet listened to his breathing for a bit and said he sounded fine and didn't do much. He sounds fine sometimes but congested at other times. I was disapointed with that

Comments

[daprima]

Maybe they have allergies?
Theda (my dog) hasn't been quite right all summer long. She has this little cough - and then I noticed that her eyes seem very teary. She's had eating issues and coughing issues (as I said) all summer.
My Vet seems to be playing a guessing game.
I did insist on having Theda x-rayed about a month ago. (I really feel that this is a breathing/flem-type issue, my Vet says no. I trust my instinct more.) Anyway - the x-ray revealed perfect lungs and perfect everything else. So at least I know, whatever it is - isn't serious. I'm hoping that when this Florida humidity lifts - so will whatever this ailment is.
Good luck with your cats. You may want to try to google their symptoms just to help 'educate' yourself. That's how I found out that dos (& cats) can have allergies, both to food and stuff in the air.

[fireflytrance]

That's a good idea, maybe I'll search around for a while. I was disapointed in the vet I went to, I didn't feel he addressed my concerns besides to listen to Winston's breathing for a few seconds. My guess is it might be an upper respiratory infection as when I first got them as foster kittens that is what they had. I need to find a vet who will really take the time to look into it.

Hope Theda is doing better and the change in diet is helping!

[daprima]

It's so hard to find a good Vet. When I lived in NY and tried a new Vet - I purposely got to their office early (for Theda's first visit) and spoke to one or two of the folks in the waiting room. I found out that were 2 Vets in the practice and over time tried both. Theda preferred the woman to the man. He had a more holistic approach (which I wanted) so I ended up using them both depending on what I was there for.
Here in FL, my brother has a dog, so I'm using his Vet. I like her but have discovered that if none of the tests come back with answers, it really is a guessing game. That's why it's called practicing medicine.
Go with your gut feeling - if you think the cats have upper respiratory infections - I'd insist on antibiotics. It won't hurt them and better safe than sorry.
Good luck.

[fireflytrance]

Yeah, even with humans sometimes all the tests come back negative even though something is clearly wrong. Its too bad animals can't tell you what is wrong with them. It also makes me sad when animals get sick because there is no way of explaining it to them.

[kellyhime]

Oh, no! I'm sorry about your kitties! Sounds like upper respitory infections though, which should be easy to treat.

We're in the same boat with vets though. For a variety of reasons, we are not happy with the vet we started going back to after many years, but don't know how to go about finding another one we like without costly experiments.

[fireflytrance]

Yes, URI is my guess too since they had that when I first got them so maybe it has come back. It seems like something contagious because first just Winston had it and now they both seem to.

I know the SF SPCA Vet is good so even though they don't like crossing the bridge in their kitty carrier. I'm going to take them back there later this week. Like you for now I don't want to waste money and time trying to find a suitable local place.

[linnea]

Hope they will be ok and what is wrong with them. Some vets suck while some are good. Can you ask around to find a good one?

[fireflytrance]

The place I went to was one my friend suggested, sounds like she has had a better experience then I have. I think I'm just going to go to this vet I like in SF even though it's about a half hour drive.

[_lime_]

I also dislike expensive vets. Hopefully it is nothing too serious.

[fireflytrance]

Yeah :/ I hope not too, they are only 5 months old. I don't mind the vet being expensive if I think they do a good job, I just don't like paying a lot and then being disapointed with the service.