Thank you for your reply. I finally got an appointment with the vet who said that a culture wasn't needed because Cephalexine was broad-spectrum and the antibiotic used most after dental extractions, and even when it isn't known what is causing the infection it should work to take care of any infection because it is so broad-spectrum- so no need for a culture to be taken. The vet thinks the problem is that the antibiotic wasn't given for a long enough period of time.Because of that, the best I could get was another 2 week prescription of Nov-lexin, 125 mg twice a day for two weeks. The vet thinks this time it will take care of any infection.

There wasn't much else I could do, and the thing is that in order to get a swab of the yellow discharge from the nose, the
breathing problem has to get serious enough that it is to the point of being life-threatening, and only when it gets to that point does the yellow discharge appear. Then it takes 15 hours staying at that point and two doses of Dexamethasone before it "kicks in" and suppresses the symptoms. I don't know if Novo-lexin will take care of any fungal infections- I guess will just have to wait and see.

The Dexamethasone is causing fluid retention. I asked for a diuretic and was refused. The vet said it was a side-effect and just had to be tolerated. I found a herbal diuretic at the health store. One tablet contains 100mg Buchu leaves, 100 mg Uva Ursi leaf, 100 mg of Juniper Berries, 75 mg Parsley root, and 75 mg Celery Seed. I gave half a tablet every eight hours with no result so increased it to one tablet every eight hours and the fluid retention is diminishing.

The other side effect of Dexamethasone is increased thirst so my cat is drinking enough water to offset any possibility of dehydration. I researched Uva Ursi though and find it can cause kidney/liver problems and wonder if I should switch to something else because of that. I read where Hawthorne Berries are also a potent diuretic and wondered if I should switch to that.

I'm kind of on my own here, vet-wise, because my cat can't stay with fluid retention- it was getting serious and he was beginning to look like a beached whale. Still the vets would offer nothing so I am trying to find something safe and effective to give him on my own. Thank you, again, for your reply and any imput you could offer.

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