Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is my first post here. I have a wonderful Siamese cat..male, neutered, and four years old. He is suffering a great deal at the moment! He has SEVERE nasal congestion. It is ALL up in his head...no chest congestion at all. I've taken him to several vets, and all have really no idea what is wrong with him. We've done a full blood panel, x-rays, and treatment with antibiotics, as well as Prednisone. He simply CAN'T breath through his nose....only his mouth. He has a lot of mucus in his nose...lots of nose blowing, and dried mucus in the nasal passage. Anyone else ever have this happen to their furry baby??? Any ideas???

Poor baby!

Good luck! Maybe some other members have been through this! I hope you hear from them here.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Those are GREAT suggestions...both of which are being considered or done at the moment.

We have considered allergies...and anti-histamines have been tried to no avail. Oh well....doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't allergies though.

The sinus scan is next on my list. Problem is though....only vet specialists do those sort of things in my part of the country. Specialists not only mean COST(not a real concern here...this IS my baby!) but also, availability. Fortunately, my better half is going to start work for one of the best Vet Colleges, in the next several weeks. I just hope my baby can hold out until then.

My BIGGEST concern, is that Frank doesn't seem the least bit interested in drinking or eating anything at the moment! He's already very lean, so he can't afford to lose any extra weight. He's already lost 3/4lbs...quite a lot for a 11 lbs feline! (or 10lbs 4 oz cat NOW!).

The biggest concern of mine, however....is how UNCOMFORTABLE he seems to be! The gasping, mouth breathing, and head-shaking, is very hard to watch. I really hope I/they figure this out VERY soon!

Thanks so much for your suggestions though!

Hi,

Have sinus x-rays been done? How about having the cat's nose scoped to see if there is any type of growth present, such as a polyp.

There is also the possibility that your kitty has a fungal infection affecting his sinuses. I would have a crypto titer done to find out if this is the problem.

I wouldn't wait too long before consulting with another vet. I am very concerned that your cat's breathing problems may become more severe.

AshleyElla

I'm happy to report, that Frank is doing much better today! The combination of the antibiotics, and prednisone, seems to be doing the trick. Both myself and my vet understand that this is not a cure, but at least it will ease the breathing problems until I can get the scope done.

I'm happy to report, that Frank is doing much better today! The combination of the antibiotics, and prednisone, seems to be doing the trick. Both myself and my vet understand that this is not a cure, but at least it will ease the breathing problems until I can get the scope done.

I am planning on getting Frank's nose scoped sometime in the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, there is no availability for that where I am right now. I am, however, in the middle of a move to Knoxville, TN, where there is a very good vet collage. They DO have the ability to do sinus scopes. As soon as I get there, I will wean Frank off of the Prednisone, and get a scope done. Both the vet and I feel that there is a good probability he has some sort of polyps in the nasal passage.

The antibiotic should take care of any bacterial/fungal infection, but I will be keeping a very close eye on him...trust me!

Thanks very much for all your suggestions. They made me feel much better about what I was doing!

Thanks for the update! I'm sure you must be discouraged to say the least. Hopefully the move will help Frank. If he really seems to suffer from a lack of appetite again, bear in mind that cats need to smell their food in order to be tempted to eat. You might want to pour some sort of yummy "juice" over his normal diet - something like tuna, or in my cat's case some roast beef juice! There is also a product called "Tuna Dash" that is supposed to stimulate the appetite by adding a smell to the food.

Let us know how Frank does!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

I realised this today, and decided to heat up his wet food, so that it would smell more. That seemed to do the trick, and he ate all his dinner today! As I said in my previous post...he's doing SO much better today, than yesterday! Thanks so much for all your suggestions....I can't tell you how much I appreciate the input!