# Help! Sick barn cat



## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

Last night we went to go see how our calves were doing at the next barn they go to after they leave the calf barn, and while there i noticed a very sick looking cat. I think its a boy and he's a black and white cat. He was very friendly, and i was able to actually get a look at him. He has yellowish snot all over by his nose so he can barely breathe and you can feel every single one of his bones. If you pull up his skin like i did to see if he was dehydrated, it went down really slowly. 

I asked last night if i could take him and they said yes. Apparently they were going to put him down (aka shoot him) but the weather got really nice and they are having to try get corn planted now. 

What can i do for him? I am going to go pick him up as soon as i can this morning. I have fluids that he can have, a large syringe to feed him with, large raccoon cage that i can have, lots of random brands of wet food, and cottonballs that i will get wet and try wipe off his nose with.

I think that it is a bacteria infection that he has because the snot is coming out of both his nostrils. I looked up his symptoms in one of the books i have and all i could find was feline respitory disease and from what i noticed he has almost the exact same signs as it says. Penicillin - is that for bacteria infections? Would lysine help at all if i could mix some in with wet food and he ate it?

Sorry for being kinda vague with what he looks like but I didn't get a really good look at him - and a saint bernard dog kept trying to go between me and the cat. 

the "raccoon cage" is just a really large cage that my cousin used for his pet raccoon he had a few years ago. yes pet raccoon, accidently killed the mother while clearing brush. its maybe 8 foot by 6 foot, and about four feet high. 

I can't take this guy to the vet, they don't want to me to pay anything for taking care of him, and i honestly don't have the money. If/when i take him back they don't want to have to pay me anything. 


I was thinking i would give him a 2 ounces shot of fluids as soon as i got him home, clean up his nose with a moist cotton ball, and see if he would eat wet food or not. If he won't i'd mush it up and syringe feed him. I was also going to give him a shot of penicillen - probably 2.5 cc's. But what else? I'm really worried about him, poor guy. 

I really want to do TNR at that barn, there are a few cats i saw and all have kittens. Though again they don't want to pay the $5 per cat. 

-FF251


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

It's very kind of you to try to help that cat, though obviously what he really needs is veterinary care. Still, if you can't find a vet who will treat him pro bono, and you can't afford to absorb the cost yourself, you can try to do what you can for him at home.

First the penicillin. 2.5 cc is WAAAAAY too high a dose. The standard dose for subQ penicillin in cats is .5 cc per 10 lbs of body weight once daily. If the cat only weighs 5 lbs, he should get .25 cc (that's 1/10 as much as you were intending to give him).

What sort of fluids do you have at home? If it's a sterile solution like Lactated Ringer's or Sterile Saline, the best way to administer it at home is subQ. If you have an IV set or can pick one up from the vet, you can do drip administration. 100 ml would be a good starting point for most cats, but it could kill a cat with undiagnosed cardiac problems. If the cat is running a fever, administer the fluids at room temp. If his temp is normal, warm the fluids in a warm water bath before administration and test them on your wrist to make sure you don't get them too warm. Take care NOT to allow the connection end of the fluid bag to submerge under water.

It wouldn't hurt to crush a 500 mg L-lysine tablet and mix it into his food daily. Since he's apparently very congested, it might help clear his sinuses to put him in a smaller pet carrier, then place the carrier in a steamy bathroom for 20 mins or so a few times a day.

Assist feeding may be necessary if he won't eat on his own. You can get many tips for assist feeding at this website:

http://www.assistfeed.com/

Since you aren't planning to take this cat to the vet for diagnosis, administering fluids or any type of med (including penicillin) is risky business. But infection and dehydration are also very risky, and this cat sounds like he's in extremely critical condition. Without immediate care he will almost certainly die. With immediate non-vet care he may die anyway. His best chances for survival lie with veterinary care.

Good luck with the boy.

Laurie


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

Just thought i would update:

I wieghed him and he was 7.8 pounds. That was when I got him and I can tell he has already gained wieght. He has gotten fluids and his skin goes down normally now, and you can't feel his backbone already nearly as much as before, though he is still defently underwieght. 

The penicillin seems to be helping, his nose is much better looking. He still is breathing somewhat hard but much better.

Tonight he was so cute, I went to go feed him and he smiled at me - apparently some cats can smile. At least looks like a smile  He is a very happy cat, and loves to be petted all the time, the more the better. 

He is eating all wet and 7 ounces a day, i feed him when i get up @ 7:30 am, then after school @ 3:30 pm, and before i go to bed @ 10:30 pm. He refuses to eat dry - smart cat!


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Sounds like you're doing a great job of helping that cat. Congratulations! Make sure you give him a full two weeks of penicillin. Don't quit before two full weeks even if he seems to be feeling and acting fine, or he may relapse. You can help keep him hydrated and flushing the toxins out of his system by mixing some warm water into his canned food meals to turn them into "canned food gruel" that he can lap up.

Keep up the good work!

Laurie


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