Stephanie in New York works for the Martha Stewart company and had a problem with her little one – I was pleased she turned to me for advice. I did write to Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, the Official Vet of Cat Chat®, who said my comments were all on-the-money.
Hi Tracie – I was listening to you over the weekend and thought that I needed to ask your opinion. I have a 5 month old Persian/himalayan that has a smooshed face. When I received her a month ago she was sneezing often and would have mucus coming out of her nose. I brought her to the vets for her booster who then put her on antibiotics just in case she had a respiratory infection. She finished the meds 2 wks ago and still is the same. I get nervous because she doesn’t sound like she is breathing well. It’s like she has post nasal drip and when she sneezes she has little boogers on her face. I am so concerned. She gets her 3rd shot this Wed night. What is your opinion?
And she has very drippy eyes – brownish in color when I wipe them.
Hi Stephanie -
I’m really sorry to hear how sick your kitty is – and I appreciate your confidence in my judgment to reach out for support.
I have forwarded your email to the Official vet of CAT CHAT®, Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, but there are a couple of things I would say right off the bat.
Your kitten has an upper respiratory infection (URI) – you need to get to a vet with a little more common sense than one who would vaccinate a little cat when her immune system is already being stressed with illness.
I really find this disturbing enough to urge you to find a more thoughtful practitioner — a cats-only vet would be best (links to all-feline practices are on my website under On-Air Tips.)
DO NOT GET ANY FURTHER VACCINATIONS WHILE THE KITTEN IS SICK
This is just common sense that your vet clearly lacks.
And I’m wondering what this “third” vaccination would be, given that kittens have two sets of shots and then I concur with Dr. Hodgkins and others who recommend no more vaccinations, just a year blood test to check immunity levels.
Buy Dr Hodgkins book YOUR CAT tomorrow — it is a sensational book, a complement to mine and much more about medical issues. For example, she recommends using a humidifier with a kitten with a cold — but I’ll let you read for yourself.
Those drippy eyes are a sure sign of URI and you want to get her better ASAP before this becomes a chronic infection
Please let me know what you decide to do – and what I can do to help?
Hang in there!
Tracie
The Cat Bible
