Hope someone here can help...we have a barn cat that we have kept up to date on all her shots, but she has a problem...she sneezes green ooze from time to time, and coughs some. We have had her to the vet, and he said if she was born with it (she was) all he could do would be to give her some antibiotics, and see if it went away, and if it didn't she would just have it the rest of her life. The meds helped while she was on it, then the problem came back after the meds were through. My question: does anyone elses barn cat have this problem, and did the vet say the same thing ours did? Thanks! Joe

-- Joe (threearrs@hotmail.com), November 13, 2001

Answers

barn cats dont go to the vet here,, but that sounds like a respitory infection for sure

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), November 13, 2001.

I'd say take her back to the vet for follow up, or take her to another vet. With this problem coming back after a course of antibiotics, I wonder whether there isn't maybe some foreign matter, a weed or something, caught in her sinuses. Or maybe a different tactic with the antibiotics would be effective. Perhaps a second opinion would be helpful.

-- Laura Rae Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), November 13, 2001.

I have had three barn cats with this over the years, she has chronic rhino-pneumenitis, and yes, she was exposed to this before birth, so even the earliest of shots would not have prevented it.

The infected cats lived fairly long and otherwise healthy lives, except when it would flare up in cold and damp weather. I provided a red heat lamp and snug cat house outside in the old milk house for the affected cats to use, and they did! Seemed to help.

Your only recourse is to treat the bacterial infection with antibiotics that sometimes results from the chronic viral infection of the bronchial tubes and lungs and sinuses of the nose. The basic disease is viral and is why the antibiotics will not get rid of it, you can only treat the symptoms.

The vet will help you decide eventually when the symptoms get so bad and the cat's quality of life degrades to the point euthanasia is recommended, but hopefully that is farther down the road.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), November 14, 2001.

There is one other possibility for the chronic sinusitis and that is bordatella. If the antibiotics cleared up the infection for a bit and then it returned you may want to try the antibiotic route again and then as soon as the discharge clears vaccinate the cat intranasally for bordatella. Works a good number of the time.

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin@starband.net), November 14, 2001.