Cat chronic sinus infection treatment with saline solution - READ DESCRIPTION
Вставка
- Опубліковано 18 жов 2024
- For the record: I'm NOT a vet, I am just showing you what I do with my cat and her condition, not advising you to do the same. I don't know you nor your capabilities, and I don't know your cat nor its condition. Consult a vet.
One of my Siamese cats has a chronic nasal condition in ONE nasal passage which started when she was 7 and got progressively worse (she's now 11), leading to severe congestion in one nostril, coughing and reverse hiccup.
A rhinoscopy showed no evident problems - no foreign matter and no growths - other than a raw area in the nasal passage. Repeated tests for bacterial and fungal infections came back negative.
Despite no bacteria, antibiotics helped (perhaps because they reduce inflammation), but the condition would return each time within a few weeks. Asthma drugs didn't help (in fact they seemed to make it worse). An anti-inflamatory (Meloxidyl, an NSAID, 0,5 mg/ml) helped a bit, but long-term use can lead to kidney problems so I'm reluctant to use that.
We don't smoke, and have no air-fresheners or fragrances/incense. The problem persisted after a move to a cleaner city, so particulates and mould were not part of the problem.
Administering a simple saline solution, and getting her to sneeze it out, reduced the problems significantly. It keeps her nasal passage clean, without the need for drugs or weird herbal recipes. She breathes freely through her nose for many hours afterwards, and she enjoys the treatment so much, that she comes and sits in front of me when it's about time for her treatment.
I inject the solution into her nasal passage. Each dose is about 3 drops, or 0.3 ml, then I tickle her nose with a piece of tightly-rolled tissue to get her to sneeze, then repeat.
Key to administering the treatment is taking my time, injecting slowly at first so the she gets used to the strange feeling in her nose, pausing when she indicates, and telling her how good she's being. Also, repeat tickling the nose until she sneezes properly.
Conclusion: For whatever reason, she seems to have a slightly irritated right nasal passage, perhaps because it's narrower and/or she has an allergy. The saline solution + sneeze keeps it clean and calm, reducing inflammation and keeping it snot-free.
Below is the recipe for the saline solution I use.
Recipe for saline solution:
Pour 1/2c/125ml/125g boiling water into a sterilised mason jar.
Add in 1/2 a level teaspoon table salt (may be iodised)
Stir well, let sit for a few minutes, then close the jar
BEFORE USING, allow to cool for at least a couple of hours to room temperature!!!
Store at ROOM TEMPERATURE.
SHAKE WELL each time before using
I refresh the solution and sterilise the syringe once a week.
OTHER TIPS which helped:
I replaced the sisal rope on her scratch-pole with a piece of outdoor carpeting. She would sneeze almost every time after she scratched, and with the carpet she doesn't do that anymore.
try a different brand of wet-food for at least a month to see if it affects the situation. And smell the food yourself - if it doesn't smell 'fresh' all the time when you open a package, then definitely switch brands.
switch to natural, dust- and fragrance-free litter (e.g. wood pellets instead of clay or silicate)
clean the litter-box twice daily
That is the world's best behaved cat
Why was he so behaved? Is the question...😢
You can tell by the way she looks up at you that she trusts you so much ❤️
Lol, my cats would NEVER even stay in that position, waiting for the "procedure". I have to seriously restrain them. 😂
Thank you for the video, though! The vet showed me how to do it, but I just wanted to make sure I remembered correctly. 🤜🤛
This is impressive. My cat is very affectionate, but she does not understand medication, she doesn't just get mad, she gets terrified. My vet has contacts with a compounding pharmacy so I can give Grace her meds via an ear salve. I have pilled many cats before, but this one is so sensitive that she hides for days after one pill. That is why I think saline would not work well. Still, she is just getting worse. Her poor nose.
Two vets and one specialist, they still don't know what the underlying problem is. The specialist said she is too small for a rhinoscopy. She thinks it is calicivirus or feline herpes, Grace always tests negative for both. The biggest issue is that she barely eats. My vet said cats don't like to eat if they can't smell their food. Grace has been like this her whole life, but she is 14 now and being underweight so long is catching up to her and now she has a heart issue. Steroids help the mystery nasal issue, but they are bad for her heart.
Thank you for this video. I am watching some others too, I will give this a try. My vet did recommend it at one point.
Thanks for your comment. A few suggestions:
1) A few months ago I had to treat her with antifungal medication because her sister had picked up an infection in the garden and I wanted to ensure it didn't spread. Quite amazingly - both to me and the vet - her nasal infection cleared-up almost entirely within days! Even months later she breaths much easier and I haven't had to give her any saline treatments since. She had tested negative for viruses and bacteria, just like your cat, and they couldn't find anything. So if you and your vet is willing to give it a try, the medication was Itrafungol 52 ml... it was relatively expensive (€90 a bottle), but it's a liquid and fairly easy to administer.
2) Your vet is correct that cats don't eat if they can't smell their food, and my two ageing cats (now 15) get more and more finicky... I find that putting their food (wet or dry) in the microwave for 10 seconds, then stirring it up (be SURE to TEST the temperature with your finger), the smells are released and the cats are far more likely to eat it. Also, I find it helps to stick to one flavour they like rather than switching.
3) My cat in the video absolutely hates pills, but I have found that by liberally coating them in Vaseline (regular Vaseline is safe, and not digested) it hides the smell/taste, it allows me to stick the pill to the end of my finger to deliver it directly to the back of her tongue, and it makes it slide down their throat MUCH easier.
Hope this helps.
@@_HenS_ Thank you for this response. I will definitely keep these in mind. I hope your cat's little nose stays clear.
@@_HenS_
Pourquoi vous avez écrit dans le titre de la vidéo que c'est une maladie chronique ??
Le rhinites des chats et le coryza dans la majorité des cas le chat guéri définitivement sans être chronique
Mon chat actuellement il est diagnostiqué coryza, mais il n'a qu'un seul symptôme à savoir éternuements et écoulement nasale, mais il mange et boit très bien, il est énergique, il joue, pas de fièvre, pas d'infection oculaire ni buccale
Je le donne depuis 2 semaines un antibiotique doxy 100 et chlorure de sodium avec seringue
Est ce qu'il y a un traitement plus meilleur ?? Et pourquoi tu dis que c'est chronique ??
How did you get her to behave so well for this?
Other than the fact that my cats trust me completely (I never tease or trick them), nothing. She really enjoys the treatment. I do it slowly, pause if she indicates (she'll push against my hand with her paw if I'm going too fast), and she seems to really love the sneeze (sneezes always feel good, right?) and then she of course breathes more freely afterwards.
I saline rinse my cat’s nose daily but I have him tilted forward so it can’t find its way into the lungs. I never put anything inside the nose as the tissue there is very fragile and you can cause damage which will make the situation worse. Like yours, my cats is still and behaves very well. He knows I’m trying to help him.
Thank you for posting this... I have an 11 yr old cat with chronic rhinitis,, starts off sneezing and then she gets horribly bunged up and miserable....anti biotics clear it, but within a few weeks. its back. Recently given a px for prevomax, administered like you have with your cat... seemed to calm her and lift her spirits almost immediately, sneezing stopped and that downward spiral stopped in its tracks... she is clear now after only few days course... so, i'm thinking of trying your method with her as a preventative. (Hence search for "nasal flush" because it was mentioned and wanted to look into what it was... I totally see that what you do is not that, but glad to have come across your video). I'm going to try it and hope it works. Thank you so much for sharing... what a good, well behaved puddy cat you have... Mine is almost blind and has to have eye drops x3 times a day... she is so good abou that, I'm sure she'll be absolutely okay wiht this too... not like my other one.. she'd be off!!
Do you happen to have any videos of what your cat sounded like before starting this treatment? My cat is experiencing similar things & I just want to make sure my boy is happy, healthy & breathing okay
No, I'm afraid not, but it's basically a 'stuffed nose' sound. Did you read the description for ideas? Definitely get a rhinoscopy done (if you can afford it) to make sure there are no anomolies, and get tests for bacterial and fungal infections. If it's none of those, it's - in my opinion - probably a narrowing of the nasal passage coupled with irritants/allergens. Get rid of all scented candles and air-fresheners; get dust and fragrence-free kitty litter; replace sisal-rope on scratchpoles with a piece of outdoor carpet; don't use scented fabric-softeners for the areas they like to sleep; smell their wet-food to check it always smells 'fresh'; try not using perfume for a few weeks; etc. etc. Lots of ideas, and they all centre around reducing irritants to your cat's VERY sensitive nose. Hope this helps.
@@_HenS_ Thank you! Yeah sounds like congestion, but no eye or nasal crusting, some reverse sneezing has increased in incidence. Bloodwork came back normal & antibiotics don't seem to change things. The vet suggested allergies, so a humidifier has been ordered in the meantime, we'll see if that does anything🤞 I really do appreciate your suggestions & I'd like to explore these possibilities for my boy 💙
@@mojojojo5372 keep me posted, perhaps we can help each other! in my cat's case, I think the reverse sneezing is a case of 'spastic excitement' - she does it almost exclusively when she's expecting something good, like food or attention. It might be the excitement makes her breathe faster, but the nasal restriction makes it difficult, so she reverse sneezes/coughs, like we might do with a bad cold. Stroking her under her chin/neck and quietening her makes them stop. So while they sound serious, it's not really anything I need to worry about.
@@mojojojo5372 by the way don't be surprised if the humidifier makes it worse if it's allergies. I would focus on eliminating scents and particulates. Take note of when and where the reverse sneezing starts... after scratching? After eating? after using the litter box? After lying on the duvet? when you've prepared a meal? those are clues to the source/trigger. Can be as obvious as smoke, or as subtle as the scent of peppers or even the dust of a scratchpole.
That is very helpful, thanks for the good description as well.
Just one thing; you advice using wood pellets; often wood products are containing mold....
But anyway, if a cat strolls around outside on the ground, its in contact with mold on the earth.
I wonder if our little cat will let us do that treatment on her.
What a good cat. my goodness if I did that with my aunt's persian angora, I have to use my medical insurance later.
This video was so helpful! Thank you!
My kitty has been doing the same thing and sneezing mucus out of one nostril… I took her to the vet and they said something about not having a smooth sinus mucosa… and gave me abx… which only helped for a few days. My kitty is breathing a lot better now after her saline rinse! Thank you!
Indeed, antibiotics appear to temporarily reduce the inflammation for a few days, same thing with prednison, but doing either of those for extended periods has more risks than benefits. Tests showed it is not a bacterial infection (so antibiotics don't work) and a rhinoscopy showed there were no polyps etc. Basically, it would appear just to be irritation/friction due to a narrow passageway. So this is a simple, safe and non-invasive way to treat the chronic condition.
Ok. That's lovely, but my cat would never stay still for that. Once the tissue was placed, he'd be scratching and skatting 5 miles down the road! You're very lucky there.
Thank you !!!
Thanks for sharing
Thank you for this demo. I'm considering this w/ my one-sided snuffler, she's miserable w/ the congestion. Any chance that some cats might aspirate the saline into their lungs?
I'm not a vet, so I can't definitively say whether they would, or if that would be a problem. However the amount I give in one dose is a maximum of 3 or 4 drops at a time, which is about 1/3rd of a ml, so a tiny amount, and it's cleaner (see my instructions, it's been boiled) than any water they might accidentally aspirate while drinking from their drinking water. In addition, the nose treatment results in them wanting to sneeze, not inhale.
@@_HenS_ Okay, thanks for the further explanation...
Your cat is really behaved. I'm working with mine on being good about taking his meds for his sinus problems. He used to hide now he lets me give them to him some he will take easily,even reminds me it's time for them and others I gotta grab his scruff and he turns his head but doesn't try to get away. So it's possible to teach the cats meds arent a terrible thing. treats help😂
Is saline solution ok for the cat to drink bc it's going right down his throat
Oh no! 3 drops of purified water and a few grains of salt going down a cat's throat! Call the SPCA! 😉 Yes, it's safe, it's about 1/3 ml... even 10 times that amount would be safe, and the worst thing that would happen is that the cat would throw up the water (but do you realise just how little one third of a millilitre is?).
Please help my cat is suffering with congestion
Does your vet condone this? Seems like way too much fluid to me.
The vet suggested it in the first place. The 'syringe' I use is quite narrow, only about 10 drops of salt water are injected, much much less than a saline flush vets perform. Furthermore, my cat indicates how fast and how much, and she likes it.
@@_HenS_ what a good kitty!
We have a short-nosed breed young cat whom our clinician said if we gave her liquid meds down her throat they could go directly into her lungs instead of her stomach and asphyxiate or cause pneumonia. (we have to use pills, edibles or shots). Your cat has a long nose...so is probably not a problem for long nosed breeds).
With our kitty-we can only do one drop of a vet prescription eye drop in each nostril for that reason. Saline is probably fine for ongoing ...as the prescription can only be used a few weeks without over-drying her sinuses.
They said to put her in the bathroom with us every time we shower for the steam to open her clogged nose for comfort in the meantime.
We also have a baby humidifier for her if she is sleeping when the showers are going, but have actually just held her outside an empty hot shower while waiting for the vet appointment and the doors shut. If it steams the mirrors, it is helping.
my other cats would never let me do what you are doing..especially alone. what a good kitty you have! We all love our kitties so much, don't we?
He is not eating anything and his nose are closed please help
Is this aka a nasal flush?
My cat needs a flush and it will be performed under sedation due to risk of aspirating.
no, a nasal flush performed by a vet involves a LOT more liquid and indeed needs to be done under sedation as you say. this is NOT a substitute, but your vet may suggest something like this as a 'maintenance' after a nasal flush. speak to your vet.
@@_HenS_ yes we’re going back to the vet again. Already had antibiotics, decongestant and anti inflammatories. Didn’t keep it away.
It’s always the left nostril only with my girl. Starting to wonder if there’s a piece of cat litter stuck.
@@baybeegalkk given the treatments you listed, I can pretty much guarantee it's not a foreign object stuck in the nose, otherwise it would be a huge mess now. what you're describing sounds exactly like my cat. a rhinoscopy found nothing, just a tiny bit of irritation but no clear cause. also no bacterial infection. In my case, I have suspected it's simply a narrowing of the nasal canal leading to irritation. that said, virtually everything 'miraculously' cleared up recently when I had to put the cats on an oral anti-ringworm medicine (itraconazol 10mg/ml) because her sister got ringworm from the garden, so maybe it was a fungal infection. it's been better for 3 weeks now! I'll post back in a few weeks to say if it's still good. you could ask your vet about trying that treatment.
@@_HenS_ bless them, ringworm from the garden.
My girl has been going out a lot recently. All day long in fact.
How long did it take for you to notice improvement after the fungal treatment?
Sometimes her left eye waters a lot and this is usually at the same time her nose runs.
Lots of sneezing too. At night, you can hear her breathing is louder but I think this just swelling and mucus.
Her chest is clear. Definitely upper respiratory.
Maybe we could try the same or equivalent treatment as you have done 🙏🏼
@@baybeegalkk after just 2 days of the antifungal medicine, it was cleared up, quite amazing. in week 3 of a 5 week treatment, still good so we'll see how it goes. tear ducts and nasal passage are directly connected, as you're probably aware.
What kind of saline is safe? Like i know this may sound like a stupid question but is it the same as contact solution? Im very low on resources right now and my boy needs something done! He isnt leaking from his eyes or nose, just really dry anf stuffed up. I really feel like this is exactly what he needs but i definitely want to do it right!!! Thanks!
Don't use contact solution. In the description I list what I use. Ask your vet if you're unsure.
@@_HenS_thank you!
I can not place my cat in such a position. She is a petite cat, but approach her face and she becomes a lion(ess).