Cat produces way too much mucus/slime

Question

Our cat, which is 12 years old, has been ill for around 2 months now. However, we don't know what the real disease or problem actually is.

The problem during these 2 months is that our cat lost a lot of weight, is not drinking and eating like he was used to, and that he produces way too much slime in his nose and throat. The mucus is literally hanging on his chin. Therefore he is coughing and sneezing a lot.

The steps that we have taken so far are:

• It all started when we started to see some signs of a common cold. So we started visiting a veterinarian.

• In the first place, the veterinarian was thinking of a strep throat, just like we did. He gave the cat some antibiotics, which didn't resolve the problems. After that he got other antibiotics. They seemed to work, but after all they did not either.

• We decided to visit another veterinarian. He was thinking about some bacteria or some kind of fungus inside his nose. Another antibiotics was used, but that didn't work as well.

• Since the whole problem is inside his nose and mouth, we started to check his teeth and mouth. Since the veterinarian was thinking of a gum disease, the two side teeth of the cat were removed.

• After the removal of the teeth, our cat got prednisone, which is now one week ago. However the problems persists.

• The last known antibiotics are spiramycin and metronidazole

Note that during this time, our cat stopped eating and drinking like he was used to. The only way to feed him, is to use liquid food. Think of meat products and a lot of recovery food cans.

We can also notice that our cat is not drinking water enough. He used to not drink a lot of water, however, now we need to force him to drink using a syringe.

After reading all this, you might say we should stop the cat from suffering. However, the cat is still showing all of his original signs like cleaning himself and responding to people.

So, to wrap it all up, the veterinarians do not have a real answer to the problem. So, are there any veterinarian around here, or people with a similar problem which can help finding the cause of this problem?

Answer 1

I'm not a vet, but if three different antibiotics didn't work, your vets need to look for a different cause of the problem.

PetMD states in their article about Runny Nose in Cats:

The source of a nasal discharge is typically in the upper respiratory organs, such as the nasal cavities, sinuses, and postnasal area. However, if the cat has a swallowing disorder or a digestive tract disease, secretions may be forced into the postnasal area. If the secretions are coming from the eyes, it may be caused by nerve damage to the middle ear.

And VCA lists similar causes

Some fungal infections can cause chronic upper respiratory tract disease; these infections are more likely in certain geographic areas. Cancer (neoplasia) affecting the upper respiratory tract is rare, but may need to be ruled out in certain cases. In a few cats, non-cancerous nasal polyps may cause chronic sneezing and discharge. There may be occasions when your veterinarian will need to rule out other causes such as trauma, foreign bodies trapped in the nose, or even dental disease.

The symptoms you listed in your comment point in the direction of a swallowing disorder or chronic infection. That's why it's important to know the color of the discharge. Red or yellow hints at a bacterial infection while transparent, colorless discharge can be caused by anything else.

By opening the mouth (and with some luck) you can see the throat of your cat. Reddened or swollen tissue would be a sure sign, but since someone removed some teeth from him, they should have noticed if it was so obvious.

Some object could be stuck in the esophagus (like the barbed little hairs protruding from the ears of wheat). Or worse, he might have swallowed something vitriolic that damaged his esophagus. Maybe cats can have tonsillitis? But again, I'm no vet, this is pure speculation.

In any case, the vets should examine him thoroughly and maybe analyze a sample of the discharge to prove the involvement or lack thereof of germs.

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Side note to easy your mind: Since you feed him liquid food he doesn't have to drink as much as if you fed dry food. As long as he regularly makes puddles in the litter, his liquid balance should be OK.