URI with antibiotics for 20 days.....Grrrrrr!

I have 2 Ragdoll 16 week old kittens that have seen a vet 20 days ago. The vet perscribed Clindamycin drops for the medication. I saw the vet again 4 days ago and told him that it is not working and he said just keep them on it I think 20 days is a bit too long. I have followed the directions exactly and both kittens still are still sneezing. What kinda medication do vets perscribe for a upper respiatory infection as I am 2nd guessing this vet. I would like to ask for a different medication.......but don't know what Please help me ...........

May I ask, please, is it just sneezing, or do they still have the runny eyes, nose, etc? I am just wondering that maybe they might be allergic to something and that is causing the sneezing, but if they have the other symptoms too, it's time to look for another vet.

Originally Posted by KittenKiya

May I ask, please, is it just sneezing, or do they still have the runny eyes, nose, etc? I am just wondering that maybe they might be allergic to something and that is causing the sneezing, but if they have the other symptoms too, it's time to look for another vet.

Click to expand...

The cats were this way when I got them almost 4 weeks ago except they had crusty eyes which now is gone. The one kitten also has Coccidious according to a stool sample. The vet said both kittens plus their mother will also have it and all 3 have been treated with Albon for 10 days. The one kitten still has the runs and I have been feeding them a "rich" food "Natural balance" Dry for over 3 weeks. I am switching the cats over very slowly to Solid Gold dry hoping that maybe the diarrea is just caused from the rich food and not the Coccidious which should be gone being today is the 10th day of treatment. The kittens appear normal and very playful as they should be.......but I am still very concerned more with the sneezing..........I don't know what to do next

Originally Posted by Slave2_Ragdolls

I have 2 Ragdoll 16 week old kittens that have seen a vet 20 days ago. The vet perscribed Clindamycin drops for the medication. I saw the vet again 4 days ago and told him that it is not working and he said just keep them on it

I think 20 days is a bit too long. I have followed the directions exactly and both kittens still are still sneezing. What kinda medication do vets perscribe for a upper respiatory infection as I am 2nd guessing this vet. I would like to ask for a different medication.......but don't know what

Please help me ...........

Click to expand...

Since I'm away from home, I don't have any information with me about what Teddy took for his URI problem - but I will say that it took I think 4 courses of antibiotics - and 3 different kinds total - to clear him up. It's possible that they need a different drug - but I can't provide any help as far as what we've used. Because Teddy's infection was so persistent for so long (this is over the course of months), we found that he needed a variety of antibiotics to clear him up.

Welp..........I went to see the vet again today and told him about my cats still sneezing. He gave me some liquid Amoxycillin to try for free to see if it will help knock out the URI ...........Wish me luck

Originally Posted by Slave2_Ragdolls

Welp..........I went to see the vet again today and told him about my cats still sneezing. He gave me some liquid Amoxycillin to try for free

to see if it will help knock out the URI ...........Wish me luck

Click to expand...

It may also help if you get some L-Lysine and start putting that in a little wet food for them each day. Measure 1/4 tsp. per cat per day. It helps to boost the immune system and and I think many of us use it as a matter of course during the winter months for our ferals and indoor/outdoor cats.

If your kittens are sneezing with no other symptoms it may be related to something in the environment though. If this round of antibiotics doesn't stop it I'd check that.

Good luck with your little fur family.

let me know if the amoxycillin works.. i have the same stuff for my 10 week old kitten and i'm worried about his constant sneezing. i'm new to kitties! hope your ragdolls get well soon : )

The Amoxycillan is what my Damita is on for her URI. Hopefully it works as well for you as it did for us!

I'd also like to toss out that after the treatment for Coccidia is done, I would suggest taking in another stool sample to be analyzed to make sure it is gone & there is nothing else there. Just to be extra cautious!

It is possible that the URI is viral in nature rather than bacterial. For cats like humans it may have to run it's course. Like for humans some viruses can take more time than others to get over.

It is common for patients to go on antibiotics for a viral infection. The idea is to prevent a secondary bacterial infection while the virus runs its course. Its hard enough to fight off one type of infection, let alone two.

Some viral infections are quick to hit and leave, others can take a very long time to get over. So 20 days may be very reasonable.

One of our Pixie Bobs, Aurora, had a nasty URI for 3 months when we first got her. It started out with the sneezing and runny nose and she even had some discharge from her eyes. She was also on 3 differnt antibiotics through the course of this. The first was Clavamox, but I can not remember what the other 2 were, because this was 5 years ago. I also treated her with homeopathic medication near the end, because the infection kept getting worse. I believe Aurora had a bad viral infection, that is why no antibiotic will ever work. Even with the antibiotics, she still ended up with a nasty bacterial infection in her lungs. They had to do a tracheal wash on her, to clean out some of the built up fluids in her lungs. However, after about a week of being on the homeopathic medication, the infection cleared up. If it is viral, it just has to run it's course. Keeping them on the antibiotics will help prevent them from getting a secondary infection, since their ammune systems are being drained, fighting the other infection.

Originally Posted by Mom of 4

It is common for patients to go on antibiotics for a viral infection. The idea is to prevent a secondary bacterial infection while the virus runs its course. Its hard enough to fight off one type of infection, let alone two.

Some viral infections are quick to hit and leave, others can take a very long time to get over. So 20 days may be very reasonable.

Click to expand...

I completely agree. Antibiotics don't cure viral infections.

Originally Posted by tru

It may also help if you get some L-Lysine and start putting that in a little wet food for them each day. Measure 1/4 tsp. per cat per day. It helps to boost the immune system and and I think many of us use it as a matter of course during the winter months for our ferals and indoor/outdoor cats.

Click to expand...

The 1/4 teaspoon dose is a daily maintenance dose for adult cats, not kittens. Call your vet to find out the appropriate dose for kittens if you go down this path.

I don't know why I didn't mention lysine - I use it every day!

I use 500mg per cat per day. When Teddy flares up, he is bumped to 1000mg/day - but he has herpes issues.

Welp.........my Raggies are sneezing less while on the Amoxycillin Maybe they will finally get over this URI The kittens both need to be wrapped in a bath towel like a mummy thou or ya will not get any medication down these little hercules monsters Very very strong kittens indeed and they hate taking medication.......LOL!

Originally Posted by shambelle

I don't know why I didn't mention lysine - I use it every day!

I use 500mg per cat per day. When Teddy flares up, he is bumped to 1000mg/day - but he has herpes issues.

Click to expand...

A quarter teaspoon of lysine powder is equal to about 482mg and is considered a preventative dose for herpes in adult cats. You double it when there are flare-ups.

Amoxi (Amoxicillin) is probably the antibiotic of choice for kittens and while clavamox is stronger it isn't usually indicated for kittens. If the Amoxi didn't work after a week or so you could discuss switching to Clavamox if the kittens are old enough.

The diarrhea is perhaps a bigger concern. Coccidia in kittens, untreated, is dangerous. Sometimes it takes several weeks of treatment with Albon to effect a "cure". Coccidia causes diarrhea by destroying the lining of the intestine which if untreated can lead to organ failure in kittens. Do not allow the stool to remain loose without treatment.

a 250 Milligram dose of L-Lysine for ragdoll kittens and 500 milligrams for adult ragdolls works because it stops the reproduction of the virus.