Sick kitten needs congestion relief so he can eat

7_angel

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Hi all.

I just got a new kitten a few days ago. The evening I adopted him, I noticed he was sneezing. I mentioned this while I was still at the shelter and the shelter vet gave me oral antibiotics and eye gel for his eyes. Since then, my new kitten has gotten progressively worse. So much so that he won't eat and barely drinks. On Friday (day after I adopted him) his sneezing/hacking sounded worse so we went to the vet. Vet gave me a liquid decongestant to put in his nose as well as lysine, felavite and more eye gel and antibiotics.

To make a long story short, he has been to the vet 4 times in the four days I've had him. He's had 3 doses of IV fluids at the vet's as well. Today and yesterday he is off the antibiotics (clavamox) because that may be making him feel sick to his stomach causing him not to eat.

I really think he cannot smell a thing though and therefore won't eat. I have been force feeding him with a syringe and he has a hard time swallowing since he is so stuffy.

I need suggestions for what will help his nose to clear up.... I have already tried the following: (also, I've been to the vet today and vet says to continue force feeding... we go to the vet everyday).

- steamy bathroom (he still won't eat or drink after being in there for awhile)
- all sorts of food (wet and stinky too) - won't eat any of it
- vitamin B was put into his IV fluids as an appetite stimulant - no help
- have tried using a baby nose-sucker thing to try to get mucous out of his nose, but he hates it and it is too big for his little nose.
- decongestant given to us by the vet - doesn't work for him

I really need a good suggestion of something that will help him breathe better. I will probably go out and get a vaporizer/humidifier tonight, although I'm not too hopeful on this one since the steamy bathroom doesn't help him.

He hates being force fed and hates his meds. Poor little guy - I'm so worried about him since he is not getting better at all.
 

grogs

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Awww, poor little thing.

Originally Posted by 7_Angel

I really think he cannot smell a thing though and therefore won't eat. I have been force feeding him with a syringe and he has a hard time swallowing since he is so stuffy.
This apparently does happen a lot in cats with an upper respiratory infection. All 4 of my kitties got one over the Summer and it scared the crap out of me when I first saw it. In my case (at least after I took the first one to the vet), I was able to tell that they wanted food, but they just couldn't smell it. I would put the food out and the kitty would come running over to the bowl, poke her nose into it, and then look up at me with this pathetic little meow asking, "where's my food?" Then she'd hear one of the other cats eating, run over to their food bowl, and repeat the process. Definitely, stinky food like tuna or canned cat food is your best bet in those circumstances.

In my case, 3 of the 4 cats, in turn, went through this process. After about 6 trips to the vet with the first two, I realized the infection was viral (thus antibiotics were useless) and it would run its course in 2-3 days. One thing the vet gave me that did seem to have some effect was 'cyproheptadine'. I think it's prescribed purely as an antihistamine, but it apparently has a strong appetite stimulant effect in many cats.

I don't know any other way to help clear the kitty's chest out, but I agree with your vet that you need to keep force feeding him. Cats can apparently start going down hill in a hurry if they go a couple of days without eating. One other thing you might consider if you're having a really hard time feeding and/or medicating him would be to leave him under the vet's care for a few days. That way you can be pretty sure he's getting the food he needs, getting his meds when he needs, etc. Of course I know you'd rather have him home with you
but if you're concerned about your own ability to take care of him it can offer some peace of mind.
 

stephanietx

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Been there, done that!! Here's what worked for us.

Elevate his food dish so he doesn't have to bend his head over as much. Snot travels when he has to bend his head, if you know what I mean!

A small dab of baby Vick's on the top of the nose, out of the reach of the tongue.

Eucalyptus oil (Out of the reach of kitty as it's toxic to kitties) in the vaporizer water. I also put a few drops of eucalyptus oil on an old wash cloth and put it near my kitty, but out of her reach. I even put it under her bed so that the warmth from her body would heat up the rag and thus spread the aroma.

Continue the steamy bath. You might not think it's working, but it does, if you do it about 3 times a day. Vaporizer in an enclosed room works best.

Water boiling on the stove helps add humidity to the house as well, which is good for your stuffed up kitty.

Also, keep the room where he is warmer than the rest of the house.

One more thing! Get the stinkiest canned food you can find. Warm it up for a few seconds (+/- 8 seconds) and add a bit of water to it. Warming up the food will enhance the aroma and will encourage him to eat. (We used Science Diet a/d from the vet.)

Did you get any nose drops? You might want to ask your vet about some.
 

emmylou

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I'd be concerned that you stopped the Clavamox. A cat who is sick like that may well have a bacterial infection that needs antibiotics... and you're not supposed to stop antibiotics before the prescribed course is up, for fear of creating drug-resistant strains.

The one time my cat had a bad respiratory infection like you're describing, he perked up within a couple of days of starting Clavamox.

I would contact your vet and ask if your cat should be back on the Clavamox, or another antibiotic. Since he's not eating now, it doesn't seem like the Clavamox was what caused his loss of appetite.
 
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7_angel

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Hey all - thanks for the suggestions! I have a vaporizer now and the room he is staying in is nice and warm. I've also noticed it helps to massage around his nose and below his eyes - seems to help the drainage. We are still force feeding though. Warm stinky foods weren't working for him. But we're force feeding the A/D food which seems to go down well. He is not fighting as much any more either. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing though.... Went to the vet this morning and he no longer has a fever - temp is 101.6. However, I'm still concerned he is not eating or drinking on his own. He sleeps all the time. It breaks my heart to see him like this.

I'm going to bring up the cyproheptadine with my vet if he doesn't start eating on his own soon. The nose drops the vet gave us weren't working either and I tried elevating his food bowls, but he still won't eat.

Yup - the clavamox was stopped. It made him throw up. The vet said this could make him queasy and not want to eat too. Although, it's true he wasn't eating on the day we stopped the clavamox too.

I had bloodwork taken yesterday. His results showed everything was fine except white blood cell count was very elevated - it was 24.1 (24,100 units), the normal range is 3.5-16.0. Vet said this indicates a bacterial infection as well as the viral stuff.

This morning the vet gave him a shot of "Convenia." It's an antibiotic in a shot form and the literature says "a single injection of Convenia is equivalent to as many as 14 days of oral antibiotics." But looking through the literature I also noticed it says convenia is used to treat a pet's skin infection. I don't understand why it says "skin"... but my vet said it should help my kitty. Does anybody know anything about Convenia and how successful it is?

Thanks for the suggestions and help!!!!
 

emmylou

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Glad to hear he's been given a one-dose antibiotic, and that you and the vet are keeping a close eye on him. My guess about what you read is that Convenia is used for various types of bacterial infections, including those that affect the skin.
 

stephanietx

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Hannah had a Covenia shot. Let me tell you that she was totally zonked for about a week and a half! Finally, at the end of the 2nd week, she started coming out of it and acting more like her normal self. That may be another reason why he's sleeping so much, not to mention that his body has really been through the wringer trying to heal itself and fight off the infection.

When Hannah was so sick when we first got her (6 weeks in solitary confinement due to URI), I knew she was getting better when she started to groom herself and act interested in playing. She may not have played, but at least she followed the toys with her eyes. My Hannah was such a small thing, malnourished and deathly ill, that just staying alive was a miracle. It wore her out, just coming over to lay down in my lap when I had to give her meds and/or when I went in to visit her. I am convinced that the TLC she received made the difference in her recovery. Sometimes these infections take time to work their way through the body, especially if the kitty is young and not in the best of health nutritionally to begin with.
 

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What is your kitten's name and how old is he?

The information I found on convenia does say it's specific for skin infections and abcesses in cats, but it also says it's a broad spectrum antibiotic. That means it will take care of a lot of different types of infections. I hope your baby starts feeling better soon.
 
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7_angel

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Hi everyone - I have good news! The Convenia seemed to work! He ate on his own last night and drank too. Also ate and drank today. The weird thing is that he won't eat wet food - only eats the dry. Am kinda scratching my head on that one, but at least he's drinking and eating! He's still really sleepy and doesn't really play but watches toys - just like your Hannah, stephanietx.

His name is Noir (french for black) - he's completely black. The shelter thought he was 8-15 weeks old, but my vet said based on his teeth, he is around 6 months. I think I have a theory on how he got so sick. He probably has always had feline herpes, but the herpes flared up and he probably got the bacterial infection from the shelter. I went on a Sunday to the shelter and picked him out, but was told I'd have to wait until he'd been neutered and had his shots to take him home and they told me I could pick him up that Thursday. He had so many things done on his little system in those few days and his system probably couldn't take all of it. I'd requested to take him home the day I met him but the shelter said he'd have to be neutered first - I said I could have him neutered, but they didn't budge. It's policies like that that make little cats sick and stressed out. I'll be writing them a letter!

I've attached a pic of Noir - in all the pictures I took of him, his eyes are closed... but I really like this one anyway.

Thanks for the help and interest!


 

snake_lady

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That's an adorable pic


He looks like he's puckering up for a kiss.

Glad to hear he's on the mend. Some kitties just don't like the wet food. At least he's eating on his own now though.

I hope he continues to get better.
 
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7_angel

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

That's an adorable pic


He looks like he's puckering up for a kiss.

Glad to hear he's on the mend. Some kitties just don't like the wet food. At least he's eating on his own now though.

I hope he continues to get better.
Thank you! I agree - he does look like he's puckering. He's such an affectionate little kitty - he probably is getting ready for a kiss!
 

stephanietx

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Woohoo!! Glad little Noir is doing better. When Hannah had the Covenia shot, I had to call her to eat, which is odd since she's usually begging for food! She'd come, eat, then go back to sleep. I'm sure little Noir will be well soon. Just keep an eye on him and if he starts going back downhill, take him back to the vet.
 

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Hi,  my new kitten Chi Chi (Chee Chee) is going through the same thing.  So far, she has been getting worse.  I got her from the shelter 5 days ago.  She was sneezing then and not eating or drinking.  I took her to the vet, she had a fever and was given two shots, an antibiotic and B12.  She also was was given fluids and oral antibiotic but she is getting worse.  Today is Sunday and I'll be taking her back to the vet tomorrow but I'm going to try the vaporizer and vicks.  She is so congested.  At first she wasn't eating or drinking but now she will eat dry food and drink water.  She ate rice last night and loved it. She is 2 months old and weighs a little over 2 lbs.  She's so little and I'm so worried.  It seems like the antibiotics she was given haven't helped.  What causes this kind of illness?  I didn't know cats could get a head cold. I have 2 poodles also and am worried they might get sick, especially Roxie, who is very protective and stays close to Chi Chi.
 

peaches08

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Hi,  my new kitten Chi Chi (Chee Chee) is going through the same thing.  So far, she has been getting worse.  I got her from the shelter 5 days ago.  She was sneezing then and not eating or drinking.  I took her to the vet, she had a fever and was given two shots, an antibiotic and B12.  She also was was given fluids and oral antibiotic but she is getting worse.  Today is Sunday and I'll be taking her back to the vet tomorrow but I'm going to try the vaporizer and vicks.  She is so congested.  At first she wasn't eating or drinking but now she will eat dry food and drink water.  She ate rice last night and loved it. She is 2 months old and weighs a little over 2 lbs.  She's so little and I'm so worried.  It seems like the antibiotics she was given haven't helped.  What causes this kind of illness?  I didn't know cats could get a head cold. I have 2 poodles also and am worried they might get sick, especially Roxie, who is very protective and stays close to Chi Chi.
You might be better off starting a thread of your own for more responses.

In any case, don't use Vicks. It's not safe.
 
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