Please Help! Kitty Has a Cold!

We adopted a kitty last week from petsmart and took her to the vet and she came down with a kitty cold within 2 days of being home with us. She is our only pet. She's 9 weeks old now. She started off sneezing. Vet said she had a slight discharge from 1 nostril. Still eatng and payful and acting like a kitten. She gave us .25 mls of clavamox to give her twice daily with her food(not in it but when she eats) which I've been very diligent about doing and shes been great. However, today her eye has started running. Just one eye. It's slightly closed. Not really red or swollen. Vet said she doesn't need anything else, that the clavamox is a great medicine and should work. It may take a couple of weeks for this cold to go away. Is this true? I don't want it to get any worse? She's been on the meds since thursday night, 2.5 days. Thanks.

The cold is a virus, so antibiotics only help with the secondary infections.  You might want to add some L-lysine (do a search on here, and you'll find a lot of discussion of it) to her wet food.  It doesn't seem to have any taste to cats, and it helps a lot with suppressing the virus that can cause these colds.  If it IS just a typical upper respiratory infection, the kitten may feel pretty bad for a while, but as long as it eats and drinks, you shouldn't be in too much trouble.

By the way, virtually all the cats that come into a shelter eventually get this virus.  We just expect it when the cat has been at the shelter for a couple of weeks.

If you see any sudden deterioration in the kitten's condition, contact the vet's office for a new visit.
 

Upper respiratory infections are often triggered by stress.  No telling what her life was like before being at the shelter, so she may also be malnourished, which doesn't help matters either.  Being in the shelter is stressful, then being adopted into a new home with new sights, sounds, and people is stressful, and going to the vet is stressful.  As mrblanche has suggested, add some l-lysine to her diet.  I would give 250 mg twice a day mixed with wet food.  You can find lysine tablets in the supplement section of grocery stores and pharmacies.  Look for the 500mg tablets and break in half.  Then, crush between 2 spoons.

Watch her for decreased appetite or change in play or litter box habits.  If she starts sounding more congested, you can steam her in the bathroom.  Get the bathroom nice and steamy, then sit in there with her with the door closed until the steam dissipates.

Clavamox can cause some kitties to throw up, so if you notice that happening, call the vet for a different medication.  Also, as mrblanche has said, if there's any change in appetite or play level, call the vet immediately as kittens can go downhill very quickly.

thanks. She hasn't been throwing up. I have definitely been watching for that. I will be looking for the l-lysine. THe vet offered me some powder that cost $23 but not sure the name and I declined it. She said mix 1/2 cup in her wet food also. Might that have been it? I just want her feeling better? Right now she is eating, drinking, and acting ok but her 1 eye is red and running.

I had a persian kitten that had a really bad URI and I would run the hot water in the shower, close the door and let the room fill with steam.  I would take her in there and sit with her and she would fall asleep.  I believe my vet said no more than 15 minutes at a time but it seems to give her some relief.  I gave her L-lysine and added probiotics to her food.  URIs can be persistent and in this case there was an underlying issue of Giardia it wasn't until I found it and clear up the Giardia that she was finally able to get off the antibiotics.

You can get Opticlear for cats in the pet stores.  It won't hurt them, and it has a little bit of boric acid in it, which is the old farmers' treatment for eye infections.  It's soothing to the eyes, too.
 

Excellent advice from everyone here.  Sorry your kitty is under the weather but as someone said, nearly all of them will get this at one time or another.  When I brought one of my cats home she was given clavamox and I added the l-lysine myself.  It worked well.  Another cat did not respond to the clavamox at all but the vet gave her another med and it worked well.  Can not recall the name of it right now though.  The Opticlear suggestion  from Mr Blanche is also excellent advice for that runny eye.
 

does petsmart or petco sell the opticlear? I washed her eye out with a warm cotton ball? It's starting to look awful I worry the darn clavamox isn't doing anything. $50 down the drain then I just want her better asap. She is eating great playing and using the litter box.

Petsmart and Petco both have Opticlear.  Walmart may have it, too. Failing that, a saline eye rinse for people with contacts will help, although it doesn't have any antimicrobial powers, usually.  You can make your own eyewash with a little boric acid (available at most pharmacies) and warm water.  Less than a level teaspoon of boric acid powder (1/2 tsp will probably do) in 8 oz of warm water.  The Opticlear is something like 1% boric acid. 

If the eye itself is actually swollen, and if it starts looking cloudy, you have a very serious problem.  If you just mean swelling around the eye, that's not so serious.
 

If the opticlear doesn't help, call the vet and ask for some eye drops.  We had to put Hannah on Gentimicin eye drops when we got her.  They doubled as nose drops, too. 
 

thanks i did ask for  them but my vet said they didnt have any the only kind they did have cost $62

mrblanche said:

Petsmart and Petco both have Opticlear.  Walmart may have it, too. Failing that, a saline eye rinse for people with contacts will help, although it doesn't have any antimicrobial powers, usually.  You can make your own eyewash with a little boric acid (available at most pharmacies) and warm water.  Less than a level teaspoon of boric acid powder (1/2 tsp will probably do) in 8 oz of warm water.  The Opticlear is something like 1% boric acid. 

If the eye itself is actually swollen, and if it starts looking cloudy, you have a very serious problem.  If you just mean swelling around the eye, that's not so serious.
 

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theyre is slight redness around the eye. how will i know if the eye is swollen?

Look for colored discharge.  Clear discharge is ok, green or yellow indicates infection.
 

I have found upper respiratory infections clear faster with antibiotics so that is good. They can get secondary infections as a result of them so it's not dragged out when antibiotics are given. You can buy Lysine treats online such as on Amazon.com they are helpful as well as the powder. They might be cheaper than what your vet charges. You may wish to persist with the lysine for 3-4 months after it clears up to help prevent re-occurrence. Vet will suggest for cats that frequently get infected to do it as lifetime supplement. For most cats they clear up in 2-4 weeks.

newkittymommy12 said:

theyre is slight redness around the eye. how will i know if the eye is swollen?

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It will be pretty obvious.  I'd post some photos, but they are decidedly upsetting. 

I have a foster right now that is in the same boat as your kitten, so I can really sympathise with you!

If you have a natural food grocery store near you, with a supplement section, You can also find Lysine there. I use the Solaray brand for my baby.

It comes in 500mg. capsules, so I just sprinkle half in his food in the morning, & the other half in the evening. The Solaray is also only around 12.00 for 120 capsules.

I give this dose daily, but when his eyes are acting up, I give a full 500mg 2xs/day.  This has worked well, but we still have to use prescription drops, when they flare up.

We have had good results most of the time from the Neo Poly Drops. You can ask your vet about those. If they don't have them, they can prescribe what drops they recommend, then you can get them from 1-800Pet Meds

Good Luck with everything!

thank you everyone. I got my vet to call in erythromycin ointment and started her on it yesterday. Her eye is running still but hopefully it will turn around. I'm still looking for the lysine. Shes hanging in there. Eating great, acting great. Just sneezng still