Respiratory infection?

ravynwriter

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So we picked up Bishop from the breeder on Saturday and took him straight to the vet for a check-up. He was wormed and had a set of his vaccines done that day. He had a small ulcer on his tongue that the vet thought might have been due to him biting it- it has since disappeared.

He was sneezing a little, and the next day was still sneezing a bit and doing this weird cough thing but both vet and breeder said that sneezing a bit could be a side effect of the vaccine.

It's now Tuesday and he's still sneezing and doing that cough thing. It's only every once in a while. We managed to record it to show the vet. We have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to have him seen, it was the soonest they could get him in. I listened to his breathing and he gets a little bit of a wheeze in his nose now and again (though no snot or discharge we've seen). I can't hear any crackling in his lungs but I'm just listening with my ear and he never stops purring.

No nasal discharge, no eye discharge. Eating and drinking fine, is not dehydrated. No diarrhea or vomiting. Small bouts of possible lethargy that may just be normal 'kitten crashing'.

He *might* have a slight fever, his ears feel a little warm, but we don't have a kitten thermometer to be able to tell for sure. 

The breeder is well aware of everything going on and has been very helpful. She also offered to pay for meds if he needs them. I just wanted to get everyone's thoughts? After Simon passed away from FIP I've been a little paranoid.

 

denice

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What a cute little kitty.  I am no good with identifying breeds unless it is one of the real 'obvious' ones.  Is he one of the breeds that has a flat face?  It's really common for kitties to get a cold when they go to a new home.  I am wondering if it's just more obvious if he is one of the ones with a flatter than usual face.
 
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ravynwriter

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He's a British Shorthair. Not completely flat faced like a Persian or Exotic Shorthair might be, but with a bit of a shorter than normal muzzle. 
 

maggiemay

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He is absolutely adorable!  It doesn't look like he's doing reverse sneezing on the video since his head isn't going back when he sneezes, he seems to be doing plain old sneezing. I didn't really hear it as a cough, more as a sneeze.  There are so many reasons for kittens to do this.  Let the vet examine him, it's fairly common to have some kind of runny nose and/or sneezing when they are newly adopted.  Other than this, he sounds normal and healthy.
 
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ravynwriter

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Thank you :)

It just seemed more of a cough to me because of his body language. Sneezing I see as more a quick shake of the head and a wrinkled snout, whereas with this he seems to push it directly out of his abdomen (if that makes sense). 

No runny nose and what does get sprayed around when he sneezes is nice and clear.

I am going to pick him up some L-Lysine tonight, and he'll be at the vet tomorrow just to be sure.
 

maggiemay

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Thank you :)

It just seemed more of a cough to me because of his body language. Sneezing I see as more a quick shake of the head and a wrinkled snout, whereas with this he seems to push it directly out of his abdomen (if that makes sense). 

No runny nose and what does get sprayed around when he sneezes is nice and clear.

I am going to pick him up some L-Lysine tonight, and he'll be at the vet tomorrow just to be sure.
Yes, I know what you're saying, there's more body involvement i.e. pushing.  I'm of the school that believes that any cough should be checked out.  It doesn't really sound like the typical kitty cold with no eye involvement, no stuffy nose,  the spray from his sneezes being clear.  A reverse sneeze sounds like a cough to me, it's startling when you hear one, but he didn't make that distinctive sound on the video.  He is just a precious baby - what a little face!  Please let us know what the vet says.
 
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ravynwriter

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Vet was relatively unconcerned with the 'cough sneeze' and diagnosed him with a mild upper respiratory infection. He's been put on zithromax. 

Oddly enough, we've taken Bishop now to two vets: our vet we prefer right after we picked him up from the breeder, and the vet in town we like less but was within walking distance (as transportation was limited) for this respiratory infection.

Both expressed a great deal of surprise that Bishop was given a bordatella vaccine. Both said pretty much the exact same thing: "I have never heard of a bordatella vaccine being given to a cat before'. 

Looking up online definitely shows bordatella vaxs for cats/kittens is known. I wouldn't worry about what the in town/small town vet said, but the first vet is one of the top vet hospitals in the country. Surely THEY should have known?

Anyone else hear of bordatella vaccines given to kittens?
 

denice

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I hadn't heard of it at least as part of routine vaccinations.  To be honest I know  nothing about it.  I go to a cat's only clinic that was founded by certified feline specialists and they are good about staying caught up with things.  I hadn't seen it on their price list for vaccines.
 
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ravynwriter

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Apparently a LOT of vets don't know about it, don't know about the side effects (can cause a very mild case of bordatella in the recently vaccinated, like I suspect is what's going on with Bishop) and don't now that prescribing a cat clavamox or doxycycline for it can actually make it worse and even push the cat into pneumonia. 

Azythromycin (Zithromax) does very, very well in clearing up even full blown bordatella, however. 

I found this helpful article which explained some of which I found out. 

http://ayshazen.tripod.com/bordetella.htm

Bishop is on Zithromax now and should be absolutely fine.
 

denice

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I didn't make the connection with kennel cough until I saw the article you linked to.  I know in dogs it isn't routinely given to all dogs.  It is usually just given in situations like shelters.  I would assume a breeder who is extra cautious would also want it given.
 
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