Kitten URI

Hey everyone!

I just joined the site, and have a question about a URI in my new kitten. I just adopted Jasper yesterday, knowing he had had a URI before I adopted him. When I arrived to pick him up from his foster mom she had forgotten to bring his last dose of Clavamox, but said he should be fine without it.

Although I've only had him for a day and a half, he doesn't seem fine to me. His nose is very congested--he snores a lot when sleeping (even more so when he's on his back), wheezes while playing/running hard, and his breath clicks when switching from inhaling to exhaling. In general, his breathing seems pretty labored. However, he is still very playful and active, and is eating well.

I called the adoption agency and they said to wait until mid-week before taking him back to a vet, to see if he improves on his own.

I'm a little wary of waiting just because he is so little and I've read that URI's can become pneumonia or develop secondary infections if left untreated. However, Jasper is my first cat, and I don't know if it's typical for there to be residual symptoms after treatment or if it's likely he'll clear the URI up on his own. I'd love to hear your thoughts and advice! I've put some pictures down below since I am a proud new mama Thanks in advance for your help!

Oh, should mention that the adoption agency also gave me lysine powder and probiotic (Clavamox was giving hime some bowel trouble) to sprinkle on his food.

Oh my goodness, how cute is he!

URI's are really common in cats and are usually mostly a nuisance more than a cause for concern. They're kind of the equivalent of colds for people. Most URI's in cats are caused by a couple different viruses that stay latent in the cats system and flare up occasionally, especially in times of stress. They spread really easily from cat to cat, so it's common for shelter cats to have the virus, and being adopted, although it's mostly positive especially for a happy kitten, is still a big cause of stress.

There is not much you can do to actually treat the virus itself. In the majority of cases, the URI calms down on its own with no secondary problems, but you can do little things like feeding nutritious food, keeping stressful events to a minimum, and running a hot shower next to the cat to create steam and clear up the nasal passages to make him a little more comfortable.

There are 2 situations where URI's can lead to something more serious. Often having a stuffy nose inhibits the sense of smell so much that cats will lose their appetite and not eat. If cats go for extended periods without eating, it can get very dangerous. Fortunately, little Jasper is not having that problem! The other risk factor that you mentioned is that the cat can get a secondary infection, but this is usually just in cats that have a weakened immune system for some reason. Cats that are old, have a disease that affects their immune system, or are currently or recently coping with other health problems are the ones most at risk. For example, I had a foster kitten that was rescued from outside, recently malnourished, and recovering from several parasites when he caught a URI. The vet gave him an antibiotic shot just in case because his immune system was already so worn out. For an otherwise healthy, well-cared for kitten, there's no reason to suspect a secondary infection.

I'd keep doing the lysine and probiotics! I'm not sure how well lysine works, but it's fine to try. And probiotics seem to help with just about everything. Clavamox is an antibiotic, so that would do a lot toward prevention a secondary infection as well.

So I think the adoption agency is right on. I always like to take a newly adopted animal to the vet right away just for my own peace of mind and to start a relationship with the vet of my choosing and everything, though. Since URI's are so stress dependent, it's possible that a vet visit might actually stress him out and prolong things a bit, although I don't think it would make a huge difference in the long run. So, all in all, you don't need to go take him to the vet yet, but if you want to and watch the vet listen to his breathing and everything and reassure you that he's in no danger, then you certainly can. Congratulations on your lovely little boy!

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply Molly92! You've put me very much at ease! I'm so glad to hear that URI's are generally not too serious--I'll keep an eye on him but hopefully he will steadily improve on his own. Thanks again!

HELP: Jasper started throwing up whitish/yellow foam yesterday and his previously loose stool from the Clavamox have escalated into liquid green, smelly poops. He's continuing to drink water, but even one lick of tuna juice off my finger had him vomiting within 5 minutes. I have an appointment with the vet for today at 4:00pm, but I'm really worried. He's still affectionate, but not playful at all like usual. I don't know if this is related to his URI or not, but do you all have any thoughts on what's happening or what I should ask the vet? So concerned about him...

Oh dear! These are not URI symptoms. Something is causing gastrointestinal upset. It could be a parasite, a virus, or something he ingested. You can call the shelter and see if anything's been going around or if any of the kittens Jasper was with are sick and he might have the same thing. The vet should be able to help him. Bring any previous vet records you have for him to the appointment. Let us know how the vet visit goes!

Update! I took Jasper to the vet and an X-ray showed that he had some "weird gas patterns" in his intestinal tract. They said they think probably the combination of Clavamox and the food change just wrecked his system, and that they found a lot of bacteria (but no parasites, worms, etc.) in his stool. However, after I left the vet, the rescue agency called and said some other kittens were vomiting as well...so maybe it is viral?

Regardless, the vet prescribed the antibiotic metronizadole (in pill form broken up into smaller pieces) to be given once a day to combat all the nasty bacteria, and endosorb twice a day, which helps somehow with the liquid stool. They also gave me some Royal Canin canned food especially for sensitive stomachs. Since he is not eating on his own, they showed me how to gently force feed the food (with the endosorb crushed up inside) with a syringe and how to wrap the metronizadole pill in a tiny piece of a Greenies pill pocket to force feed. They also gave him a subcutaneous injection of fluids, which he absorbed very quickly. They said he was surprisingly hydrated given the situation, but was pretty underweight for 8 weeks old (approx) at 1.56 pounds. 

The weird thing is they force fed him some wet food and today's dose of the metronizadole and he didn't throw it up, even though just one lick of canned food juice/gravy last night made him vomit instantly. He came home and drank some water from his fountain, and threw it up instantly, but there was no food in the vomit. So, it looks like he kept the vet's force feeding food down, but I'm not sure why water or the canned juice/gravy would affect him so much. I removed the water for now since he should get enough with the canned food, but a little confused about the discrepancy. Any thoughts? I read that some cats react badly to tap water so I might try some spring water, but the fountain I have has a carbon filter that I assume would filter out any nasties from the tap water anyways.

I'm really hoping he improves, I can't stand to see him so sad and lethargic...

Poor baby! The main worry here is dehydration, so it's good news that he wasn't too dehydrated when he went to the vet. I'm not sure about why he threw up when he did. It could just be that his stomach is fluctuating in how unsettled it is over time. 

It's very common for in-house tests to miss parasites, so that still could be a possibility, but I'm not familiar with these symptoms, so I can't say for sure.

@catwoman707, do you have any experience with green diarrhea and vomiting?

The first thing I would do right away is get him tested for panleukopenia.

(cat parvo)

The color of the vomit and diarrhea are pretty classic for panleuk, NOT saying there aren't other causes, but hearing other kittens are vomiting is a big red flag for panleuk, since kittens don't generally vomit. 

The fact that you got the call from the rescue tells me they may have panleuk in mind also.

I will be back here shortly.

Luckily, it looks like Jasper is on the mend! He's had his first distemper shot, and since he's improving I hope that discounts panleukopenia--such a scary illness!

The diarrhea is becoming more solid, he hasn't vomited for 24 hours, and he is eating and drinking well on his own. He's also breathing through his nose now and doesn't have any more eye crusties. He still seems lethargic and is sleeping a lot, and isn't as interested in playing as before, but I'm hopeful that he's still just recovering from the whole ordeal (being stray, URI, mystery tummy illness, trip to the vet, shots, force feeding, etc). Plus, I've read somewhere that 8 week-old kittens generally sleep 20 hours a day, so it might be pretty standard? He has been in my lap and laying on my chest purring a lot and silent meowing, which seems like a good sign to me that he's feeling happy.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm hoping that I'm right to feel hopeful that all is well!

I apologize for the delay!

How is Jasper doing?

Much better, though I still have a couple of concerns. He's very active and playful, eating and drinking well, and his stool has firmed up. However, he's developed a sort of snorting type thing when he breathes, that is exacerbated by eating and playing hard...he also snores when laying on his back or when he's in a very deep sleep. I'm thinking it must be like a postnasal drip/congestion type thing after the URI? I guess it could be allergies as well, but it didn't come up until after  he was better from the vomiting saga and the URI, which makes me think it's not that. I know when I get a cold for a few days after it's gone I'm still kind of stopped up from some of the dried up stuff in my nose? I'll try putting him in the bathroom with me when I shower today to see if the warm steam might open up his nasal passages and loosen things up.

I'm worried that the URI is back or that it's still ongoing, but I feel like he would have other symptoms, and I haven't noticed any sneezing, coughing, loss of appetite, lethargy, etc. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

If it's been more than a few days after last dose of antibiotics, I would get a recheck done as I think he probably will need another round, but if you do this, ask for clindamycin.

I agree with catwoman707. One of my cats needed more than one round of antibiotics for a URI when she was a kitten. She never got lethargic at all the whole time she was sick.

What concerns me is that he's already had two rounds of antibiotics: one round of Clavamox and one round of metronizadole (his last dose of the metronizadole is today). I guess what is really confusing to me is that my vet and everything I've read said that antibiotics don't treat URI's, they only treat secondary infections. But if he doesn't have a secondary infection would antibiotics really help at all? All the medical stuff is so overwhelming, and a lot of advice says antibiotics are a must, but a lot of other resources say you just have to wait URI's out. I'd really appreciate it if someone could help clarify all this for a first-time owner, it's all so confusing! 

I texted one of the vet techs I know at Jasper's vet and she agreed with you all as well--she said she thought it might just be some dried up mucus left over after the URI, but that if it doesn't clear up in a few days I should bring him back for some more medicine. That's my game plan, I'm just still confused about how going about treating this works. 

One thing you can try is doing steam treatments.  This has been really helpful to me when my cats have had URI's.  Run the shower in your bathroom as hot as you can and steam up the bathroom really well. Take Jasper in the bathroom with you and sit in there with him for 15-20 minutes at least twice a day.  You can do this more often if your schedule allows. This may help clear up the congestion that may be causing the noises you are hearing.  When my Apollo caught a URI from my other cat Casey he fought me to death when I picked him up to carry him into the bathroom.  After the first treatment he realized I was trying to help him and would demand treatment whenever hubby or I was in the bathroom. Casey had a URI when he was a kitten and he shared it with my other 3 because he had no symptoms for a week.  I only took 2 of the 4 to the vet and everyone got steam treatments. Withing a few days Apollo was completely back to normal.

Perhaps you could try making a recording of the sounds he is making and send it to your vet or ask if you can stop by and have him listen to it. 

Hi catlover73, thank you so much for your response. Sorry for the late reply--on top of moving to a new city this week and treating Jasper's issues, I've been all over the place physically and mentally. Here's an update for everyone: Jasper is still very congested. Sometimes he'll breathe normally, but when he's sleeping (especially on his back), playing, or sniffing something intently it becomes extremely loud snorting. He has some eye goop as well, but it's mostly black or a dark brown, nothing green or yellow that I have noticed. He still has soft poops as well--they are in a log shape, but are still definitively soft. He also has some very small amounts of blood around his anus, but this only appeared yesterday as far as I have noticed.

What seems especially weird, at least to me, is that he otherwise seems extremely healthy. He is up to 3 pounds from his 1.5 two weeks ago, is eating EXTREMELY well, and is a typical kitten running, playing, and climbing the walls. 

The vet had me start him on azithromycin (.5ml once a day for 5 days) and did his scheduled round of deworming in case that is responsible for the loose stools (although a fecal exam showed no parasites and normal bacteria). I'm also adding Fortiflora and canned pumpkin to his food at the rescue agency's recommendation. He listened to his lungs and said they sounded fine, all the congestion seems centered around his nose. I've also been doing what you (and the vet) recommended and taking him into the bathroom to steam, but my bathroom is fairly large and well-ventilated, and it just doesn't seem like there's enough steam in there to help. I bought a small humidifier to put next to where he sleeps, but he HATES it and will run away from it, no matter how sneaky I try to be. 

I'm trying to remember that recovering from these things take time, and am trying to avoid thinking super negative thoughts, but I'm just really worried with what's going on with my little guy. I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts/advice!

*I'm going to try to get a video of his snorting to post to help you guys see what I mean

Okay got a video up, here is the link:


His breathing isn't nearly this bad while he is awake, but this is about as bad as it ever gets--when he is sleeping and his head is backward it seems to really exacerbate things.

Okay, so I didn't hear much in response to my last update but I have another and could really use some advice. Jasper got a course of azithromycin, his last dose was yesterday. He made a huge recovery on this med, and was to the point where he breathed normally about 90% of the time--he would snore at night still occasionally. However, he's been off it for only one day and his breathing is starting to go back downhill. Nothing serious but as he's napping in my lap right now I can definitely hear some congestion in his nose that hadn't been there for days.

I also noticed that the tip of his tongue has sort of a red semicircle on it, which makes me think calicivirus--but a virus wouldn't respond to antibiotics like that which makes me think the azithromycin didn't kick the secondary bacterial infection? So stressed and confused as I also just found out he has giardia or coccidia as the vet found a ton of cysts in his poop, and I'm now giving him Panacur and metronizadole.

He's still eating very well and is very active and energetic. Help!

Goodness, he's certainly dealing with a lot. It's no wonder his immune system is having trouble kicking the cold!

Ask your vet if he needs another round of antibiotics. If he has a bacterial infection and it doesn't get completely wiped out, there's a risk of it coming back and being more resistant to medication, so that is something to deal with quickly. He probably does have a viral infection at least. 

Those medications are good for giardia, but they won't do anything for coccidia. Albon is commonly prescribed for that, but I think the much more effective coccidia medication is Ponazuril. Also note that when cleaning to disinfect, coccidia is not killed by bleach, so be sure to use an ammonia solution instead.

There are a couple other options that fall under more of a holistic medicine category so they're not as common, but they can help in some cases when other medicine isn't working so you might want to ask your vet about them if things still aren't getting better. The first, for the URI, is trying Lactoferrin. There's a thread about it here: [thread="267703"]Stubborn Herpes Infection Add Lactoferrin In Addition To Lysine​[/thread]  

The other I would suggest is the probiotic S. Boulardii, which is a yeast that is good at wiping out parasitic (giardia and coccidia) and bacterial infections in the GI tract. You can read more about that here:  [thread="283161"]Saccharomyces Boulardii Use For Diarrhea And Gi Disease Incl Ibd​[/thread].

Floriforta tastes great to cats, but the strain is usually pretty useless. Acidophillus does the best job of repopulating the colon with healthy bacteria, so if you can find that, even a human version, then he might recover more quickly on that (in addition to the s. boulardii if you want to try it).

It's good news that he's playing, eating, and happy though! And I'm so glad he's not vomiting and having green diarrhea anymore, that was the scary part. But all the rest of his various sicknesses, as far as I can tell, are not unusual for shelter kittens and are recoverable. Although it's unfortunate that he seems to have practically everything at once, it does happen.