10 week old kitten with cat flu

Hiya everyone.

Last night my brought home a beautiful 10 week old kitten - he's a Norweigian Forest Cat X British Shorthair. Initially he just went to view him, but on arrival he found a poorly kitten and a caring elderly owner who clearly could not keep on top of the kittens health, so he brought him home that night.

He has conjunctivitis (pink eye) and had been on oral antibiotics for a week with no improvement. When taking him to the vet this morning, we found he also has fleas and fairly severe ear mites. His conjunctivitis is very bad and is accompanied by a mild general cat flu, but his breathing and lungs are fine, as was his tenperature.

We've been sent home with flea treatment, ear drops, eye gel and more oral antibiotics. He's eating very well and although he's very sleepy a lot of the time (understandable battling all that in his tiny body!!), when he is awake he's toileting fine and is inquisitive and playful. He is a little nervous of me, understandable but generally lovely and fine.

My question is, apart from the meds and keeping his eyes clean etc, have you any ideas for keeping him comfortable?? I'm so glad my boyfriend picked him up as who knows hed have been left in this state otherwise, but I'm very nervous about giving him the absolute best care for being happy and getting healthy. I have experience with kittens but not such tiny sick ones!

Most kittens are adopted out at 8 weeks, so you're already 2 weeks older than most. The most important things for a kitten are to get kitten shots. Every vet does this. If he won't be going outside you can skip the rabies but all other ones, I would give until the set is done. I don't vaccinate my cats for anything anymore, you can decide if you want to take them in each year for shots.

here's a good article I found, it's a wealth of information!

http://www.paw-rescue.org/kitten_care.php

It seems to me like your are doing everything right to help him get better.  It is great that he is continuing to eat while he is not feeling well.  It is perfectly normal for him to be a little scared being in a brand new environment.  It sounds like he is adjusting well already. The best thing to do is keep watch for any changes in his symptoms.  If it does not seem like something is working continue to communicate with your vet. If you notice any new symptoms, his eating or peeing/pooping habits change then reach out and let your vet know.  Ear mites can be stubborn to treat one of my cats had a severe case of ear mites when she was a kitten. Just keep going to his follow-up appointments and make sure that he is getting the ear drops in his ears as much as possible.  If you notice he is shaking his head more or itching his ears more then let your vet know.  When I went through this with my baby we also had to clean her ears out every day.  You could always ask your vet about this.  If you are having any trouble getting the medications into or on your cat please ask questions here so that other members can let you know what has worked for them. 

As far as the kitty flu symptoms just make sure he is eating and drinking consistently.  Sometimes this illness can cause nausea and stopping eating.  If this does happen reach out to your vet right away and ask about nausea meds.

I have never dealt with pink eye in any of my cats.  But one of my cats did have an eye infection in conjunction with a kitty cold.  If your baby does start sneezing or his breathing sounds different reach out to your vet.

All of the issues you are dealing with are very treatable and it is a matter of just communicating with your vet if things do not seem to be improving.  Sometimes things require more than one round of antibiotics or treatment.  So far I think you are being a great advocate for your new baby.

One thing that may help with him being scared is to get down on the floor to his level when you are interacting with him.  Also you can try holding out your hand to let him sniff you before petting him.  Some other things you can try are sitting down on the floor and reading a book to him to allow him to get used to your presence. You can also try using play time to help him bond with you.

You can also discuss when to get kitten shots but I would not do them until he is no longer sick.

Thank you for the advice and words of wisdom! We're seeing our vet again this coming Saturday to check up on him, so hopefully by then we'll be moving in the right direction.

He's still eating wonderfully and although his eye has a long way to go, we have definitely seen improvement over the last 48 hours. Last night he was crazy with energy too, bouncing around and chasing a laser pointer like a normal kitty. Today he was sleepier, but it was nice to see that he may be getting more energy back.

He let me cuddle with him for a while today which was lovely. But he still shirks off after I give him his meds and I think that's why he's a little shy of me. My boyfriend is too nervous to do it so I do. So I'm just the mean lady who does the unpleasant stuff to him I feel rotten but at the end of the day it's for his own good x

Perhaps you could try seeing if he will take treats from you after his medicine.  We did this with our Starbuck and it actually made it easier to get the meds into and on her. She was shy with both of us at one point because it took two people to put ear drops in and clean the ears of a tiny six week old kitten who made it sound like she was being murdered.  We actually live a townhouse and let our neighbors know what was going on so they would not think someone or something was being abused in our home.  Starbuck is now a happy nine year old.  When possible we use medicine that can be injected with her so we do not have to go through that again.

My youngest cat Casey is a little over two years old now.  He is the complete opposite to give medicine to.  He had an eye infection, URI and ear mites when he was a kitten but he never fought us with meds.  We did not need two people to medicate him. 

That's reassuring to hear him having done so well! And thank you for the idea about the treat. I'll try that this evening.

I've been reading up about cat flu and wish I had before I went to the vets so I could ask about getting some cultures done. Had no idea there were so many different types.

I'm feeling a little stressed about him being okay but the vet said we just have to be patient. His eyes are by far the worst thing, she said if it is a full uri we have caught that side early. From what I've read perhaps it's chlamydia.

Thought I'd update you with some pics. First photo is when we got him on Friday, next one is after 3 days of meds.

He is so adorable!!
Don't worry about being the "mean lady" who gives him all the meds. I adopted my cat Lilou from a shelter (she's a real shy cat) and she got sick a couple of weeks after I brought her home. She wasn't use to me or the house yet and was still hiding at that point when I had to start putting drops in her eyes. She shyed away from me to start with, and I really hated doing it. I was afreaid she would stay scared of me and that she'd never forgive me, but I had to do it, and since she was hiding under the bed, I had to catch her and keep her in the bathroom for as long as I had to treat her.
After 13 days of anyibiotics, she is finally better, and eventhough this has not helped her aclimating to her new environement, she is slowy starting to let me approach her and pet her again.
Your little guy will get there too.
Good luck!

Your baby is adorable. You are providing great care with his health issues.

So I've been reading bits and pieces and I really think it may be flu caused by chlamydia. From what I've seen all his symptoms fit so much better than herpes etc. My boyfriend says the vet knows what they're doing, which I don't doubt but in my experience vets and doctors treat the most common cause first.

I'll bring up the possibility with her on Saturday when we next see her.

nothing wrong with bringing up suggestions when seeing a vet. vets/doctors/dentists don't know everything. I always research & talk to them about this or that, if they say no without a doubt, I usually believe them cause they're the professional, they went to school & know way more than what I can find on the internet. That's being proactive & taking your babies health seriously.

That's my thinking! I've had enough similar experiences within my own doctors visits but I will mention it. I like to know they've considered other possibilies at least.

Just back from the vet so thought I'd post an update. Vet is very happy with how he's going with his ears and eyes much improved. Still thinks we have at least a week of antibiotics left though so we will return in a week to see.

Good news is that he's put on over 2oz, his temperature is down and he has so much more energy. His chest sounds a little crackly though so we're also going to start giving him steam baths as the vet recommends.