help!!! cat illness!!!!

I recently adopted a kitten from Petsmart on November 21, Monday and we introduced the new kitten to our other kitten (they are one month apart) on the same day. It didnt' work out well at all so we separated them after about 15 minutes. The next day the new kitten had a runny nose, sneezing, and lots of eye discharge. He also had really bad breath and was drooling constantly. We brought him to the vet for his second set of shots and informed the vet of these symptoms. The vet said that is was just a change in the environment. But the next day, he got worse - he started bleeding from the nose. The vet prescribed Clavamox and some eye drops. Presently, he is doing fine with no discharge, no drooling, or smelly breath.

But on the other hand, my first kitten, Stewie, began acting weird Wednesday afternoon. He had already stopped eating on Tuesday night. He usually follows me around the house where ever i go, but now he was just hiding in a corner. That night he stopped eating and drinking water and just slept all day. On the 24th, thursday, he was still lethargic, not eating or drinking, limping on his right back leg, walking slow and scrunched up with his head held low, his third eyelid was visible, eyes were a little watery (there was no discharge) and squinty, and he had lots of trouble jumping up and down from the bed (there was no discharge from the nose either). I brought him to the vet ASAP the next day and turns out my kitty had a 105 degree fever, so the doctor gave him 2 shots (a vitamin B shot and a antibiotic shot) and prescribed him Clavamox.

Stewie hasn't eaten in 4 days - he won't eat his dry food nor will he eat canned food. the only thing he will eat is his kitty treats. He still feels feverish and he doesn't seem to be getting better - i don't know what to do! please help!!!

Stewie needs to see a vet immediately. Once a cat stops eating and drinking they can go into liver failure quickly.

Please take him to an emergency clinic now. He is sick.

Yes my kitty stopped kitty for a few days and she now has a liver problem Get your kitty to the er vet ASAP!!

PLEASE Get him to an Emergency VET NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kitten are so fragile he won't survive this if you don't get him help!!

It sounds like your new kitty gave your old kitty an upper respiratory infection. You might want to change vets if they said these symptoms were due to a "change in environment". The cat obviously had a disease transmissable to other cats. Antibiotics are the general treatment for uri's, but you definitely need to get your cat eating. Try heating the wet food to increase the smell (he may not be eating because his nose is stuffed up and he can't smell the food) or giving him meat-flavored baby food.

General rule of thumb is to always keep new kitties seperate for a time.

But that being beside the point, as the other poster said your kitties both sound like they have URI's the one who is not eating should see a vet. Try warming up the food as the other poster said. also try meat flavoured baby food. Also offer both your kitties a nice hot steam.

By that I mean shut the bathroom door and run the hot water with the kitties in their. Helps clean their noses

Thanks so much for your suggestions! I brought stewie to the vet yesterday and he told me not to worry about him not eating for now, and the doctor gave him a vitamin shot. But i was so worried! He's getting so skinny.

I mixed his regular dry food with water and microwaved it for a bit and started to force feed him with a syringe. After the first syringe-full he got up himself and ate some of the mushy food. He didnt' eat much though. should i force feed him some more?

Originally Posted by popobobosan

Thanks so much for your suggestions! I brought stewie to the vet yesterday and he told me not to worry about him not eating for now, and the doctor gave him a vitamin shot. But i was so worried! He's getting so skinny.

I mixed his regular dry food with water and microwaved it for a bit and started to force feed him with a syringe. After the first syringe-full he got up himself and ate some of the mushy food. He didnt' eat much though. should i force feed him some more?

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Sounds like you helped his tummy thats good. I would seriously think about a diffrent vet.

I am not sure how big your syringe is. but the rule of thumb I have been told by several vets is not to do to much. at once. about 6cc's of food every few hours.

Also try beef or chicken baby food but make sure the label does not show onions as an ingredient as cats should NEVER have onions. You could add a little bit of water to make it more runny. I'm not sure how old they are but you can try kitten weaning formula also to get some nutrients and fluids in.
I hope they both get better soon.

That is odd that your doctor told you not to worry about him not eating.. I always heard that it can be bad

I really think you should look into a different vet. When my cat had his uri, the vet told me to immediately notify her if he stopped eating as that could potentially be very bad. (fortunately never had that problem, he's an eating machine!)

My vet recommended a children's medicine called Little Noses -- nosedrops that help soothe and moisten and clear out the nose. Might help.

I agree with others that you need a new vet... this one doesn't seem to know what he's doing at all!

Yes, I think you should separate the kittens if you havent already done that. Then you can monitor exactly how much the sick kitten is eating and also eliminating. When my cat went through something very similar, the vet told me to force feed every 4 hours. He MUST keep eating at least something. Also it would be a good idea to give him some water in the syringe as well.

I concur with the others. If your kitty is not eating and your vet isn't concerned, you definitely need a new vet.

how is your kitty doing?

Thanks again you guys! My kitty is doing a lot better now. He's been on Clavamox for 4 days and he's starting to eat and drink by himself. He doesn't eat too much though (should I keep force feeding him?). I'm worried because when he's healthy, he eats around a cup or more of dry Iams kitten food a day, and now he just nibbles here and there. He still sleeps a lot, and I made stairs going up to my bed and desk, because he still cant jump. Today he started stretching and playing a little bit (i was so happy!!! =D ). He also seems to be constipated - today he tried pooping but only a tiny bunny poo came out; then he went to the other litter box and tried again, but nothing. He also hasn't pooped in 2 or 3 days (his peeing is regular). Is there anything else i should be doing?

I am so glad you kitty is feeling a bit better!

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to help you with the constipation question - but I have heard feeding a bit of cooked pumpkin will do wonders.

I am sorry you are going through this with the kitties. It sounds like an upper respitory infection to me. It could have come from the new kitten and its previous surroundings, or the new enviroment could have stressed the kitties out, therefore presenting you with a uri YOU MUST TAKE THE ONE NOT EATING TO A VET!!!!!!! I would strongly advise you see a diferent vet, the one you talk of does'nt sound too concerned about the health of the kittens. Kittens go down hill way faster than most cats and with him not eating he cannot regain his strength to fight the uri. I hope they pull out of it soon, the cats and I will be praying for you guys. Let us know what the vet says.

EDIT: I guess I saw this a little late I am glad to hear they are feeling better best wishes

ABOUT THE POO THING: Try gently wiping his bum with a warm washcloth-it should help stimulate him-if that don't work maybe you could try some probiotics to help him out-ALWAYS chexk with a vet first, before you start any treatment

They need to go to the vet (a new one if the old one seems out to lunch). Kittens aren't prone to hepatic lipidosis the way overweight adult cats are but they need to eat. Get him to eat whatever you can in the interim.

I think calicivirus is the most likely cause of the illness (due to the mouth issues - mouth ulcers are a key symptom of calici). This virus will run its course but the cat needs appropriate supportive care in terms of nutrition and hydration in the meantime.

Your current vet must not treat alot of cats, or doesn't treat them succesfully.
Cats and Kittens won't eat what they can't smell. So, sounds like your kitten has an URI and his sinuses are more than likely clogged up, therefore he can't smell his food very well, which makes him not eat.
A kitten that doesn't eat for more than 2 days in a row, is already in the danger zone for liver malfunction. Kittens drop weight much faster than adults do and it's much more dangerous for them, because they don't carry as much fat as adult cats do. Once a kitten goes into a liver failure mode, it is very very hard to reverse it.
The fact that your kitten is just picking at his food still is not good. His minimal bowel movement shows he's not eating nearly enough.

I would dump your current vet immediately and find a vet who specializes in cats or at least has treated many cats for many years. His advice not to be concerned about not eating was incredibly ignorant.