Antibiotics and Virus

My kitten went on antibiotics for a virus she has, on April 18th. She just finished the antibiotics on Saturday, but is still sneezing. I will be asking the vet, but I'm wondering, how many of you have dealt with your kittens/cats, having a virus, and did you have to keep them on the antibiotics until the virus was gone, or just until the kitty got "better". Also, how long did it take before the virus was gone fully?
I thought antibiotics did not help a virus? The vet said my kitten had a virus (discharge from nose, sneezing, gooey eyes) but in her case she got better after a few days on the antiobiotics, so do antibiotics help virus's, or was this possibly an infection?

Antibiotics don't help viruses - they're only effective against bacterial infections.

After almost 3 weeks of antibiotics, I would hope that the sneezing would stop, too. Some infections are worse than others - if your kitten's sneezing is still from the original infection (and not from some other cause), your vet may prescribe another course of a different antibiotic.

Originally Posted by KTLynn

Antibiotics don't help viruses - they're only effective against bacterial infections.

After almost 3 weeks of antibiotics, I would hope that the sneezing would stop, too. Some infections are worse than others - if your kitten's sneezing is still from the original infection (and not from some other cause), your vet may prescribe another course of a different antibiotic.

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... talk to your vet again

Originally Posted by KTLynn

Antibiotics don't help viruses - they're only effective against bacterial infections.

After almost 3 weeks of antibiotics, I would hope that the sneezing would stop, too. Some infections are worse than others - if your kitten's sneezing is still from the original infection (and not from some other cause), your vet may prescribe another course of a different antibiotic.

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Ok, so she must have had some type of infection then, because the antibiotics helped with the gooey eyes, and cut down on the sneezing, and no more nasal discharge that I can see. Hard to say if the sneezing is still the infection or not, as she had these symptoms the day I got her. Thank you for your reply.

Many times a cat can get a URI caused by a virus which lets in a secondary bacterial infection. (gross colored discharge from the nose is a good sign of this).
The antibiotics clear up the bacterial infection and help the cat feel a little better so it's body can fight off the virus.

~Julia

Originally Posted by jlutgendorf

Many times a cat can get a URI caused by a virus which lets in a secondary bacterial infection. (gross colored discharge from the nose is a good sign of this).
The antibiotics clear up the bacterial infection and help the cat feel a little better so it's body can fight off the virus.

~Julia

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Thank you for your reply. That makes alot of sense. Hopefully if the infection is cleared, she will fight off the virus fully, very soon. Poor girl has had alot to deal with.

Now that I think about it, I remember the vet saying something like this. I had to take my little boy (3 yrs old) with me, and he was misbehaving, so unfortunatley it was hard to concentrate on everything the vet was telling me. I'll ask him about this when I talk with him. Thanks again.

I don't have anything to add except that anytime you or a pet is prescribed antibiotics it is extremely important to take them all, not just until the infection seems better. There are supposed to be some left after you feel better, and you have to take them. Otherwise, you risk creating an infection with a new strain of bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

I don't have anything to add except that anytime you or a pet is prescribed antibiotics it is extremely important to take them all, not just until the infection seems better. There are supposed to be some left after you feel better, and you have to take them. Otherwise, you risk creating an infection with a new strain of bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

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I gave her the entire bottle, she just ended them Saturday, and she was on them since April 18th. Since there is no nasal discharge I'm hoping the infection is gone, and the sneezing is just part of the virus that she is still fighting off. If I see her developing symptoms of an infection, or she seems to get worse, I'll take her back to the vet again. In the meantime, I'm waiting for him to call.