Kitten has been sick for 3 weeks and still not better

[tigerlily614]

Hi, I'm new here and to being a kitten mom.  I adopted two 6-week-old kittens from the shelter about 3 weeks ago.  They are my first cats I've ever had.  Three days after bringing them home they started sounding congested and sneezing, so we made a visit to the vet.  Diagnosis: upper respiratory infections.  After 1 round of antibiotics, plus another abx injection, plus a nebulizer treatment, my girl is better, but my boy is still congested.  Another vet visit later, two more types of abx, a total of 3 weeks of treatment and this baby just cannot get past it!  Could there be something else going on with him?  I would never have thought a kitten would stay sick for so long after being medicated.  He is playing, eating, and drinking.  He has basically been sick since I've had him, so it's hard to know if his true personality is more reserved than playful, which is how he comes across.  Does he just need a few more days?  I'm tired of taking him to vet and pumping him full of meds.

 

[nora1]

Hello and welcome to the site!

Your poor kitty has been through a lot! I'm almost wondering if the little boy might have an allergy to something in the house as the meds don't seem to be working.

He could be allergic to the cat litter, or the litter could just be too dusty for him which is causing the sneezing. I wonder if you switched litters, if you might see a greater improvement?! What type of litter are you using now? Is the litter box covered, or and open pan?

Hopefully someone else can hop on here and offer some more ideas/thoughts?!

Best of luck with the little guy

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

 
Hi, I'm new here and to being a kitten mom.  I adopted two 6-week-old kittens from the shelter about 3 weeks ago.  They are my first cats I've ever had.  Three days after bringing them home they started sounding congested and sneezing, so we made a visit to the vet.  Diagnosis: upper respiratory infections.  After 1 round of antibiotics, plus another abx injection, plus a nebulizer treatment, my girl is better, but my boy is still congested.  Another vet visit later, two more types of abx, a total of 3 weeks of treatment and this baby just cannot get past it!  Could there be something else going on with him?  I would never have thought a kitten would stay sick for so long after being medicated.  He is playing, eating, and drinking.  He has basically been sick since I've had him, so it's hard to know if his true personality is more reserved than playful, which is how he comes across.  Does he just need a few more days?  I'm tired of taking him to vet and pumping him full of meds.

hi and welcome!

i don't have experience in this area, but i'm sure someone with experience will be along shortly.

i'll see if i can attract the attention of someone who has experience in this area. @tulosai, @catwoman707 -- may i ask for your experience for the OP (original poster)?

 

[ritz]

Has he been tested for Herpes?
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/herpes
I would add l-lysine to his foods.
Here is another thread that also discussed the dose.

 

[stephenq]

Hi @Tigerlily614

In my experience and with respect to @Nora1's comment, i don't see cats with allergies showing symptoms consistent with URI's.  Most cat allergies are either skin allergies or food allergies but even cats with inhalant allergies have different symptoms (see http://www.cat-world.com.au/allergies-in-cats), but this is not to say that it isn't an allergy, but it would be very coincidental to have another cat sick with the same symptoms but have something entirely different.

Your cat is very young and URI's can take a while to resolve, particularly as @Ritz wondered, if it was feline herpes which is a type of URI, but tends to be more chronic.

 

[tigerlily614]

Thank you for the responses.

@Nora1, we use a clumping clay litter in a covered pan.  Originally we left it open until one or both started to play with the waste.  The cover has helped in that area.

@Ritz, thank you for the link.  Our vet has mentioned that most cats have already been exposed to the herpes virus and will have URIs as a result when the virus flares up.  I don't recall them ever saying he tested positive for it.  I'll try to remember to ask next time.  I am not very educated on cat tests, diseases, etc, as these are my first cats.  The vet did say that they tested positive for FIV, but has a "gut feeling" that it's because of antibodies passed from the mother (no info on her since the kittens were taken in as strays without the mom) and will be tested again at 6 months of age to verify either way. 

I just noticed in the area between his jaw and neck he has a small bald patch with what looks like a tiny scratch.  Now I'm thinking he may have ringworm to boot.  Again, no experience to know if that's what it is.  

 

[stephenq]

Vets don't usually test for herpes just because a cat has a URI, it is something you can request though.  Hopefully they will retest neg for FIV, although they can have very long healthy lives regardless.

Ringworm usually shows up as small reddish (sometimes gray) round bald spots.  If you're concerned you can have your vet do a culture, but he may decide on visual inspection that it is not ringworm.

Images here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=rin...ZLIBIXugsAI&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1480&bih=1215

 

[tulosai]

The only thing I have to add is that as long as he is eating, drinking, and gaining weight, he will probably be okay.  Being so small, it is probably just hard for him to kick this.  I would be very concerned though if he stops eating/gaining weight so you should try to watch him closely.

 

[tigerlily614]

Both kittens had their first round of Revolution almost a week ago.  Maybe it could be a response to that?  They also both have/had fleas since coming from the shelter.  Maybe a reaction to fleas? 

 

[stephanietx]

When we adopted our Hannah, she was very sick and it took her almost 2 MONTHS to totally get well, so don't give up hope.  I'd ask the vet to run the Real PRC URD test to make sure you're not dealing with a secondary infection and/or herpes.  The test also tests for other upper respiratory diseases, hence the URD part.  Or, you could ask the vet to run a culture & sensitivity test on any nasal discharge to see if you're dealing with a bacterial or viral infection and what medication will best treat it.  Or, you could do both! 

In the meantime, add L-Lysine to his diet.  Since he's so young, I'd go with 250 mg twice a day.  You can pick up capsules or tablets at the health food store or in the supplements section of the store.  If you get the tablets, you can crush between two spoons.  The capsules, you can open up and sprinkle on wet food.  Add a bit of water to canned food so it's about the consistency of oatmeal, then add the lysine and mix together.  It's odorless and dissolves in water, so you should be okay. 

Is he sneezing or congested at all?  If he's congested, you can try steaming him in the shower.  Just get the bathroom nice and steamy and then sit in there with him while the steam dissipates.  You can play with him while he's in there.  I used to put Hannah in the bathroom with me while I showered.  It helps to break up the gunk in their nasal passages.  You can also use Little Noses nose drops (found with the baby stuff or with the children's medicine).  Do one drop in each nostril 2 or 3 times a day.  This is saline solution and helps flush out the nose. 

Lastly, be sure they're on a high quality kitten food, both canned and dry.  At this stage, I would go with canned food twice a day and kibble out all the time.  Good nutrition will help his body heal and fight off any infection.  Many times, when they come from shelters or even a good rescue, the stress of all the changes of a new home trigger upper respiratory infections.  It's more common than most of us would like.  If you're going to wait, keep an eye on the little guy and if you notice ANY change in behavior, litter box habits, loss of interest in eating or playing, then get him to the vet immediately.  Little ones can go downhill very quickly.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

@Tigerlily614 -- how is your lil guy doing?