Kitten with persistent Upper respiratory Infection

[rei]

Hello,

I recently got a kitten from someone who was unable to take care of him but quickly realised he had upper respiratory infection after being checked up at the vets. He has had it since 2nd of May and is still showing some symptoms now.
We were not informed of this by the previous owners, it started with an infection to his right eye and he could barely open it. We have since treated his infection with eye drops and his eyes are completely fine except for the discharge that does appear at times.
A few weeks later he had a bit of a fever which we then gave him amoxicillin prescribed by the vets. The fever has since gone away. His main issue now is his sneezing symptoms and it is very frequent during the day.
He has discharge from his nose and we have tried to help him get better for the past month like giving him a humidifier in his room but nothing is making it better and I am getting worried when reading online that symptoms should resolve by itself but I think it has been so long.
He is great in terms of energy and just kitten behaviour but his sneezing is so persistent it is making me a bit stressed as we have to isolate him from our cat, who is vaccinated, as we dont want to risk transmission.

Please could anyone give me some advice for him? He is now around 3 months old thank you.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Is the drainage from his nose clear or cloudy? I'd say it could be that his bacterial infection might not yet be resolved entirely. Perhaps, the amoxicillin that was given for his fever didn't take care of it, as it might not have been the correct antibiotic or not given long enough to resolve any respiratory issues. Certainly, the drops he received for his eye would not have, IMO. At least ask the vet about this.

It also sounds like this kitten probably has a viral condition, most common are feline herpes or calicivirus. Even if he has had his vaccinations, any viral conditions he had before them won't be eradicated by the vaccines. Look into some immune support supplements to help with keeping flare ups at bay. One of the members on this site recommends DMG (Dimethylglycine) and has cats that it has helped immensely in reducing flare ups.

 

[rei]

Hi, thank you for the reply. His discharge was a bit cloudy, we have been giving him amoxicillin for nearly 3 weeks now and that’s what the vets had told us to do. I know the eye drops would not have resolved the uri it but his eye is no longer inflamed and hasn’t been since then but we are still keeping a watch out for that too.
I had thought he would have a viral infection because he was in a household with many cats before. He has not yet been vaccinated by his last owners. Do you know if giving him vaccines will help when he recovers from the symptoms? And if he would be able to be introduced to the other cat? Thank you for the reply and recommendations for the immune system support supplements, will definitely be getting some of those.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It is my understanding that vaccinations could lessen the impact of future viral flare ups. Less flare ups means less chance for other cats, even those who are vaccinated, to be exposed to the virus, as the vaccinations do not 100% prevent spread when contagious type viruses are involved. Less flare ups also means less overall negative health impacts on the cat with the virus as they age.

I didn't mean to suggest that the eye drops would have helped with the nasal discharge. I was merely pointing out that while the drops helped with the eye infection, and the amoxicillin helped with the fever, there might need to be a different treatment for his respiratory infection. Maybe amoxicillin isn't the appropriate one? You might ask the vet about that since the discharge has not subsided.

 

[rei]

I have just ordered the supplements this morning and they are arriving tomorrow. Thank you for the advice and yes, I misunderstood the part about you said with the eye drops.
I will bring him to a vet as soon as I can to have it checked out again. Thank you so much for the information you have provided. Hopefully he will recover and be able to be introduced to the other cat soon as he really is yearning to get out of quarantine. I really appreciate all your help!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Let us know how things go!

 

[angel.celeste]

Did the issue resolve itself, or did you receive further vet treatment?

I'm curious because I'm in a similar situation with a kitten. She was part of a litter of kittens that were all sick with URI. I thought I could get her a vet visit, and get her better, and adopted out. But, over 3 weeks after her vet visit, she's still sneezing and having some discharge from nose and eyes. She's in great shape otherwise, eats and drinks well, and has lots of energy. The eye drops did wonders for her eyes.

The thing is, I don't have any excess money to take her for another vet visit. And I don't know if more antibiotic will even help? A local rescue is willing to pay for her vaccines and spay, but nothing else. Every day I'm hoping she won't sneeze that day, but that sneeze free day hasn't arrived yet. I guess I'm just hoping to hear that your situation cleared up finally, or what the vet gave you that helped.