Respiratory infection (URI)

[RaYne]

I adopted a very tiny sick kitten from my local humane society. He was apparently born in March of this year but was a measly 1lb when I adopted him on July 8th.

We immediately took him to the vet since he was dehyrdrated from having explosive diarrhea. He tested positive for Coccidia and was put on Albon. On July 10th he was showing symptoms of a URI, runny eyes, sneezing and blowing green snot bubbles.. Back to the vet we went and he was prescribed Clavamox. 3 days into the meds he was in obvious distress, open mouth laboured breathing. His nose was completely clogged. Back to the vet again where he stayed from July 14th-July 18th under pneumonia watch.

Now onto my question.. The URI doesn't seem to be completely gone. His nose still sounds like it's stuffed every once in awhile and I noticed some clear liquid coming from his one nostril this morning. Tomorrow would be 4 weeks from when the initial URI started. Does it normally take this long to work it's way out?

As a side note.. He's now a feisty little hellion. LOL He's up to about 2-2.5 pounds.. My vet is still very concerned about his size if the humane society is correct on his age. He was found in a plastic bag as a newborn on the side of the road. How anyone can do that is beyond me. :sad:

[sugarcatmom]

Can you give him some L-Lysine mixed in with some canned food? About 250-500mg a day should do it, until symptoms subside. You can pick up Lysine at any health food store.

Also, if nasal congestion is still a problem, put him in the bathroom while you run a hot shower. The steam should help loosen things up a bit. Make sure he's eating okay. Find some extra stinky food (like canned seafood varieties; Fancy Feast is good for the stink factor) if his appetite drops. Not being able to smell food can influence how much a cat eats.

http://www.holisticat.com/uri.html

Hope he's feeling better soon!

[Love4himies]

My current fosters had a horrible URI when I got them, Malcolms eyes were sealed shut and he could not breathe out of his nose. Had to force feed him as he could not smell his food.

He was on antibiotics for 10 days amoxcil 50mg, one pill per day, it took 7 days before all of his symptoms to disappear, but started to notice a difference within 12 hours.

[chico2]

Rayne,I know nothing about URI,just wanted to thank you for saving this little guy

[kathryn]

Awwww I hope he makes it!!! I was working in the sick room @ the shelter a few days ago and 2/5 of the kittens form a sick litter (exactly as you described your poor baby had) had already passed when I got there. The other 3 were MIA when I went back on Friday.. too afraid to ask what happened :sad:

Thanks for rescuing him and it sounds like he is going to be fine soon. I think you should do a second dose of Clavamox for 10 days. That should clear up the left over infection. There is no way he is going to be able to fight it on his own. Keep his nose clean.

How are his eyes? He could have FHV-1 which is coming out from the stress.

[RaYne]

His eyes are clear and I haven't seen any 'snot'. Just the odd drip of clear fluid. It's hard to describe but he sounds more wheezy than congested. Kinda like how I sound with allergies.

I called my vet and he said it's possible that it's just taking forever to work it's way out. His immune system is weak. But he won't give him his next vaccination until the URI's completely gone. Poor little guy is having a rough start.

I'll go pick up some L-Lysine.

Here's 2 pics of the little guy's the first day with us. He's a Russian blue mix. We named him Demon.. and it's suits him to a tee. LOL He was apparently 4 months old but you can see how small he is. Now that's the Coccidia is gone he's gaining weight. I'm charging my camera battery as we speak and I'll get some new pics later this afternoon.