A Sick Kitten

[Mochibunie]

I adopted my new kitten, Leo, on August 10th 2019 at the age of 4 months. I took him to the vet yesterday (August 15, 2019) where he got 2 antibiotic shots, 1 at home medication, and vitamin/calorie supplements.
These are his symptoms: Refusal to eat (Syringe Feeding), his breaths per minute are averaging around 60, bad breath, Phlegm, clear nose discharge, and not grooming. Throughout this he sleeps all day, he rarely wakes up, and when he sleeps he sleep with his head propped up.
When I went to the Vet, he agreed with me that its probably an Upper Respiratory Infection, which is extremely common in newly adopted cats, as well as multi-cat household, of which I am both.
The problem is he doesn't seem to be getting better. He did drink a bit of water by himself at night, but still refuses to eat. Am I just over reacting? I know medicine doesn't work immediately but I really expected him to at least get a little better. Should I take him to my private vet, or should I wait a few days?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Welcome!!

Should I take him to my private vet,

Can you call your vet and talk with them? I think if it were me I'd take him in.

 

[jefferd18]

Did your vet administer a shot? That is the quickest way for an antibiotic to get into the system, medications take a quite a bit longer. Has his temperature gone down? Can you call your vet and tell him/her about your concerns? Cats need to eat or their bodies will shut down.

 

[silkenpaw]

Welcome to the forum! Leo is cute

Did the vet give him fluids? That would make him feel so much better right away. Unfortunately, antibiotics do take time to work, even if injected. Have you weighed him? If he's losing weight, I'd take him in. Kittens are touchy, like all babies.

Let us know what happens, please.

 

[Rhall]

Try warming some baby food - chicken flavour and thin with some warm water. My Ollie was really sick at first, it was a few days before I saw improvement.

 

[Rhall]

I also found giving him steam treatments helped. I tried doing it in the bathroom with the shower running, but it really worked best putting him in his carrier and placing a boiling pot of water a few feet away from him reaching it and covering everything with a towel. I did this 3-4x per day. Ollie was on doxycycline and the rescue I got him from sent over some lysine? paste for him as well.

 

[ArchyCat]

The steam treatments are a good idea. You might try feeding him Kitten Milk Replacement. Buy the powdered form and you can prepare only as much as you need. It is a high calorie food, with protein and minerals. And the fluid will help maintain his proper hydration.

Did your veterinarian positively rule out pneumonia? That is always a risk with a URI.