Congested Kitten

[shiaena]

Hello everyone! Meet Kali!

She's a (supposedly) 5 month old Calico kitten we got from Commerce Animal Shelter here in Texas

She's cuddly and sweet, loves to be pet and especially loves kneading us (thank god we clipped her claws a bit when we got home!)

In the shelter, there were kittens with runny noses and watery eyes, and the volunteer said that they were getting over a cold. Little Kali seemed fine when we got her, as the volunteer said that her and the litter she was in were treated already. But when we brought her home, we noticed that she is quite congested actually. She makes that loud breathing sound like when you have one nostril stuffed up, and the other is semi-clear, so it's kind of a whistle? And you hear her breathing out hard every now and then to try and clear it, she rubs her nose with her paw and sneezes every now and then. We think she still has that cold her siblings had, but it's not so severe since she's eating a LOT, drinking a TON, and is playing like no tomorrow, even though we try and let her rest! The only different thing we noted today is she has green boogies now (though we try to clean it up with warm water).

So, what I mainly wanted to ask is how to help this little baby get better. I know that antibiotics is an option, and I'm taking Espa to the vet on Thursday so I can ask about Kali's condition, but for now I just want to get rid of that congestion. I have little drops that go in the water that supposedly helps with congestion, sneezing and runny nose, but I only got that yesterday so I'm not sure if it's working. I'm going to buy a vaporizer at the store I work also. Is there any other remedies you guys know of to help this little one? I'm open for anything!

 

[Kieka]

It does sound like a cold or URI from the shelter. It is fairly common for them to get them in kennel conditions. I would take her into the vet when you go to for the other one just to make sure it isn't something more serious and get her on a treatment plan. I know you are saying you will ask about but my vet won't prescribe anything unless she physically sees the cat or has seen it recently.

To the drop, I personally dislike using anything not explicitly directed by a vet or that isn't widely accepted as 100% safe. Cats systems are just too sensitive and a lot of snake oil pet "medication" and "treatment" companies tend to market things as safe to cats when really it was just tested on dogs or not even tested. There are several "natural" products out there that can kill cats because they are extremely sensitive to herbals and oils. For example look at what is in the HomeoPet has a nose relief that has muriaticum acidum (hydrocholoric acid) which while good for digestion and natural produced by the body, too much is bad and why would something for the nose need essentially stomach acid? Which makes that aspect a total no for the whole thing from my perspective. However, it also has Hepar Sulphuris Calcareum which is a burnt sulfur calcium from oyster shells. It has long been thought of as a naturally occurring antibiotic for everything. I don't actually have a problem with that one other then a lack of research. Gelsemium Sempervirens is an vine from the tropics that is an evergreen twining vine. For pets it is often thought of as a mood stabilizer or perk me up type thing. So it would be in there to mask the tiredness but in humans it has similar properties to asprin; which is bad for cats. Which makes it questionable to me. I just don't like giving my cats something unless I know what each of the components are and exactly why they are there. While I don't see anything in the nose relief drops (which I know they are likely not what you are using but an example for explanation purposes) that is a huge red flag I just don't know enough about the combination or possible side effects to warrant the use instead of a vet prescribed treatment.

I should mention I am also the type who personally doesn't take cold medicine because I don't like taking overkill of medication. If I need a decongestant I take just that or just something for the aches. I also don't use any chemicals or products in my life beyond what is absolutely necessary due to my own allergies and new products have to be tested prior to use. So I have a different perspective on how chemicals affect me even the "natural" ones.

That said I think a humidifier without any oils could be beneficial and help with the congestion without causing harm. The other thing I have heard for home treatment is saline drops in the nose (the ones made for infants) and so long as we are talking one with just salt and water as ingredients it would be safe as well.

 

[MoonRockyMistyMuffin]

If his eyes are gunky and he is congested, this is probably normal. A lot of kittens get this.

 

[danteshuman]

My peach cat came with a bit of gunk in his eyes and the occasional sneeze... it cleared up in a couple of weeks. (It was very little.) Normally I would say to just watch and see for a week but you said she was very congested. I would take her to the vet to make sure it is just a cold.

 

[foxden]

One thing that helps human and animal congestion is steam from a hot shower. Sit in the bathroom with her after you run a hot shower. The steam will help break up the mucus.