Hard For Kitten With Uri To Breathe???

[Farleyk32]

Hello I'm hoping for some help here. I'm a nervous anxious ball of mess.. so I have two kittens I recently adopted from a shelter. Oliver is 4 months old. Edgar is 3 months old. Theyve been passing a URI back and forth now since I got them and right now its Olivers turn. He had amoxicillin when we 1st got him for URI, seemed ok, then Edgar came along and now Oliver has another Uri. So, he has been on clavamox for 5 days now. I realize the antibiotic is only for secondary infections but this just seems to be going no where Poor Oliver can barely breathe he is so congested, stuffed up and practically snorty. Any suggestions? I've been putting him in the steamy bathroom through the day, the vet gave us l-lysine and not getting better yet. I'm just at a loss at how else to help him and he sounds dreadful. I guess maybe I would like to know if it just sounds worse than it really is when kittens have this?? It just sounds line he's suffocating for crying out loud. He'll still eat and drink but he's just all snorty and snotty with booger bubbles and everything. Some opinions, reassurances or whatever you can give would be appreciated. I haven't had a kitten in 20 years so I'm a nervous kitty mom that's barely had sleep because I'm up staring at him all nite
Help

 

[StefanZ]

I see you are already doing all my suggestions. Farleyk32

Some try to find more: Massage him, especially over chest.

As he drinks, give him some form of pedialyte. You can make your own with water, karo or honey, and a trifle salt. So its barely taste.
Use raw honey if you can get it! Raw honey has some antibiotic properties.

Why pedialyte? if flows easier than food, and is probably easier to get in. also the glucose sugar in honey will keep him alive for some days if necessary.

If he manages to eat more, and you can get raw goats milk, use this. it too is supposed to contain some immunological properties.

You can also try have some garlic and onions nearby, so he can breathe in some. Dont let him eat it - its poisonous for cats. But both garlic and onions are too natural antibiotics...
This trick would be easier with open wounds (my father told me soviet surgeons used this trick on inflammed wounds during the WWII, having a plate with onion / garlic nearby).
But here he will inhale...

Ps. This last idea, Im not sure on it - MAY be dangerous... But if enough desperate may be the last straw to try and catch.

 

[catsknowme]

Welcome to TCS and a HUGE thank you for getting Oliver and Edgar out of the shelter. You are definitely doing the right things! You could try adding a little pink salt (aka RealSalt/Himalayan Salt/mineral block) to a pan of water & simmer it and try holding Oliver near it. (I keep the pan covered with a splatter screen just in case the kitten tries running off). You can also use the infants' non-medicated nose drops (in my experience, cats accept it only once).
You can ask your vet about adding a decongestant such as loratadine (Claritin); some vets still recommend Benadryl but it causes extreme frothing at the mouth & usually panic (from feelings similar to drowning/suffocation, which is why I do not allow laughing at a cat freaking out from Benadryl) and is hard to re-dose.
I have a kitty with chronic URI who gets great relief from Homeopet's Feline Nose Relief. I use 10 drops in a pint of drinking water. You can add the drops directly but my guy is semi-feral so wouldn't tolerate direct administration.
A little coconut oil or plain vaseline on his tender nose is helpful at preventing cruelties from blocking his nasal openings.
L-lysine is excellent for helping to subdue viruses. You could seek advice from a holistic vet about adding slippery elm, licorice root and marshmallow root to the regimen. I add decoction of those 3 to some canned food. I also add it to water & find that sick cats often lap it up eagerly. I suppose that you could also steam those herbs in a pan and let them waft about the room - Maybe put Oliver in a cat carrier in a tent consisting of a sheet draped over 2 chairs, with the steaming pan also inside the tent (keep the pan covered until you put it in the tent).
Lastly, I would reduce all fragrances and other nasal irritants, including scented cat litter and air fresheners. Scented cat litter can also irritate tender anal tissues and cause litterbox problems. We humans tend to credit dogs for a superb sense of smell yet don't realize that cats also have an extraordinary sense of smell.
Sending prayers and vibes that Oliver recovers quickly and that both boys stay healthy
Please keep us updated!

 

[Farleyk32]

Thank you so much!! I will try the salt idea- maybe i could boil the salt, put it in the steamy bathroom with us the next time i take him in there. Maybe the salt simmer and bathroom steam would mingle. . I'll try that though, he'll be safe from boiling water he just hangs out on the toliet and takes a nap while i lay on the bathroom floor with a book lol.

 

[Farleyk32]

Thank you so much for your answers I will definitely try some. I'm willing to try anything at this point so he'll start to breathe better. Its so pathetic listening to him snort and struggle.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I'm not a vet so I don't know if there are medicine interactions, so be careful about that, but I did read good things about Homeopet Feline Nose Relief.
All the best of luck to you!!

 

[cheeser]

Sorry to hear that your kitties are playing tag team with a pesky upper respiratory infection, and hope Oliver is feeling better soon!

I'm afraid I don't have much to add to what catsknowme has already suggested, except to offer some moral support.

Our vet told us we could use Little Remedies Saline Spray/Drops as often as we needed to help thin down the mucous and make it easier to sneeze up, as there's no danger of 'overdosing' since there's not any actual medication in it. The only downside we've run into is that the nozzle hole is kinda big and I nearly drowned our poor cat until I got the knack of it.

catsknowme , I just have a quick question re: the HomeoPet Feline Nose Relief. Since our URI prone kitty isn't a water drinker, what exactly is supposed to be the downside of the alcohol listed as an ingredient if you apply it as nose drops? Does it dry out the mucous membranes or something? Or is there so little alcohol that it's not really an issue?

 

[catsknowme]

@catsknowme[/USER], I just have a quick question re: the HomeoPet Feline Nose Relief. Since our URI prone kitty isn't a water drinker, what exactly is supposed to be the downside of the alcohol listed as an ingredient if you apply it as nose drops? Does it dry out the mucous membranes or something? Or is there so little alcohol that it's not really an issue?

The Nose Relief drops are a systemic support so they are taken internally, like a decongestant, so you administer them by mouth which most kitties dislike. I have put them into a plate of canned food for ferals & that method seems to work well.

@FarleyK: that is so adorable that you two can "chill" together in the "steam room" like that! Your skin must be loving the steam. And I appreciate your dedication in helping your sweet kitten to feel better

 

[cheeser]

The Nose Relief drops are a systemic support so they are taken internally, like a decongestant, so you administer them by mouth which most kitties dislike. I have put them into a plate of canned food for ferals & that method seems to work well.

Thanks much!

 

[Farleyk32]

The Nose Relief drops are a systemic support so they are taken internally, like a decongestant, so you administer them by mouth which most kitties dislike. I have put them into a plate of canned food for ferals & that method seems to work well.

@FarleyK: that is so adorable that you two can "chill" together in the "steam room" like that! Your skin must be loving the steam. And I appreciate your dedication in helping your sweet kitten to feel better

I just can't wait until they both feel better at the same time.

 

[Farleyk32]

Sorry to hear that your kitties are playing tag team with a pesky upper respiratory infection, and hope Oliver is feeling better soon!

I'm afraid I don't have much to add to what catsknowme has already suggested, except to offer some moral support.

Our vet told us we could use Little Remedies Saline Spray/Drops as often as we needed to help thin down the mucous and make it easier to sneeze up, as there's no danger of 'overdosing' since there's not any actual medication in it. The only downside we've run into is that the nozzle hole is kinda big and I nearly drowned our poor cat until I got the knack of it.

catsknowme , I just have a quick question re: the HomeoPet Feline Nose Relief. Since our URI prone kitty isn't a water drinker, what exactly is supposed to be the downside of the alcohol listed as an ingredient if you apply it as nose drops? Does it dry out the mucous membranes or something? Or is there so little alcohol that it's not really an issue?

And I saw a youtube video about giving nosedrops which I think I will go get- but she soaked a qtip with the nose drops and then dropped them in the nose like that. Worth a shot- I'm not sure how willing a participant Oliver will be since we're already coming at him a few times a day with banana flavored (???) antibiotic and eyedrops but hey we'll give it a whirl.

 

[Farleyk32]

Hi! I'm not a vet so I don't know if there are medicine interactions, so be careful about that, but I did read good things about Homeopet Feline Nose Relief.
All the best of luck to you!!

Thank you!

 

[Farleyk32]

The Nose Relief drops are a systemic support so they are taken internally, like a decongestant, so you administer them by mouth which most kitties dislike. I have put them into a plate of canned food for ferals & that method seems to work well.

@FarleyK: that is so adorable that you two can "chill" together in the "steam room" like that! Your skin must be loving the steam. And I appreciate your dedication in helping your sweet kitten to feel better

He likes hanging out in the bathroom I think.

 

[Farleyk32]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how ling this lasts??? His stuffiness has been on and off of varying degrees for a week now. Its getting frustrating.

 

[catlover73]

Have you let your vet know that he is getting worse? I am asking that because maybe he needs to try a round of a different antibiotic. My Starbuck had a nasty URI as kitten that took two rounds of 2 different antibiotics before it cleared up. Keep going with the steam treatments too though. How long are you doing each steam treatment? I am asking this so we can make sure you are doing the steam treatments long enough each time.

 

[Farleyk32]

I talked to the vet on Thursday, they said to finish this antibiotic (we have 3 1/2 more days.). He's on Clavamox, the first antibiotic he took was amoxicillin. We usually sit in the steam - 45 minutes at a time or longer. (I'll turn the water on a few times to steam it up while we're in there. This is some stubborn snot is all I have to say. I guess I'll end up calling the vet on Monday again if this doesnt get any better.

 

[catlover73]

It really sounds like you are doing everything you can. I hope both your babies feel better soon. You are definitely dealing with a very stubborn URI. I have never used nose drops for my cats but perhaps that would be something you could try.

 

[Farleyk32]

Thanks. Praying it gets better soon.

 

[catsknowme]

I was hoping for more improvement by now. I know that some of the Tift County GA cats had to be switched to Zithromax; maybe your vet will try that. Have you tried giving any Claritin, if the vet said that it was okay?

 

[cheeser]

Has your vet done any cultures? Sometimes it turns out that a kitty needs a very specific antibiotic to get the job done.