How long to clear a URI?

[Sonatine]

Still new to all this kitten stuff... including how easily they get sick.

The kitten I adopted had a URI when I got him. He was so congested he sounded like a little alien when he would eat or purr. I took him to the vet last Tuesday for it. She told me that there was a chance it was viral, and after spending a bit of time on the fence between watch and wait vs. medicate, went with a convenia injection.

He's quite a bit better now. Breathing is much clearer and less noisy. He eats like a tiny horse, purrs, wants to be around me all the time. He has plenty of playful moments, but seems to sleep more than I'd come to expect from a kitten. Then again, I've mostly been working from home so I'm probably seeing pretty much all of his sleeping time (I certainly wouldn't MIND if he were just a lazy kitten, I just want to be sure it's not because he doesn't feel well).

However, he is still just a little sneezy. And it's possible that he's less active than he could be (I haven't had him long enough to have any established baseline for that, but he doesn't seem especially lethargic... just kinda lazy). In your experience, how quickly have kittens recovered from URIs?

Kitten picture for tax (taken last Monday):

 

[fionasmom]

I rescued a kitten years ago, Kate, who had a serious URI. They can take time, but I am not telling you to ignore any symptom that you think might be serious or out of the ordinary which might show that he is not recovering. Kate had to live outside, on meds, in a very secure large wire dog crate for 2 weeks, and then i was given the all clear to bring her in the house....by the vet. Shortly afterwards, the rest of the cats had it and had to be treated, so my point is that it can take more than a week. His fatigue could be from being so tiny and having to fight the infection.

 

[Sonatine]

Thanks for your response. I'm not to the point of worry yet, fortunately, and I planned to at least give him until the end of the two weeks that the injection is supposed to last for (it's a sustained release product. Convenient!). But if he starts getting noticeably worse again I'll call the vet.

His siblings/cousins (not sure which... it's a long story) have had a similar URI that responded to a different drug, at least, so if this doesn't work I know which med to try next.

 

[BlackCatOp]

Don’t have anything to add except what an adorable black kitten! (I may be biased but black kitties are the best!)

 

[stephanietx]

It really depends on the kitty and their immune system. It took Hannah about 6 weeks to completely recover from her URI when we adopted her. Normally 2-3 weeks is "normal", but it will vary by kitten.

 

[lucicat]

I took in four fosters 15 days ago and they all had pretty bad URIs and crusty eyes, very wheezy and sneezy. They were put on antibiotics and eye ointment and I gave them saline nose drops 2x a day. They were I'd say 80% better in 10 days. They did get terrible diarhea too, but I think it was the antibiotics. . .now that they are 15 days with me and a few days past the antibiotics the diarrhea is clearing up and they are nearly 100%!

 

[Sonatine]

His previous owner thought that maybe their immune systems weren't the best since they are incest kittens (oops). I'm not really sure if it's any worse than average, but it's good to know that full recovery can take a while in kittens (my adults always got over this stuff within a couple of days and never needed meds, was mild and probably viral). Since I've read that kittens are fragile and things can go wrong fast with them, I think I'm just overly paranoid. I don't yet trust myself to know the signs of a serious problem until it's too late, the way I would with my older cats.

He is doing a lot better than when I brought him home, though. His breathing is so much better. And whatever he has, he hasn't passed it on to the older cats (I got him to a vet just a few days after bringing him home, but my bathroom is really tiny, and it gets hot... keeping him in there quarantined for weeks on end simply wasn't feasible. Plus, they're all fast and sneaky. Keeping them from accessing each other's rooms was impossible since I have two hands and three cats).

I heard that Convenia has few GI side effects which was part of the reason I agreed to try it... poor little guy had a rather explosive accident in my bathtub right before I took him to the vet and I did NOT want a repeat episode. Luckily as he's settled in and gotten a dewormer that's cleared up too and he's been otherwise great about using the box.

 

[lucicat]

All kittens have low immune response after weaning and before their more adult immunity picks up. This is why kittens often get their first vaccinations at 6 weeks. It's also why so many kittens wind up with URIs and crusty eyes.
But I bet he will bounce back just fine. As long as he is eating and not getting dehydrated.

 

[Sonatine]

So it's been around 3 weeks or so since his convenia injection.... and he's still congested and sneezing a bit. His eyes are clear, no goo or discharge there, but he's definitely still somewhat congested and while it's not quite as bad as when I brought him home I think it might have gotten a little bit worse in the last few days.

Luckily, he seems fine otherwise: playful, sweet (LOVES face and head scritchies), eating like a fiend, even grooming pretty well (his coat's gotten nice and silky; he looks loads better than when I brought him home). I do want to do something about that congestion, but one of my other cats has developed either pancreatitis or an obstruction and has been in the hospital so I've been more focused on her for now.

I guess what I'm asking now is... in light of my other cat's more severe health issues, am I a bad cat mom if I wait to consult a vet until things with her have settled down a bit? I eventually do want to give the kitten's vet a call just to check in but things have been so crazy these last few days (other cat is doing better now but I legit thought she was gonna die). Obviously if he starts acting off I'll do something about it, but if his only problem currently is that he sounds like a little alien when he eats or purrs, then I'm tempted to wait until my other cat is feeling better.

 

[lucicat]

So it's been around 3 weeks or so since his convenia injection.... and he's still congested and sneezing a bit. His eyes are clear, no goo or discharge there, but he's definitely still somewhat congested and while it's not quite as bad as when I brought him home I think it might have gotten a little bit worse in the last few days.

Luckily, he seems fine otherwise: playful, sweet (LOVES face and head scritchies), eating like a fiend, even grooming pretty well (his coat's gotten nice and silky; he looks loads better than when I brought him home). I do want to do something about that congestion, but one of my other cats has developed either pancreatitis or an obstruction and has been in the hospital so I've been more focused on her for now.

I guess what I'm asking now is... in light of my other cat's more severe health issues, am I a bad cat mom if I wait to consult a vet until things with her have settled down a bit? I eventually do want to give the kitten's vet a call just to check in but things have been so crazy these last few days (other cat is doing better now but I legit thought she was gonna die). Obviously if he starts acting off I'll do something about it, but if his only problem currently is that he sounds like a little alien when he eats or purrs, then I'm tempted to wait until my other cat is feeling better.

I think if it's only congestion and he's eating and has energy you are fine to wait a bit. You can use saline nose drops in their nose to help them clear the mucus. But sometimes the congestion just takes a while to clear up.

 

[Sonatine]

Thanks for the reassurance. My other cat being so sick has been really difficult (she's only 3! No prior health issues! I've never dealt with anything like it), so at least this helps me feel less guilty about neglecting the kitten's issues.

Little Gizmo Gremlinson doesn't seem to be slowed down by his stuffy nose at all, but I'll call his vet once things are more settled with Amelia. They might actually just suggest I keep an eye on it rather than give more meds; they're not ones to overprescribe.

Here's a picture of the little gremlin enjoying some of his favorite head scritchies.

 

[stephanietx]

Is there an update? Is he any better?

 

[Sonatine]

Still sniffly and sneezing. Not really any worse and he's still acting just fine, but I called the vet just in case. They're gonna call back this morning and I'll see what they think. He's due for his next round of kitten shots anyway, so either way he's probably going in next week.

 

[stephanietx]

Since he's not 100% healthy, I'd wait on the shots. He may still have a little bit of infection left and a second round of antibiotics might clear that up. You can also ask for nose drops for him, such as Gentamycin or ask about using baby saline drops.

 

[Sonatine]

I just checked with the vet, and they think we should hold off on another round of antibiotics, as long as he's healthy other than some congestion and sneezing. Forgot to ask about the shots, though. He will be needing those, as well as neutering, and I can't put them off indefinitely.