Kitten Coughing/wheezing/sneezing (possible Asthma Or Infection)?

[Richard2121]

Please please please help! I have taken poor Richard to the vet 4 times now and even got a second opinion. He is a 5 month old Bengal/Siamese mix and he is a Male kitty. He was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection about a month ago and had eye drainage, congested nose, and was not eating. Multiple vets listened to his lungs and they sounded "healthy". He was put on Clavimox (amoxicillin) twice a day for a week. His symptoms seemed to improve but he still had lingering diarrhea. Once his appetite returned and his eyes cleared up I discontinued the Clavimox. About 4 or 5 days later after I thought the whole situation was behind us, he was STILL having terrible diarrhea and his eyes were goopy again! Because he was still eating normally again and being playful with his brothers. I did however give him some terramycin eye drops to keep him comfortable. This cleared his eyes up within a day or two! But the diarrhea CONTINUED. 3 weeks of kitten diarrhea and no diagnosis is frustrating to say the least. My vet recommended canned pumpkin, tried that. Tried a probiotic for about 8 days now. I also tried fendendazole (Panacur) and I treated all of my kitties simultaneously in case of a giardia or parasite infection. I cleaned and sanitized the apartment and all litter boxes, replacing all the litter as well. I then diligently cleaned their litter boxes 3-4 times per day to reduce the chance of reinfection. Now 2 weeks later Richard's diarrhea is persisting, improving to more of a pudding texture, but the coughing has returned for the past few days. And his eyes are goopy again! I opted to wait a week to see if he could recover on his own and my vet was okay with this decision. I don't want to over medicate him and wreck his immune system! But this morning his coughing fits seemed worse again and he had very loose poop. He also vomited after eating. I took him into the vet for the day while I am at work but I am so worried and SO sick of the nickel and dime act at the vet. I want to get to the bottom of this and the sooner the better. Has anyone experienced this with their cats/young kittens? He plays and acts normally otherwise, but the coughing and diarrhea has me concerned. I want to make sure I am headed in the right direction with diagnosis and treatment.

 

[ZepMom]

Sorry your kitty is still not well. You are doing the right thing by taking him back to the vet. I know its difficult with the an going illness. You think he's better, but symptom return.

I was a little confused as to whether he was given all of the Clavimox. My understanding is to give all meds even if symptoms improve. I feel meds can throw their system off. My experience has been probiotics can take a while to help. I 'd ask your vet their opinion.

Has Richard been checked for coccidia? My guy is 7 now, but had coccidia as a kitten. He's the one with GI & URI type issues. He's been on a probiotic everyday for 18 months. Used it before when he had issues, but keeping him on it as prevention instead of treatment. Currently he's on a L lysine supplement following a recent vet vaccination trip that coincided with seasonal temp drop a few days later. Some kitties have more health issues.

Could the on going diarrhea be diet related? Ingredient sensitive maybe. My guy took up to 4 weeks to have consistently firm stool after a GI possible irritable bowel flare up one time. After months of being on same food, had diarrhea out of the blue requiring metronidazole & food change (refused to eat current food). Vet advised that it could take weeks to see if new food would resolve diarrhea.

Again these are issues my guy has had that required working with my vet. Hope your vet will have some positive information to help Richard.

 

[LTS3]

Does the kitten stretch out his neck when coughing? That is a typical sign of asthma.

Probiotics can be helpful. What brand are you using? Pet specific ones aren't necessary. A human probiotics work well and, depending on brand, has more bacteria strains and higher CFU count than pet products. There is info here Probiotics for Cats - Why and Which Ones

S. Boulardii in particular is helpful with diarrhea. The link above has info on using that.

When are you giving the probiotics? Around the same time as the antibiotics? If so, that could be a reason why the probiotics is not working. Probiotics is "good" bacteria. Antibiotics kill all bacteria. Probiotics should be given about 2 hours before or after antibiotics.

Antibiotics need to be given for the full course, not stopped when symptoms go away. Doing so causes bacteria resistance. If the vet prescribed a week course, then you give the medicine for an entire week even if the kitten seems better after a few days.

Where did you get the kitten? Did the kitten have any health issues when you got him?

 

[Richard2121]

Does the kitten stretch out his neck when coughing? That is a typical sign of asthma.

Probiotics can be helpful. What brand are you using? Pet specific ones aren't necessary. A human probiotics work well and, depending on brand, has more bacteria strains and higher CFU count than pet products. There is info here Probiotics for Cats - Why and Which Ones

S. Boulardii in particular is helpful with diarrhea. The link above has info on using that.

When are you giving the probiotics? Around the same time as the antibiotics? If so, that could be a reason why the probiotics is not working. Probiotics is "good" bacteria. Antibiotics kill all bacteria. Probiotics should be given about 2 hours before or after antibiotics.

Antibiotics need to be given for the full course, not stopped when symptoms go away. Doing so causes bacteria resistance. If the vet prescribed a week course, then you give the medicine for an entire week even if the kitten seems better after a few days.

Where did you get the kitten? Did the kitten have any health issues when you got him?

The only reason I am hesitant to say he has feline asthma is the other symptoms he displays. He finished his vet appointment and I got a call saying his lungs sounded great but he has nasal drainage and eye drainage again. They ran a fecal sample and got nothing conclusive there. I have been giving the probiotics in the morning and no antibiotics at all for a couple weeks now. I will be starting a new course of Clavimox (per recommendation of vet today) and I will try to separate dosing of antibiotic and probiotic. Thanks for that tip. The probiotic is Proviable-DC which was provided by the vet. I empty one capsule of powder into his wet food in the morning. I know I am kicking myself about stopping the antibiotics too soon. I jumped the gun when his symptoms cleared up because I was hoping to begin resolving his diarrhea and restoring gastrointestinal health. I should have kept him on for the full week. The vet is also putting him back on Fenbendazole to treat broad spectrum of intestinal parasites that could be present. She suspects either a secondary infection from the upper respiratory infection a few weeks ago and/or intestinal parasites are causing the diarrhea and digestive imbalance.

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you guys!
Let us know how things go!

 

[Richard2121]

Hello everyone!

So I am back with another post because my poor Richard is still dealing with some minor coughing fits after he eats. His diet consists of 100% wet food (mostly Fancy Feast Classic Pates including Kitten Formula). He is about 6 months old now. His weight gain has been steady and normal and his fur coat is very healthy, soft and shiny. He eats three or four meals a day and has a regular appetite. His URI symptoms had all gone away after a course of antibiotics, but he still had lingering diarrhea. This has since resolved because I started him on a more bacteria dense probiotic called TummyWorks. His stool is normal now for about 4 days in a row. His eyes are clear and healthy, no nasal discharge that I can see, and he plays like normal. If he wasn't coughing after he eats, I would think he is 100% healthy. It does not seem to be asthma. I am wondering if this could be a food allergy or some lingering respiratory symptoms or some kind of bronchial infection. I seriously don't know whether he should really go into the vet or if his mild cough will resolve on its own if I try changing his diet to LID (possibly Merrick). Or is time going to be the best medicine since he is otherwise completely healthy? Ever since the last distemper vaccine and his rabies vaccine was administered, he has also lost his voice to a certain extent. It has slowly gotten better over the last week but I am wondering if this is all connected? I would like to avoid antibiotics for a THIRD time in 2 months if at all possible. I know it is not wise to overuse antibiotics. Any advice or previous experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[talkingpeanut]

Where did you get this kitten?

 

[Richard2121]

Where did you get this kitten?

I got him from a breeder (please don't shame me) because she was giving these kittens away as "free pets" because it was a one-time woops litter that happened by mistake between her Siamese and Bengal (both have been fixed since then). She did have numerous other animals in the home at the time and also lived on a small farm with outside dogs, cats, horses, etc.

 

[Richard2121]

I got him from a breeder (please don't shame me) because she was giving these kittens away as "free pets" because it was a one-time woops litter that happened by mistake between her Siamese and Bengal (both have been fixed since then). She did have numerous other animals in the home at the time and also lived on a small farm with outside dogs, cats, horses, etc.

 

[Richard2121]

View attachment 264180

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
What an absolutely DARLING cat!!

Ever since the last distemper vaccine and his rabies vaccine was administered, he has also lost his voice to a certain extent. It has slowly gotten better over the last week but I am wondering if this is all connected?

I'd be wondering the same thing, whether the voice loss and the coughing are interrelated somehow.
Can you talk things over with your vet? Would the increased humidity of being in a bathroom with a steaming shower running, 10-12 minutes a couple times a day, help to soothe his throat?
Maybe try the LID diet as well, if the humidity doesn't help?

 

[bluepine]

Your baby is beautiful !! and looks alot like my Maggie. Maggie has respiratory issue too (feline Herpes) After a bee sting this summer, she had a flare up. Inflamed eye with goop, sneezing. She to was on antibiotics and had diarrhea. (poor thing) Slippery Elm mixed with her food (homemade raw) helped alot. Soft stools cleared once she was off her meds. I tend to use alot of herbal with myself and the furkids. Elderberry and Olive leaf got my girl over her cold. Eyes and sneeze improve after only a couple of doses. Alway buy ALCOHOL FREE. Just a few drops Orally or behind her ears. Goldenseal and Echinacea are another good mix. Lomatium is another that I use. Mixing with food hasnt worked for me. As Maggie is fincky. So mix it all up a with Collidail Silver and use a eye dropper twice a day. Talk with your Vet, ask at the health food store. This site has been a God send for me. All the prayers and infor have really got me through

 

[talkingpeanut]

I got him from a breeder (please don't shame me) because she was giving these kittens away as "free pets" because it was a one-time woops litter that happened by mistake between her Siamese and Bengal (both have been fixed since then). She did have numerous other animals in the home at the time and also lived on a small farm with outside dogs, cats, horses, etc.

I think it’s worth reaching out to the breeder about any environmental or genetic issues that could be contributing.