I have a 9 month old, female kitten that i adopted from a shelter when she was about 4 months old. She started seeming sick about 3.5 weeks ago. She had a 104.7 fever, lethargic, not eating, and was exposing her third eyelid. The next morning, I took her to the emergency vet where they told me it was most likely a feline herpes virus outbreak. They gave me an appetite stimulate, antibiotic, and antiviral medication. For the next 2 weeks, I continued to monitor her, take her temperature, and give her meds. She was still running a fever for a few days but then started to get better. I had to leave town for the weekend and stopped the antiviral for 2 days (my mom came to feed and play with her). When I got home, it seemed like she was regressing. I figured it was a relapse from stopping the antiviral, so I continued the meds right away and let a few days go by, but she didn't seem better. I took her to my private vet and they ran blood work. She tested negative for FIP and feline leukemia. However, her red blood cells were off and other parts of her blood work was off. The vet said it was due to dehydration and a nasty upper respiratory infection. I've been since giving her a different antibiotic and a low dose of steriods. She seems to have more energy and appetite from the steriods, but still not 100%. I'm syringe feeding her baby food, pate food, and no flavor pedialyte. She is drinking and eating a little bit on her own too - licking up some broth and eating treats/hard food. She currently weighs 5.8 lbs and feels very thin. She's also still running a low fever of 103. I noticed a little bit of sneezing but not much. No eye or nasal discharge. Sometimes it sounds like her nose is a little stuffy, so I've also given her nasal relief drops for cats.
I'm wondering if anyone can provide some insight. Is this really an upper respiratory infection or some other underlying disease?
I'm wondering if anyone can provide some insight. Is this really an upper respiratory infection or some other underlying disease?