One of my students fell terribly ill a couple weeks ago and today asked me to "foster" her male kitten (Russian Blue/Maine Coon mix) while she is in the hospital for a couple months or so- she gave me consent to take him to the vet if needed and provide good care for him while she was gone. I took him home with hopes of starting introductions with my own cats but found that he was sneezing uncontrollably, had nasal discharge, and was very lethargic- otherwise, he is a sweetheart. Took him to the vet- he was diagnosed with a URI (Upper Respiratory Infection). I've heard of this disease but am still new to it as neither Bärli nor Lenya have had it before.
They gave him a high-powered antibiotic shot and checked him out for the usual feline issues (FeLV and FIV, both tested negative). Everything is fine. He gave me two meds (amoxycilin and a dark brown paste in a syringe). He's still congested but less so than before, and still sneezing. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow if he does deteriorate.
He's in a nice warm room isolated from Lenya and Bärli (for obvious reasons). He has a vaporizer to help him breathe better, several cat trees, food/water/litter boxes, and several toys. He seems to be getting slightly better so DH and I are keeping a close eye on him but trying to make everything as comfortable and relaxing as possible.
The vet also gave us an appetite stimulant since he thinks that the kitten can't taste his food (it seems like the URI has been going on for a while now), but I can't get it down him. He sleeps a lot and is only "half-awake" when we go in to check on him.
I know it's only been 1 day, but it seems like the URI has been going on for several days. Is there anything else I can do to help him breathe easier and get the snot out?
I've never had to deal with this issue and I oh-so-dearly hope that this little kitten gets better soon. I've already taken him in as my own (for now) until my student gets well, which is also hopefully soon.
Thank you.
Karen
They gave him a high-powered antibiotic shot and checked him out for the usual feline issues (FeLV and FIV, both tested negative). Everything is fine. He gave me two meds (amoxycilin and a dark brown paste in a syringe). He's still congested but less so than before, and still sneezing. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow if he does deteriorate.
He's in a nice warm room isolated from Lenya and Bärli (for obvious reasons). He has a vaporizer to help him breathe better, several cat trees, food/water/litter boxes, and several toys. He seems to be getting slightly better so DH and I are keeping a close eye on him but trying to make everything as comfortable and relaxing as possible.
The vet also gave us an appetite stimulant since he thinks that the kitten can't taste his food (it seems like the URI has been going on for a while now), but I can't get it down him. He sleeps a lot and is only "half-awake" when we go in to check on him.
I know it's only been 1 day, but it seems like the URI has been going on for several days. Is there anything else I can do to help him breathe easier and get the snot out?
I've never had to deal with this issue and I oh-so-dearly hope that this little kitten gets better soon. I've already taken him in as my own (for now) until my student gets well, which is also hopefully soon.
Thank you.
Karen