Expert: Jessica - 10/19/2009

Question
2 days ago I got 2 9 week old kittens. They are both males, and I adopted them from a humane society. I noticed that one of them was sneezing a lot and had a runny nose, but the lady said it was just a cold, and they could give us antibiotics soon, if necessary. Now he has gotten much worse and can't stop sneezing. He occasionally gets snot bubbles, and has a hard time breathing.. He chokes and sniffles a lot. My dad went to get the antibiotics, but it wasn't there. So we keep calling, but no one will answer. I'm thinking that it might be an upper respiratory infection... Or something like that. If you could help, that'd be great.
Thanks,

Ashley

Answer
Hi Ashley.  The kitten does sound like he needs antibiotics, and unfortunately, if no one is available to give you the antibiotics promised, the baby should see a vet right away.  Untreated upper respiratory infections can cause a kitten to stop eating, because they rely heavily on their sense of smell to detect their food.  A kitten with a stuffy nose often becomes anorexic, and then complications of dehydration and malnutrition start to become a problem.  If he refuses meals, the kitten will need force feeding until the antibiotics kick in after a few days.  Other serious complications of upper respiratory infections, like pneumonia, are surprisingly common in kittens.

One of the most common viral illnesses that causes upper respiratory disease in kittens is the feline herpes virus.  You can help lessen the symptoms of this disease by giving the kitten a lysine supplement.  This is an amino acid that will help prevent the replication of the herpes virus.  Supplements are made just for cats in the form of pastes, gels, powders and treats.  Search the web for Viralys and Enisyl-F products (www.calvetsupply.com  www.lambertvetsupply.com and www.entirelypets.com are some good places to purchase them).  You could also purchase lysine tablets from your pharmacy and crush them up, and mix it into canned food.  For a kitten, 250mg a day is the effective dose (1/4 of the typical human-strength lysine tablet).  

However, lysine won't cure bacterial upper respiratory infections.  Only antibiotics can do that.  Lysine is helpful to reduce symptoms associated with viral infections, which antibiotics cannot help.  It's usually best to use a combination of both treatments, since bacterial and viral infections often come together.

I hope he's feeling better soon!

Jessica