Expert: Jessica - 12/17/2009

Question
i have a 3 month old cat that i had neutered he has uri and i dont have the money to get him seen can i fix this at home what can i do i clean his eyes and give hime chicken broth that helps but it wont go away

Answer
Hi April.  Most of the time, no, an upper respiratory infection isn't something you can fix at home.  This is because cats usually end up with bacterial infections in addition to any viral infection that may have caused the initial symptoms, and prescription antibiotics are needed to treat them.

However, you may be able to do something for the viral part of it from home.  The most common cause of upper respiratory infections in kittens is the feline herpes virus.  An amino acid called l-lysine helps prevent this virus from replicating and can get the kitty’s symptoms under control after just a few days.  You can buy lysine from any pharmacy.  For this kitten, the effective dose would be 250mg.  That’s 1/4 the standard tablet.  Since the pills are so large, it would be difficult to give him a full 1/4 tablet directly into his mouth, and you’ll need to grind up the quarter tablet and mix it into canned food.  But there are also lysine supplements formulated just for cats, which you can buy at some pet stores or online.  Search for Viralys or Enisyl-F.  They make lysine pastes, gels, powders and treats.  You should continue treating for at least 2 weeks after symptoms are under control.  Since cats who become infected with herpes are infected for life, some of them can have chronic symptoms.  It’s best to keep these cats on lysine permanently.

As for his eye infections, a decent eye ointment that you can get without a prescription is Terramycin.  You will probably have to order this online.  Right now, there is a manufacturer backorder, but you can still find it through some websites such as eBay.  You should gently pull down the bottom eyelid to form a small pouch, and apply a 1/4-inch strip into the pouch 3 times a day.

Once again, he will probably need a prescription antibiotic to completely cure his infection, so a vet visit is still very advisable if there’s any way to make it happen.

Best wishes!

Jessica