Kitten Sneezes!

[BizarroStormy]

Exactly as above...the lysine chews won't hurt but won't help either. And glad you let the breeder know!

The doxycycline is going to be more effective for the Mycoplasma, you mention that the breeder had used azithromycin and it worked, it does on myco but not as well as doxy, so hopefully this will work. How long a course did they recommend for the doxycycline?

I was glad for the Doxycycline, I think the breeder had expressed that she didn't think the other treatment worked as effectively as she would have liked.

The vet did 14 days at 1/2ml a day, they both seem to be doing better, finally not hearing sneezes all day! Luna has a bit of a loss of appetite though, she still eats, but a greatly reduced amount.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Antibiotics can make kitties feel as blah as they do us. Doxycycline is a pretty strong antibiotic so may be affecting them that way. You should probably add a probiotic to their food, there's pet versions like ProViable or Probios, but you can also offer a spoonful of natural yoghurt that contains good bacteria, or seek out S. boulardii supplements in the health food section , I've not used it here but have heard a lot of positive testimonies... http://florastor.com/?gclid=CjwKEAj...DZNQqD6RC8Q4PF62tGez1ntWARJt5nMfoERoCAa3w_wcB

 

[Patti]

they both seem to be doing better, finally not hearing sneezes all day

Glad to hear they are doing better!

 

[BizarroStormy]

So the antibiotics worked great, they finished them at the beginning of the month and were sneeze/symptom free! However I'm slightly concerned that as time goes on they have starting having a little sneeze here and there, started off minor but I've heard a full sneeze from both of them still recently.

Should I let it ride out and see if it gets better or worse or should I take them back to the vet? Would they want to test them again generally or just give them additional antibiotics (or would that be bad?). Never really been in a situation like this before so I'm not really sure! Just want to make sure they are healthy and this thing seems persistent! I can still hear Luna breathing heavily or something when she is in my lap sometimes like she is getting congested or something.

Thanks for your help!

Also to clarify, they had no sneezes right after the antibiotics for a while, then after a bit they had a couple weak/half sneezes, and then over the past couple days I have heard them full on sneeze. They haven't sneezed a lot, I'm just afraid it's coming back.

 

[DumaLove]

I'd redo the PCR about a month after finishing the antibiotics to make sure it is resolved completely.

 

[Patti]

Did you actually see the results of the PCR or did your vet just tell you what the bacterial infection was? The reason I am asking is because herpes is very prevalent in the cat world, and because it is a virus there is no 'cure' for it, so I'm wondering if your vet simply didn't mention this because it is so common, and untreatable.

On the other hand, mycoplasma can be a very nasty bug and require 4-6 weeks of antibiotics to completely wipe it out, so the kittens may simply need to be on the antibiotics longer. A repeat PCR may not be a bad idea, but I would make sure there wasn't anything else on the first PCR that could explain the return of the sneezing before spending the money to repeat it.

 

[BizarroStormy]

Did you actually see the results of the PCR or did your vet just tell you what the bacterial infection was? The reason I am asking is because herpes is very prevalent in the cat world, and because it is a virus there is no 'cure' for it, so I'm wondering if your vet simply didn't mention this because it is so common, and untreatable.

On the other hand, mycoplasma can be a very nasty bug and require 4-6 weeks of antibiotics to completely wipe it out, so the kittens may simply need to be on the antibiotics longer. A repeat PCR may not be a bad idea, but I would make sure there wasn't anything else on the first PCR that could explain the return of the sneezing before spending the money to repeat it.

I did not see it in person but I got a PDF of the lab results from IDEXX.

If the sneezing continues or gets worse I'll get an appointment with my vet just to be sure!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

So the antibiotics worked great, they finished them at the beginning of the month and were sneeze/symptom free! However I'm slightly concerned that as time goes on they have starting having a little sneeze here and there, started off minor but I've heard a full sneeze from both of them still recently.

Should I let it ride out and see if it gets better or worse or should I take them back to the vet? Would they want to test them again generally or just give them additional antibiotics (or would that be bad?). Never really been in a situation like this before so I'm not really sure! Just want to make sure they are healthy and this thing seems persistent! I can still hear Luna breathing heavily or something when she is in my lap sometimes like she is getting congested or something.

Thanks for your help!

Also to clarify, they had no sneezes right after the antibiotics for a while, then after a bit they had a couple weak/half sneezes, and then over the past couple days I have heard them full on sneeze. They haven't sneezed a lot, I'm just afraid it's coming back.

I think that it is possible that the antibiotic course was too short. I've had to give doxy for a month for Mycoplasma infection.

 

[Patti]

I'm glad all the viruses were negative, I would just treat them with a longer course of doxycycline.

 

[BizarroStormy]

I'm glad all the viruses were negative, I would just treat them with a longer course of doxycycline.

I called the vet today and they gave us another round of doxycycline. Hopefully this will knock it out!

Thanks for all the help!