uri??

[ammcelhaney]

Hello all! I wanted to get some thoughts and opinions from you all on what my poor Oakley might have He is almost 15 weeks old, and I've had him for almost a month now. The place where I got him, to say the least, wasn't up to my expectations.. but the kittens and adult cats were all fed very well and seemed to be very healthy so I didn't think much else of it. Well Oakley's been sneezing NONSTOP with a ton of nasal discharge. At first he wasn't sneezing.. but doing this coughing/gagging type thing like he had a hairball. It sounded terrible like he was going to throw up but it would only last a minute, if that, and then he would go back to playing. Well I took him to he vet whenever I got him and he said it's likely that he has a upper respiratory infection and gave him some shots and antibiotics. The coughing/gagging stopped and now he's just non stop sneezing. It just recently started and I've been doing some research online and all of the answers point to feline herpes He does go back to the vet on Tuesday, but I figured till then I would ask for your opinions on what you think it is.. or if any of your babies have had this? Thanks!

Also! Oakley is eating, drinking, and using the bathroom all on a regular basis so that isn't of any concern. He's playful as can be and his sickness doesn't seem to bother him.

 

[Trish Allearz]

It could definitely be herpes, but I think there are a host of other URI it could be as well. I'd probably just get him on Lysine as a supplement and see what your vet says

 

[ammcelhaney]

I'm hoping it's nothing serious! lol. I feel so terrible for him. The poor thing has a stuffy nose and wakes up out of a sleep to sneeze

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Is the sneezing clear fluid or opaque? And so the sneezing started a bit after the vet visit? The problem is (and hard to avoid this) is that visiting the vet can introduce another pathogen. Kinda like sitting in the doctor's office with sick people and coming home with a cold. I'm assuming the kitten had already had two vaccinations before you got the kitten? And generally that is the best we can do, but vaccination only helps them with infections and does not PREVENT the infection, especially when it comes to Rhinotracheitis (Herpes). Lysine can help lots, but if he doesn't respond to that I'd consider paying for a PCR Upper Respiratory pathogen panel (IDEXX test) to try and work out what is going on. Good luck!

 

[ammcelhaney]

Just a lot of green snot whenever he sneezes. I am taking him to get his lost set of shots Tuesday. The first time I took him to get a check up after I got him the vet took his temp and it was dangerously high but has since then gone down to normal and he occasionally still does the gagging thing. I was thinking maybe he's doing it a lot because of the air conditioner and the cold? It's usually around 67-70 in my place. Whenever I shower I always take him in the bathroom with me so the humidity will help him breath better

 

[MK Anderson]

Poor kitty! hope he's better soon!!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

What shots and antibiotics? Sounds like whatever they were, they weren't the right one. Usually Rhintracheitis (Herpes) gives a clear discharge, but sometimes they can get a secondary bacterial infection. The longer you let that infection continue the more chance of chronic infection due to damaged sinuses...so worth putting effort in now to fix the issue!

Do you regularly clean the air-conditioner? Might be worth looking into?

 

[ammcelhaney]

I'm not home right now so I don't have the paper with the shots on it but I do remember that the drops I had to give him were amoxicillin which helped a lot. I'm just concerned with the sneezing and stuff! Maybe I'm just being a worry-wart! lol. The AC unit was cleaned the end of summer last year. I just find it odd that it started all of a sudden.hopefully it's just a virus that will pass

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Amoxicillin is a very mild antibiotic and he just might need something stronger to kick what he has...

 

[ammcelhaney]

Ok thanks I hope that works!