Five week old kittens with cat flu - advice please

egan2020

I have two five week old kittens with cat flu. I realise they shouldn’t be away from their mother at this age but they were dropped into a local vets last week and I agreed to take them – the alternative being that they would be put down. I was given Fucithalmic drops for their eyes and also Betamox, presumably to fight infection. I am syringe feeding them a milk substitute every couple of hours and they have no problem taking this. I put a hot water bottle under their blankets and they sleep fine. They have more energy than they did when I got them and one of them has started playing with the other one.

I am giving them the eye drops and wiping each eye with cotton wool. Their eyes seem to get much better after a couple of hours but when they wake up after a nap, their eyes are closed shut again. I noticed today that their breathing seems to be worse than yesterday and they both appear to have blocked noses and are breathing through their mouths.

I wasn’t particularly worried about the situation until I decided to read up about cat flu and learned that kittens can go blind from the eye infection and that it can be fatal in kittens so young. I will be devastated if I lose them as will my daughter. Even the dog has gotten used to them!

I am calling to my own vet on my home from work today for advice but I would just like to know if anyone has had kittens this young with cat flu and how they got on.

hadook

A quick trip back to vet because their breathing is worsening wouldn't go amiss but I wouldn't be as concerned about the sticky eyes when they wake as long as you're clearing it frequently. The gunk collects and sticks their lashes together while they sleep but the real damage happens when it's not cleared.

One thing that you can try is to use cold chamomile tea instead of water on the cotton wool. Wipe out along the eye using fresh cotton wool for each eye etc.

egan2020

Thanks Hadook, I'll give that a go this evening. Also, one of the kittens is attempting to drink the formula from a saucer. She manages about 10 mls and then I top her up with the syringe. Should I introudce her to some kitten food or is she too young?

hadook

Once they're over 4 weeks you can start to introduce solids. Royal Canin do a gooey food called Babycat Instinctive which should be about right for them at this age. It's a mousse type food (ideal for sick cats that won't eat properly too) that should get them from milk to solids without too much trouble.

I'd also suggest RC Babycat dry food, the pieces are tiny so ideal for a wee kitten learning to eat. If you can't find RC then look for something else with a tiny kibble. Keep topping them up with the replacement milk for as long as you think they need it, ill kittens need extra nutrients so even if they're eating solids it's no harm.

If you haven't seen an improvement in their eyes by the time you've finished the drops and antibiotics or if they worsen in the meantime then do take them back to the vet. Cat flu is a horrid thing to watch but, with care, most cats come through it fine. I've had several foster and permanent residents with it and the only one to have problems (she lost an eye) was in a terrible state when she was found. We adopted a blind cat last year that lost her eyes to cat flu but, again, she was in a terrible state when she was found and nothing could be done. In my experience once treatment is started in time they tend to do ok.

egan2020

Thanks again Hadook. I'll pick up some food at the vets this evening and try them with it when I get home.