My Kittens Are Sick!

Big Nasty

Hey guys,

I adopted two kittens from DSPCA on Wednesday last and they were bright and healthy at first, if not a little confused with the change of surroundings. Over the last few days both have developed a bad cold / cat flu. They are sneezing pretty badly, slight eye discharge from the baby (2mths old) and the older (9mths old) is drooling a little. Their appetite is not great so I have been boiling and shredding chicken fillets for them and they are eating this so they're not too bad. Still, it's distressing seeing your little babies out of sorts.

I've read that it can be normal for this to happen due to the number of animals they have been mixing with in the shelter and the change of location. I've been boiling water and putting it in a pot in the living room with Olbas Oil to help clear the congestion and also put them in the bathroom for 10 mins with the shower on full blast (they can't get in to it, same room is all) in the hope that the steam will clear their passages a little. I've booked them both in to the vet tomorrow morning but for the moment am I doing everything ok or is their more I can do to relive their congestion and distress?

mymo

Both of mine have had mild bouts of cat flu, I use cooled boiled water on cotton wool to clean eyes and nose(wipe once and discard, use fresh piece each eye).
Usually they prefer the smelliest food, vet told me they won't eat what they can't smell, so get some wet food. Add some water to this if you're worried they aren't drinking enough.
There's not much else you can do until they see the vet.
Best of luck.
Both of mine are fine now so try not to panic.

Magenta

You're doing right in bringing them to the vet.
Let them try and sleep it off til then. Don't be tempted to give them any human medications in the meantime before they get to the vet.

Big Nasty

Thanks dudes, I'm not sure how much the vet can do either! Plenty of fluids and rest, they're cats, rest is their favourite past-time!

The Sweeper

Please stop using the olbas oil. Cats have a far greater sensitivity to menthol and mint / pine / eucalyptus scents than we have and you sould always be careful of how you use essential oils around cats. The steam from the shower is helpful as long as being in the bathroom with the shower running isn't causing them distress.

The vet may prescribe something like Vibravet, an oral antibiotic paste that's administered from a syringe, or another antibiotic. They may also need something for their eyes if they have a conjunctival infection.

Their appetities will be down because they cannot smell their food, and cats are very smell-driven. If weight loss becomes enough of a problem that it's threatening their strength and recovery, try them with some fish-based catfood. It's the strongest smelling of cat foods and often encourages ill cats to eat - but the problem with fish based cat foods is cats often refuse to eat anything else once they have a taste for fish (and long-term feeding of a diet rich in fish can be harmful to a cat).

Otherwise, smelliness is the key, so try warming food so it smells richer - the chicken fillets may be working because they're warm and smelly. If they appear to be becoming dehydrated, use a plastic syringe barrel with no needle, and slowly syringe a little water into the corner of their mouths. They'll often start to drink willingly as you do this. If you can't get a syringe barrel, just try trickling water into the corner of their mouths using a teaspoon.

I have had success in the past by supplementing the cats food with L-lysine, which is a human-grade amino acid often taken by coldsore sufferers. L-lysine works by inhibiting virus replication and it can help cats shake cat flu symptoms (and the herpes virus, which can often lead to cat flu symptoms). Buy a bottle of pure l-lysine tablets, which usually come in 500mg, and crush one tablet to powder, then add it to the cats' food morning and night - so they're getting around 500mg each per day. Try that for three days, and then taper it back to 1.5 tablets between them over two meals for two more days, then 1 tablet between them over two meals for two more days - so that's seven days of dosing. Stop after seven days. (You shouldn't give a cat a long-term, continuous dose of l-lysine.)

Naturally, if the vet is prescribing something, ask them about the l-lysine to ensure you're not doing anything that goes against your vet's treatment plan.

GinaH

Call the DSPCA and go see their vet, crazy to pay for a vet after paying for the cats a few days ago. :eek: Cats die from cat flu.

boomerang

In fairness to the DSPCA, cats and kittens who have had cat flu in the past but who have fully recovered retain the virus in their nerve endings. When the cat or kitten's immune system is lowered through stress - such as a change of environment (e.g. going from the shelter to new home) the symptoms can flare up again.

If the kittens did not have any flu symptoms when you saw them at the DSPCA this is probably what happened and it is not something the DSPCA can control. But I agree that you should take them to the DSPCA's vet and let the DSPCA pay the vet bill, if there is one. Although in most cases where the virus flares up due to a change of home, it resolves itself within a day or two without needing antibiotics or eye creams, in my experience.

Big Nasty

I was going to bring them back to the DSPCA and have their vet look at them but after talking to a few friends who also got animals from there and have had similar experiences I decided to bring them to an independent vet. They both have cat flu which is probably contracted in the shelter and accelerated by the stress of location change. The mother was spayed recently and has a slight infection and they also said that the kitten should have had its shots a lot sooner than last week - probably not DSPCA's fault as they have a high turnover, cq. 1k cats a year they tell me, that's 20 cats a week.

Anyway, both got booster shots and some antibiotics and already seem to be on the mend. Got to bring them back Thursday to make sure they are recovering properly.

Thanks for all your help and advice!

susanroth

This little guy had cat flu too, was skin and bones took a lot of attention force feeding etc but he is flying it now and eats like a hound:D!! And yes he is wormed;) only problem is think he may be a little spoiled now;)

boomerang

MCMLXXV wrote: »

they also said that the kitten should have had its shots a lot sooner than last week - probably not DSPCA's fault as they have a high turnover, cq. 1k cats a year they tell me, that's 20 cats a week.

Kittens should have their first vaccinations at about 9wks and 12 wks - but not much the DSPCA can do about that if the kitten is found as a stray and handed in to them at a couple of months old!

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Anyway, both got booster shots and some antibiotics and already seem to be on the mend. Got to bring them back Thursday to make sure they are recovering properly.

Oh dear - I hope your vet didn't give the kittens booster vaccinations while they are battling cat flu? That's not a good idea! I'm surprised! You should avoid vaccinating an animal when it's immune system is already fighting off a virus.

Again, just in case anyone gets the impression that all kittens being adopted out by the DSPCA have viruses like cat flu - your kittens could have had cat flu ever before they were rescued and taken in by the DSPCA - it's the stress of a change in environment that causes the symptoms to flare up again. Anyways, delighted your two cuties have found such a caring and responsible owner. Don't worry, they'll be right as rain in no time. Finish the antibiotics even if they seem better before you finish the course and if you are cleaning their eyes, use a new piece of damp cotton wool for each eye or you'll spread the infection.