Kitten caught a cold

About 2 weeks ago I got a kitten. Everythings was going surprisingly well
(he didn't even cry much for mom and siblings), but a few days later I
noticed that his eyes are a bit watery and that he sneezes. It's obviously
one of those common URI's. Internet says that there's no real treatmant, he
can only get some antibiotics if things get more serious. But since he's
very active (to say the least) and eats like a horse (to say the least also)
I wouldn't like to get him used to antibiotics at such young age (some say
that can make a cat less resistant in adulthood). I read that in the vast
majority of cases URI's go away after a few days, and that I should only
clean his eyes with warm water or some chamomile tea, which should help. I
did so and it was fine, but as soon as I stopped the treatment his eyes
became watery again. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

He should see a vet for antibiotics. Kittens can go downhill quickly.
Gail
"m4816k" wrote in message
...
About 2 weeks ago I got a kitten. Everythings was going surprisingly well
(he didn't even cry much for mom and siblings), but a few days later I
noticed that his eyes are a bit watery and that he sneezes. It's obviously
one of those common URI's. Internet says that there's no real treatmant,
he can only get some antibiotics if things get more serious. But since
he's very active (to say the least) and eats like a horse (to say the
least also) I wouldn't like to get him used to antibiotics at such young
age (some say that can make a cat less resistant in adulthood). I read
that in the vast majority of cases URI's go away after a few days, and
that I should only clean his eyes with warm water or some chamomile tea,
which should help. I did so and it was fine, but as soon as I stopped the
treatment his eyes became watery again. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

m4816k wrote:

About 2 weeks ago I got a kitten. Everythings was going surprisingly well
(he didn't even cry much for mom and siblings), but a few days later I
noticed that his eyes are a bit watery and that he sneezes. It's obviously
one of those common URI's. Internet says that there's no real treatmant, he
can only get some antibiotics if things get more serious. But since he's
very active (to say the least) and eats like a horse (to say the least also)
I wouldn't like to get him used to antibiotics at such young age (some say
that can make a cat less resistant in adulthood). I read that in the vast
majority of cases URI's go away after a few days, and that I should only
clean his eyes with warm water or some chamomile tea, which should help. I
did so and it was fine, but as soon as I stopped the treatment his eyes
became watery again. Any other suggestions? Thanks!



If he gets worse, doesn't improve, and/or stops eating, take him to a
vet. Otherwise, a cold for cats is like a cold for us - just gotta
wait it out. My two boys had several colds as kittens (and sometimes
it's just a kitten getting used to a new environment, like a temporary
allergy) and now they seldom even sneeze. Do be careful though -
those symptoms can sometimes mean an infection which requires antibiotics.

Hey, I have two kitties and both of them had to be on antibiotics at a very
young age. My older baby Mali, she is about a year and a half now and she
had to do 3 rounds of antibiotics back to back because she had a bladder
infection when I got her. When we adopted our other little man Simba, he had
an upper respiratory infection and had to do 2 rounds of antibiotics and my
Mali didn't catch it and they've both been healthy since. I would definitely
take your kitten to the vet and nip it in the butt before it can get worse.
Antibiotics are a good thing if you use them correctly!

m4816k wrote:
About 2 weeks ago I got a kitten. Everythings was going surprisingly well
(he didn't even cry much for mom and siblings), but a few days later I
noticed that his eyes are a bit watery and that he sneezes. It's obviously
one of those common URI's. Internet says that there's no real treatmant, he
can only get some antibiotics if things get more serious. But since he's
very active (to say the least) and eats like a horse (to say the least also)
I wouldn't like to get him used to antibiotics at such young age (some say
that can make a cat less resistant in adulthood). I read that in the vast
majority of cases URI's go away after a few days, and that I should only
clean his eyes with warm water or some chamomile tea, which should help. I
did so and it was fine, but as soon as I stopped the treatment his eyes
became watery again. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

m4816k wrote:
About 2 weeks ago I got a kitten. Everythings was going
surprisingly well (he didn't even cry much for mom and
siblings), but a few days later I noticed that his eyes are a
bit watery and that he sneezes. It's obviously one of those
common URI's. Internet says that there's no real treatmant, he
can only get some antibiotics if things get more serious. But
since he's very active (to say the least) and eats like a horse
(to say the least also) I wouldn't like to get him used to
antibiotics at such young age (some say that can make a cat less
resistant in adulthood). I read that in the vast majority of
cases URI's go away after a few days, and that I should only
clean his eyes with warm water or some chamomile tea, which
should help. I did so and it was fine, but as soon as I stopped
the treatment his eyes became watery again. Any other
suggestions? Thanks!

I think this was posted a week or so ago, but since I have
experience with it (like many others here!) I wanted to also add a
note. I agree with you about the use of antibiotics. It "feels"
like doing something, and sometimes it does. There are signs to
look for to see if one of the common virii that causes URIs causes
a secondary bacterial infection (which is the only thing helped by
antibiotics) and a good vet can tell if a viral eye infection
progresses to a secondary bacterial one. With my latest two that
were constantly plagued by eye gooies and sneezies, I did like you,
and wiped their eyes with a cotton ball moistened with warm water.
Several times I brought them to see the vet but it was if the
appetite was deteriorating, and that is often due to stuffy nose
and inability to smell the food. Over the course of many vet visits
for these two, I was sold several different types of eye ointments.
Some with steroids, some without. They can only have eye ointments
with steroids if there is no sign of an ulcer in the cornea. To
tell the truth, I never saw any relief from the eye stuff. The
thing that helped mine through the rough times was L-Lysine. It
helps to keep the virus cells from multiplying, and if started as
soon as symptoms are noticed, keeps it from getting really bad.
Some cats need to have L-Lysine supplements their entire life. My
cats seem to have finally outgrown it, or have built immunity, but
sometimes I still have to wipe their eyes. Also, ask your vet about
an antihistamine to help dry the nose to stop the sneezing. One of
mine would sneeze so frequently that he sneezed blood droplets.

--
Cheryl