Sneezy Kitten?

[Ruby Gloom]

We have 2 kittens, 14 and 9-ish weeks, Lightning & Ethyl. Both started as bottle-fed babies because Lightning was orphaned at 3 weeks and Ethyl's mother was not able to feed her babies well and all 5 were malnourished and very sickly. We got her at +/- 5 weeks.

Lightning perked up immediately when we got her and has been very healthy, is in beautiful condition since we started feeding her.

Ethyl, not so much. She has had snotty eyes (treated w/Terramycin ointment) been wormed 3 times at the vet, and had her first round of kitten shots. She is very petite and just really raspy sounding breathing and very sneezy.

Our vet is not really concerned, said kitten shots should clear it up and if it's not better by her next vaccine he will treat for it. But now, Lightning is starting to get sneezy too and I'm concerned.

I free-feed them Iams kitten kibble and twice daily I give them 1/2 can Iams kitten canned mixed with 1 oz. Hartz kitten formula with lysine. I also mix 250 mg. lysine with their wet food 2x daily as it is supposed to boost immunity and help with respiratory health.

I now know by researching that Iams is not the greatest food for them and am trying to find Wellness locally.

Am I just being overly worried about this sneezy/rattley breathing or is it a sign of something that I'm missing? I just feel like Ethyl is not thriving as well as Lightning and am worried about her, although the vet is not.

Any thoughts or ideas? Sorry so long.

[Ruby Gloom]

Bonus pics:

[niemand88f]

Honestly even if your vet doesn't seem concerned, I would be. Respiratory problems can be really hard on kittens. I volunteer in the kitten nursery in a local shelter and we took them very seriously. Check her gums and tongue for ulcers- those would indicate Feline Calicivirus which is very common- most cats recover fine but certain strains can be deadly. Also watch her for a fever and dehydration (pinch some skin on her back and see if it 'bounces back' quickly or stays rigid for a bit).

We used humidifiers (warm mist only) and gave the ones with calicivirus diluted green tea because it was easier for them to drink and may have some antiviral effect against calicivirus. Provide a heating pad to help keep her warm.

Wellness is a much better choice . Petsmart & Petco should both carry it, and most Whole Foods do too.

Good luck! They're very cute!

[aliciar6]

when we got Shiver she was sneezing had goopy eyes, she had the snot, etc. It was a really bad upper resperatory infection and most likely FHV. She was on eye drops to help the infection in her eyes, and the drops didn't work and she needed the cream since she got corneal ulcers. For a long time she was on clavimox to get rid of the respiratory infection.

i would be worried since i went through this. plus it is contagious so once your one cat is better it can get it again. some cats end up with habitual respiratory infections if not taken care of.

[Ruby Gloom]

We have finally started Clavamox. For both kittens. Our vet is still convinced that her next round of shots (Saturday) will help, but I put my foot down.

I just feel that Ethyl is not growing as big and strong as Lightning. She is so tiny and thin. Hopefully the Clavamox, the TONS of canned food she eats, and the Lysine will do the trick.

[aliciar6]

They would not give Shiver her shots until she was better and no longer sick. I am surprised your vet wants to give a sick kitten shots.

[Ruby Gloom]

Quite frankly, I kind of was surprised as well. However, he has been our vet for many, many years and this is really the first time I've questioned him.

Both kittens go back to the vet tomorrow , so we'll see what he has to say then. :/

[Wonderwall]

Shots for sicky kittens doesn't sound right to me. When my kitten was sick and snotty like yours sound we supplemented with L-Lysine and got colostrum pills cracked them open and mixed them in their food. (You can find the bovine colostrum pills at holistic stores like Wholefoods or Mothers)- the supplementing really helped!