I think my kitten has a cold?

Question

She is sneezing and coughing and her eyes get all boogery and her nose runs a lot. We dont have the money to take her to the vet today but we will get her in asap . She is only 9 weeks old. She is a tabby/maine coon mix. She also has trouble breathing like I can hear the snot in her nose. I try to wipe her eyes and nose when I see that they get all cloged up. Please help.

Also she is going to get shots on monday

Answer 1

ok, everyone saying your cat is going to die and its an emergency is wrong.
Im a vet assistant, and have been for 4 years.
this sounds like Upper respitory disease, and its pretty common in young kittens. you can leave it for a week untreated before it can get serious. if you see your kitten drooling, take him to the vet ASAP. as for right now, just clean his eye area when it gets goopy, and clean his nose aswell. do take him to the vet as soon as you can, your vet will give you antibiotics which are pretty cheap. your kitten will take 1/2 a pill 2 times a day, and after a few days you will see him getting better.
if before you get to the vet, the kitten throws up green or yellow, drools, or stops being an active kitten, those are very bad signs your kitten is going to die. it effects some cats quicker than others, so its always hard to tell how long you have, but never ignore those warning signs.

to the person who posted below me, seems like your giving the wrong advice in telling this person to get rid of thier kitten..
I have been a vet assistant for 4 and 1/2 years Im in the process now of becoming a full vet, and my mother has been a vet for near 40 years. I think I know exactly what Im talking about, more than someone who just has experience with cats. not to be rude. I didnt say wait until she starts puking to take her to the vet, I clearly said those are the death signs. and actually, kittens that are 9 weeks of age, take 24 hours for things to go from bad to worse, your kitten isnt oing to go from being "ok" to dying within minutes. kittens do have a lower survival rate than an adult cat,however Ive seen HUNDREDS live. you dont need to give your cat away becasue its sick, thats 100% ridiculous. giving it to an animal shelter isnt going to help it at all, even a no kill one, because in an environment with so many animals, it will be harder for your kitten to heal. I have also worked at an SPCA before becoming a vet assistant, and know most kittens in there with URD do not survive, because of being exposed to air bourne illness. ALSO even no kill shelters, DO euthenise ( put to sleep) animals that are very sick. so the kitten would more than likely be put down.just get to the vet and get the antibiotics. there pretty cheap, and work very quick.

Keep your kitten, ITS YOUR kitten, giving her away isnt going to help anything.

Answer 2

Karla, the best thing is to get the kitten to the vet! You are doing good with keeping it warm, that's very important if he is that young and sick. If he wakes up, try giving him some water. If he won't drink from a bowl, try putting some water on your fingertips and see if he will lap at it that way. He is crying for a lot of reasons. He is lost and doesn't know where momma is, he is cold and scared and doesn't feel good. Keep him warm and in the blanket and definitely see the vet tomorrow. The vet will tell you what you need to do and how to feed it ( not real milk! his stomach can't handle it. there is special cat milk the vet can tell you about)

Answer 3

Sounds like URI, and it sounds like it is going south on you. Vet Time, dude. You really don't want to find out first hand just how quickly a cat this age can go south. It can go from ok to DEAD in hours at 9 week. If she is getting wheezy and is dripping a lot it is getting to the live or death stage. If she was older I would not worry so much, but dude, 9 weeks? I SAY WITH ALL RESPECT, YOU NEED TO GET IN A CAR, GO TO A NO KILL SHELTER OR ASPCA AND HAND HER OVER. SHE MAY NOT LIVE THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! I can't see just how bad she is but I have personally had hundreds of kittens over the years I fostered and saw so many with URI, it is no joke at this age! I hate having kittens die on me, and it can be too late in only hours. The only humane thing to do is give this kitten to a rescue NOW, not tomorrow, not first thing in the morning, not in a few hours, NOW NOW. There is a chance if you did nothing and did not go to the vet today or at all she would live, but that is a cruel chance to take.

Give this cat to people who can save it, that is the only help I can give you at this point, and I posted to another owner it could wait in their case, but dude not yours, too sick now, too young a cat. GO NOW DO THE RIGHT THING

amandasmith2589, I respect your opinion, but I can't see this cat and if they get it to a vet now it is much better then waiting until they start vomiting bile. I have no idea the general condition this cat is in, and I have had sooo many kittens over the years I say take no chances. I have seen kittens active and healthy looking die in less then 24 hours as sometimes they have week immune systems, parasites, had poor nutrition, or FIV whatever. On a board I always push the worst case as some people can't accurately describe symptoms, and saying wait would weigh heavy on me if it was the wrong choice .

Answer 4

Your kitten may just have a cold, but she may also have feline leukemia, which is a very serious and contagious (to other cats) disease. If she is with other cats she must be separated until she has been to the vets and been tested for FIV. Also, this should happen SOON. The test is usually around $30.00. Some humane societies offer the test for a discounted price.

Answer 5

It sounds like she has an upper respiratory infection, and she could die from that! If you just got her, from someone else, check w/them and see if the other kittens in her litter are also sick! If she were mine, I'd call the vet, tell him/her that I didn't have the money right now, but "could we work something out?". It won't hurt to call and ask. Your kitten could die before you get her treated, if you wait too long. She's due her shots, anyway, so she really needs to be seen by a vet ASAP!! Good luck.

Answer 6

get it to the vet it sounds very much like feline flu which is very serious in a cat could also be a number of other serious things so don't waste time on here get it to the vet. I'm sure you can work out some sort of payment method with your vet.has it had it's injections.

Answer 7

Take her to the vet if you are conserned. Interestingly enough, the genome mapping for the feline species was completed only very recently as they have many similarities to the human species. This will allow us in the future to innoculate everything at birth for any known diseases found in DNA.

Answer 8

Kitty may have kennel cough...believe kitty needs an antibiotic which I am sure that your vet will give for like 7 to 10 days.....lots of kitties and puppies get this....would get kitty to vet asap

Answer 9

Young kitties are very susceptible to temperature. The leading cause of death for kittens is the cold.


I suggest wrapping her in a blanket, or better yet, let her chill against your body while you do whatever.

Answer 10

Cut the crap and excuses. If you cannot properly afford to care for your pet then you have no right to have one. That is part of responsible pet ownership. It is your cat's RIGHT by law to receive proper care and to deny it is abuse. Get a second job if you have to, but get that cat to the vet! If she is only 9 weeks old, then she does not have a lot of reserves. Don't wait.