My 10 week old kitten has a URI and is congested. How do I get him to eat if he can't smell his food. I've tried "wet" food, tuna (yeah, I know Mercury. I'm desperate) etc. He's so pitiful. Help. He's on a antibiotic and decongestant. When will his symptoms ease up.
2007-12-15 16:33:29 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
It is ok to feed your kitten tuna for short periods as long as you are diligent in getting him back onto his regular kitten chow. The antibiotic should start to work within 48 hours. You should see some improvement starting then. The mucus will seem to get worse, but that just means that it is moving out. One thing you need to watch for is pneumonia. Kittens can develop pneumonia pretty easily. Just give the antibiotic as directed, don't miss any doses, and finish it all. If you miss one dose, don't panic, but don't double dose. Just give the next dose at the prescribed time. Many kittens develop URI's. Just keep a close eye on him and if you sense he's getting worse or something changes, get him to the vet ASAP. Pneumonia is treatable, but much more serious and costly than a URI.
Also, if it seems he isn't getting better after 7 days of being on the antibiotic, get him in to the vet - he may need another kind of antibiotic. The bacteria may not be sensitive to the current antibiotic and a different family of antibiotics would work better.
2007-12-15 16:53:11 · answer #1 · answered by rmbrruffian 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The antibiotics take a few days to kick in. In the meantime you can get some chicken baby food and give the kitten a swipe to the roof of its mouth. Cats (and kittens) won't eat what they can't smell so not eating is very common with congested kitties.
Another thing you can do is get a vaporizer and some Vaposteam liquid to pour into it. Vaporizers aren't that expensive (about ten bucks). I have a Persian that got a URI earlier this year and with his flat face was SO miserable and the vaporizer seemed to help immensely!
2007-12-16 04:26:44 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bless his little heart. Try warming his food slightly in the microwave, this helps bring out the aroma. Also, you can try meat flavored baby food, just be sure it doesn't contain onion. You can warm this slightly in the microwave, too.
Offer him a little bit at a time. Stay with him and encourage him to eat.
Another trick I used with an older kitty to get it to eat was sprinkle a pinch of catnip on the food.
It will take him several days of medicine to start showing some relief. Each day should be a little improvement. If there is no significant change by day 5, I would check with his vet.
Hope he feels better soon. Purrs to you and your little kitten.
2007-12-16 03:54:41 · answer #3 · answered by Patty O 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have you told the vet that he isn't eating? When my cat wasn't eating, the vet took x-rays to make sure there were no bowel obstructions, and gave us very soft food to force feed him.
2007-12-16 00:41:41 · answer #4 · answered by jellybeanchick 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋