New (non diabetic) kitten hacking, coughing, not eating.

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pixiesmom

pixiesmom

Member Since 2013
This just started recently. Just got Oliver on Saturday. Yesterday my son said he was hacking a bit.
He is 13 weeks old. Ate a little this am, but went to his food tonight and gagged and walked away. Looks like he is trying to expel a hairball, but nothing comes out.
Pooped and peed within the last hour. Lethargic. Vet apt scheduled for tomorrow 8am...is it ok to wait until then? Or do I need to go to an emergency clinic?
Could this be a hairball in such a young kitten?
He is still getting the dry kitten food that was sent with him, but I also feed Friskies canned 2x a day to all the kittens. (We have 4)
Rest of the kittens are fine.
 
Does he seem painful/withdraw from touch?

Is he dehydrated (see my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for how to test)

Eating/defecating?
Drinking/urinating?

Vocalizing more or less than usual?
Panting/difficulty breathing? (If yes, vet asap)

If it is a hairball, a pea-sized dab of Vaseline may be given (wipe on the fur; it will be licked off)
 
Just got back from ER with Oliver.
Upper respiratory infection.
We need to keep him separated from the other kittens until he's better.
Hopefully the other kittens won't contract it as well.
Ugh...and just as they were getting over the "I hate you, new cat" phase....
Hopefully they will remember they were starting to like him a few days from now.
 
Hope he feels better soon. URI is pretty common in kittens...and easily transmitted. In rescue we usually give Lysine...and a vaporizer is good too.
 
Janet and Izzy (GA) said:
Hope he feels better soon. URI is pretty common in kittens...and easily transmitted. In rescue we usually give Lysine...and a vaporizer is good too.
Click to expand...

I never thought of a vaporizer....that will probably help with his breathing.
poor little bugger can barely get a meow out. So raspy sounding.

On a good note, he feels like his temp is down and he ate almost 1/2 can of FF this am!!
 
Preservative-free sterile lubricating eye drops (ex Systane) may be used in the eyes. These then drain into the sinuses and loosen mucus. Check with your vet to make sure this is OK to do. Ditto with the vaporizer and lysine (usually 500 mg / day).
 
I know we caught this very early. Started coughing that morning and on antibiotics that evening. I have been sitting here with him
for about 2hrs. this am and haven't heard 1 cough! Meow is still a bit scratchy.
He is so desperate to play with the other kittens..... :cry:
 
You may need to play with him! A little bit, as he is fighting an infection.
 
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