Cat Flu

taytobreath

I have taken in a good few rescue kittens with this condition. Normally our vet will see their eyes and put them to sleep. But also we have saved alot of them from cat flu. They are now healthy adult cats living in their forever homes.
Its when they are young and have a low immune system that they are vulnerable.

please advise on what you can do with a sick kitten with snotty eyes? Because sometimes I dont know what to do. I use royal canin babycat milk and it works for some. I have tried everything but i loose kittens al the time.

there must be lots and lots of people with kittens and cats with this condition? I come across it all the time.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

rannerap

My second kitten had a touch of it when we first got her. Vet didn't really give me any advice. I used to just clean her eyes with a damp cloth and tried to feed her up as much as possible. She's a kitten terror now but still on the small side and still gets dirty eyes!

taytobreath

gad to hear it, they can go down hill really quickly,. but after about 12 weeks they seem to overcome it. I have given so many eye drops to kittens its unreal. they work though.
Its the ones that wont eat and have the runs I get worried about though. Is there any way to save them?

rannerap

She was just under twelve weeks when we adopted her. She wasn't nearly as bad as some of the cases I seen online when I researched it. She did have the runs also and wasn't eating much. I just gave her lots of tlc and attention and found out her favourite foods through trial and error and she went from strength to strength!

taytobreath

Good on you. The changing of their food is a huge thing I found, big time scutters. especially when they are so young. I have a kitten here now and at first she would get the runs if i changed her food, but now shes about 3 months old and she eats absolutely anything.
I threw down a bit of a spud there today just to see and she ate it!!

I actually nearly lost the poor thing, for about 3 days she slept all day and night and had eaten nothing. she had the flu, now she is a devil

rannerap

Sounds like mine haha. Her nickname is baby godzilla because she is tiny but causes a ridiculous amount of damage! Will eat literally anything. Caught her eating my scrambled eggs and toast earlier. Complete opposite to the other cat who is a fussy madam. The only lasting effect cat flu seems to have had is that she goes crazy when I try clean her eyes and ears or any part of her really. The other doesn't mind it at all

taytobreath

oh my god yeah. Ive an older cat and he is the fussiest of things, i throw down some chicken from the dinner and he will turn his nose up at it. but the kitten will take the head off him if he tries to go near him.
its a joy to see her with that hunger for food compared with a few weeks ago.

Cat flu is terrible I watched kittens take their last breaths with it. It makes me feel so useless and gutted, thats why I'm asking here is there anything anyone can do for tips?

boomerang

taytobreath wrote: »

I have taken in a good few rescue kittens with this condition. Normally our vet will see their eyes and put them to sleep.

:eek: I think you should change vet. Cat flu is very treatable and it is very rare that the kitten's condition would be so grave that euthanasia is the most humane option.

taytobreath

boomerang wrote: »

:eek: I think you should change vet. Cat flu is very treatable and it is very rare that the kitten's condition would be so grave that euthanasia is the most humane option.

I have seen it 2 days a week with the last year. That is the time I spend with an animal rescue doing TNR

Snot on kittens on eyes are put down because of infection. mostly

boomerang

taytobreath I have been fostering kittens for six years, and doing TNR for three. I can count the the number of times I lost kittens to cat flu on one hand, and usually there was a complicating factor, such as FIP.

Your vet should be prescribing a systemic antibiotic such as Ronaxan or Synulox, and a topical ointment or drops for the eyes such as Fucithalmic or Chloromycetin. That and good nursing care is usually all that's required and recovery is uneventful. I have had kittens with the most horrendously damaged eyes come good.

angelfire9

The litter I'm still fostering all survived cat flu
Vet prescribed antibiotics and eye drops and they are all healthy happy kitties now
They were small and feral at the time so treating them was fun
I've treated several cats with flu including a batch of ferals that only got the oral antibiotic no drops as they wouldn't come close enough for catching only lost one out of a few dozen over the years
You need a new vet!

mymo

Same here, my vet treats cat flu, it's rarely fatal.
Dehydration is a big issue with it, I warm food or add warm water to increase fluids. Babycat mousse is great for very young or sickly kittens, I have even used it on my 13yr old cat last year when he was very sick, easy on the tum. My oldest boy had very bad cat flu as a kitten and as a result gets minor(usually) flare ups every so often, his breathing can be bad at times, but my vet has never suggested euthanasia.
Keep eyes clean with warm water if you can, and drops as prescribed. Vet also gives antibiotic shot and tablets usually.

sparkle_23

My cats had really bad cat flu back when I first got them. The vet gave them an antibiotic injection and I had tablets to give them for 5 days! I had eye drops for them too & they were good after that.

taytobreath

Thanks guys. Great advice.
Regarding the change of vets, that's not up to me. These are feral kittens and their reason for putting to sleep the kittens is because they will infect the rest of the colonies and there's know one to treat these animals, they are wild. I have seen it very often young kittens wandering around blind because their eyes are stuck together. I know they can be treated and some cured but there's know one that could touch a 8 or 9 weeks old feral kitten, they will bite and scratch, ive tried it and regretted it. Come to think of it I had one kitten hang from my hand with her mouth. We are told not to touch these animals so it was my own fault. Treating these animals and leaving them back into the colony, its likely their eyes will flare up again and it would be just a miserable death for them.
And there's the added expense to treating them too.

The times I took in rescues they were very bad, no appetite, sleeping all the time and the runs, they would be less than 8 weeks. I guess I didn't do enough to save them. About 2 month ago I brought 2 kittens to the vets and he gave them an injection each and syringed their mouths with water and gave them 1 worm tablet each, I also had to put eye drops in their eyes every few hours. they were both dead 3 days later.
I will be asking the vets next time about the meds you posters here have been posting about.
thanks

angelfire9

For future reference when catching ferals and treating them a really fluffy towel works wonders it sounds horrible but their claws get caught up in the fluffiness so you can treat them and then drop the towel and run they will detangle themselves and run! I used to feed my ferals in the utility room you have to be damn fast to get the door closed before they run back out but once they are caught in the room they can be caught

boomerang

I put feral kittens in a "kitten burrito" for giving eye drops and meds. Basically swathe them in the towel like a papoose.

taytobreath

Thanks angelfire and boomerang. I have done this a few times and its a great way of calming them when they are freaking out. they are fighters though. very clever when it comes to traps.
we were going to one colony of ferals every week with the last 6 months and with the last few weeks they recognised the van and they all run. then they hear the noise of the traps and disappear and they wouldnt be fed for 24 hour prior to this, so they are starving too but no amount of patience will get them to go near the traps.
too clever