Hi everyone,
I have a 7 month old kitten who is sick. We got her last friday (5/7) and the next day we got her spayed and rabies shot done. Sunday night she got out (she was previously indoor/outdoor, but has been indoor with her past owner for a month, and will be indoor only here) and would up in the local shelter. We found out Monday morning, and my husband got her that afternoon.

On weds she started to sneeze some, and we just left it up to us needing to dust a bit more. Thursday she was sneezing still, but that night she got a bit worse. Tbh, I thought she had inhaled some super spicy food I was eating, and that was bothering her, but on friday she was coughing.

Saturday I took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with an URI and yeast infection in her ears, and given fluid and medicine (doxycycline) for her cold. The vet wanted to wait until she was a bit better before introducing a second medication. That night she ate some, and played a bit, but was no longer wheezing or breathing through her mouth.

Today, she's not as spunky. She ate a little wet food this morning, and has been sleeping most of the day. She does get up and wander some when I am around, but she is mostly sleeping. I have some food near her so when she wakes up, she can eat. She is confined away from the other two cats I have so they won't get sick.

This is going to sound dumb, but I'm not sure what else to do, if there is anything I need to do. My other two cats are never sick, so I don't know how to handle a sick cat, especially one this young and tiny (she's very petite, right under 5 lbs.) Is there anything else I need to do? Or let her be comfortable so she can get better? I sit with her and spend time with her, but I just feel like I need to do more for her.

If she wound up in the shelter she caught the URI from there. Shelters are so packed with cats its almost impossible for a cat not to get sick.


I have personally cared for a handful of kittens with URI's so I'll just tell you what I found worked. Most were only a few weeks old, so I would think that a 7 month old kitten would recover from a URI.


Keep up with a doxy and provide a nice warm bed to snuggle up in. I found that extra protein really helped the kittens. We purchased 100% chicken or fish (it came in a can with just water, you can find it in the pet FOOD store) boiled chicken (meat, hearts etc...) also worked.


Definitely keep her separated from your other cats until she is better and then slowly introduce them.


Unfortunately the virus which causes URI's will never go away, rather it will be dormant but there are some things you can do if she gets them frequently.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know about how long this will last? She's been sick since about Weds, so today would be day 4, which seems to be one of the worse days (she was worse on Friday with the wheezing and open mouth breathing.)

They doxy is for 14 days, twice a day, and Im hoping she doesnt need to be confined for that long.

It really depends on the cat for how long it lasts. Stay with the doxy for the full amount of time that it was recommended and ensure that she does not get dehydrated (you can check by gently grabbing the skin on her neck and pulling it, if it stays up she is dehydrated).

Skooma came to me at four months with an URI, fortunately she managed to stay hydrated and never went beyond leaking gunk and sneezing/coughing.

Cats who have URI's will usually show the infection when they are stressed. Either your kitten had the infection before going to the shelter and it stressed her out or she caught it at the shelter. Watch for dehydration and if the cat doesn't eat for a day or develops diarrhea, take her to the vet IMMEDIATELY. Since she is such a small kitten it is very dangerous for her to not eat and lose fluids.

Good preventative for URI is good socialization (less stress in bad situations), high quality, grain free wet (EVO 95% Chicken and Turkey, Wellness CORE, etc.) or raw diet, and L-Lysine (available usually at vet clinics).

Here is a small update:

Sherbert (the kitten) also has an infection in her ears (as I mentioned earlier) and she started meds for it last night (milbemite and now CNT) along with the doxy. Ever since I gave her the milbemite, she's perked up some, and tried to get a good look at a glow worm on tv last night. Right now, she is drinking up a storm, which I am thrilled.

We got her blue buffalo wet food, and so far she has shown little interest, preferring her dry food (she already doesnt eat much, just bits). She doesn't prefer much raw food except tuna, and she strongly dislikes raw chicken (she turns her nose up at it.)

My other cat, Boots, has been putting his paw under the door, and shes interested in that, before she just didnt care. So, I think it was her little ears causing her the most issue, and the URI a secondary issue. I'll keep everyone updated!