kitten with chronic breathing problem

chicknmania

Free Ranging
17 Years
Jan 26, 2007
6,293
1,825
582
central Ohio
Hi we have a kitten who is seven or eight months old. She was feral when we were able to catch and adopt her. When we caught her in March, we thought she was a young kitten. She weighed one and a half pounds. We are fostering her currently and the foster vet said that she was five or six months old (in March). She is still very tiny. She has grown to be a very sweet natured, affectionate, and playful kitten. She has a chronic breathing condition which seems to be contained in her sinuses. It is worse after she eats, drinks, or plays hard. The vet put her on an Amoxicillin mix which did little to help. Now they are trying Azithromycin. It has done nothing. She is still on it. Because of this problem we have not been able to get her vaccinations or get her spayed. We will probably adopt her, but for the time being we are under the direction of the animal rescue through whom we are fostering her. Their vet seems to be at a loss as to what to do, although my impression from dealing with the vet is that because she's a rescue, they aren't very interested in getting to the root of the problem. Other than the breathing issue, she shows no signs of illness, she is very active and happy. It makes me wonder about allergies, but the vet hasn't addressed this possibility. I just wondered if anyone else has dealt with this, and if you have any insight as to an appropriate solution? Thanks.

OH, also..our neighbor has adopted several feral cats from the same colony. There are two or three of those, who are still partly wild, who have a breathing issue also that doesn't seem to respond well to antibiotics, but their breathing issues are less than our kitten's. I know respiratory issues are very common in feral cats, but I don't understand why this one is such a problem.
 
Has she been tested for feline leukemia? I once had a kitten that had a chronic respiratory infection (chlamydia?). We got the infection cleared up but he never did do well.
 
Could be a form of feline herpes virus. Has she been tested for FIV or Feline Leukemia? If you adopt her, I would find a Vet that is more willing to dig a little deeper and find out what is going on.
 
Yes, she's been tested for Leukemia. They did mention that it could be Herpes virus. I'm pretty sure she was tested for FIV too, because I was worried about her being around our other cats. She did have some lameness type issues with her rear leg when she first came, but she was so malnourished, the vet wasn't sure if it was an old injury, some neuro disorder, or malnutrition. She has recovered from the lameness almost entirely, although once in a while I will notice a slight difference in that leg when she walks or runs. She runs all day long, climbs, jumps, plays. She's a survivor for sure. She has more energy than any kitten I've ever seen. We are already in love with her of course, but I'm a little hesitant to adopt her until we find out what is wrong.
 

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