Kitten has a cold and is congested.

Dr. Marie replied:

Thanks for your question. Sorry to hear that little Smokey is not well.

It does sound like he has an upper respiratory virus. These are really common in kittens. These viruses can cause runny eyes and a runny nose as well.

The good news is that most of these kittens get over a virus on their own. It can take several weeks and sometimes even 2 months for kittens to get completely better.

Murine is not likely to help very much. If the eyes have mostly a clear discharge then the best thing you can do is to wipe them with a warm cloth as many times a day as necessary. But, if there is a yellow or green discharge from the eyes then they will need to be treated with antibiotic drops. Unfortunately these are prescription products which need to be prescribed by a vet.

It does not hurt to try polysporin or neosporin drops but usually the antibiotic part of this medication is not strong enough to work if there is infection there.

One thing that may help him to fight the virus more quickly is an amino acid supplement called Lysine. Most cats will eat this product quite willingly and it usually helps speed up the recovery from a virus.

Is Smokey eating ok? If his appetite is good then this is a great sign. If he won't eat well then you can try to heat up some canned food. This will increase the odor of the food and make it easier to smell when his nose is stuffed up. But, if he really is not eating well he may need to see the vet for antibiotics.

If he sounds congested it will help to run a hot shower and get the bathroom steamy and then leave him in the bathroom for 10 minutes.

I hope that helps and I hope he is better soon!

Dr. Marie.

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