# Looking for Info on Kitten Pneumonia, Please Help!



## JenUrich (May 9, 2003)

Hi all,

I'm so worried!

I recently acquired an 8 wk old kitten (Cheeto) as a rescue of sorts (a coworker rescued the pregnant mom, she had the kittens at my coworker's home and I took one of the kitties).

I got the kitten on Thursday and he checked out fine at my well-trusted vet. He acted normally, VERY playful and active. Eating fine and drinking (about 1/4 - 3/8 can per day - he's only 2.8 pounds). 

On Friday night we had such an active play session that he started to pant at the end. I thought it was odd that a kitten would pant but I attributed it to the fact that he is EXTREMELY active - zipping all over the room like kittens do.

On Saturday morning I found a wee little bit of vomit. I informed my vet and we attributed it to changing foods and he just stopped nursing from his mom a week ago.

All day Saturday he behaved totally normally. He was active and playful and eating and drinking. I checked in on him in the evening and he suddenly was markedly different. He was NOT active at all, sitting quite still and his breath was rapid and short. There was a squeaking sound of sorts coming from his chest when he breathed. For the first time since I got him he wasn't purring. My vet was out of town so I immediately took him to the emergency vet hospital. 

This vet is not my normal vet, but examined Cheeto and took X-rays and said his breathing was very abnormal, his temperature was low (99.something), and diagnosed that it's likely pneumonia.    She gave me amoxicillin and said to get a humidifier.

I have a couple of questions:

1). How does a kitten get pneumonia? Is there an incubation period? I feel just AWFUL if it's my fault!!!! On Saturday I was worried that Cheeto's room was getting too hot (I have him isolated from the other cats for the first few weeks) so I was experimenting with the A/C and at one point I went into his room and I did notice it was chillly, but I turned the A/C down right away. Was his body temperature low because I made the room too cold?   

2). Is there anything else I should be doing right now other than using the humidifier and giving Amoxicillin? The emergency vet said to give 0.3ml amoxicillin twice a day for two months, does this time period sound normal? 

3). What is the ideal room-temperature for a kitten to be kept in?

4). How long does pneumonia typically take to recover from? How fatal can it be? 

5). Is in normal for pneumonia to have such a rapid onset?

6). Is the vomiting and panting inter-related with the pneumonia or could that be coincidence?

7). Does this sound like typical pneumonia or are there other kitten diseases with similar symptoms?

I am checking in with my normal vet later today as well, but I'm being freaked-out-cat-mom and trying to learn everthing I possibly can.

I would appreciate any feedback or any advice anyone can give, as well as any stories of others who have had kittens with pneumonia.

Thank you so much! I really hope Cheeto will be ok.


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## JenUrich (May 9, 2003)

Oh yeah, also: 

once we got him to the emergency vet he started to cough. A wet squeaky sound of cough.

He seems to be getting better with the humidifier and antibiotics. He is breathing normally and purring now. He's also playful again. But he still coughs, especially when he's being active.


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## JenUrich (May 9, 2003)

One more question (and I promise I'll stop):

The emergency vet said to keep any sick people away from Cheeto because he shouldn't be exposed to germs. I thought cats couldn't get sick from people-sicknesses?

Thank you in advance for your help/suggestions!


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## Meowmie (Jun 4, 2005)

These two articles will answer at least some of your questions:

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Pr ... R00201.htm

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_pn ... ement.html

Kittens, especially when they are sick, should be kept in a nice warm environment. Not stifling hot, just warm and comfortable. Hypothermia can be a problem for kittens, so it's important not to over-chill a room where a kitten is staying. On the other hand you also want to make sure that the room is not hot enough to cause the kitten to overheat and get heat stroke. (Heat stroke is an emergency that requires immediate recognition and promt treatment.) 

I agree with your vet, the vomiting was most likely caused by nothing more than an upset stomach.

Panting is perfectly normal when a kitten runs around like crazy and plays and plays until his tongue hangs out. Literally. When that's the case, there is nothing to worry about.


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## JenUrich (May 9, 2003)

Thank you very much for the article links!

Cheeto seems to be getting much better. His cough is lessening quite a bit. I'm wondering how contagious pneumonia is for other cats? I have Cheeto isolated right now and I wash my hands after handling him, but I wonder if my other cats could be infected just from my clothing since Cheeto climbs all over my legs and my other cats like to rub against my legs as well?


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## Meowmie (Jun 4, 2005)

Respiratory infections are/can be contagious, so I believe you are doing the right thing by keeping your little one isolated. If you have any questions about making sure your other cats don't get infected, please don't hesitate to call your vet for advice. In my mind that's the safest thing to do. 

It's great your baby is getting better, that's wonderful news, I'm very happy for you.


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## JenUrich (May 9, 2003)

Cheeto is much much better!  

As a sidenote, the vet said after looking at the x-rays that the fluid may have been not just around the lungs but actually around the heart and it's possible he may have heart problems. However we wouldn't be able to tell until I took him to a heart specialist. 

Is 9 weeks of age a little young to be taking him to a heart specialist or is age not an issue? Cheeto is acting normally now, I'm wondering if this is something that can wait until he's not such a young kitten or if it's something that is more urgent (even though he's exhibiting no current physical problems).

In some of the reading I did about pneumonia I found an article that said pneumonia can be a secondary symptom to different heart defects, but I'm really hoping that's not the case.  I hope this is just a respiratory issue that he's recovering from.


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