My kitten has distemper and is lethargic. Is she going to be okay?

I’m sorry Luna is so sick. It sounds like she needs to see a veterinarian very soon. Young kittens do not have much reserve and can become dehydrated very quickly. Please take a fresh poop sample with you when you go to the veterinarian. They will likely want to look for intestinal parasites and possibly do some blood work to look for panleukopenia. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon.

What you describe could be feline distemper. It could be feline infectious peritonitis (the dry form) or another viral infection. Whatever ever is is, Butternut needs to see a veterinarian as soon as possible. Keep Buttermilk as comfortable as possible, leave plenty of fresh water available, offer canned food or even boiled chicken breast. Good luck.

Poor girl. Kitty sounds very ill and may have an infection. You need to take her to your local vet right away if you want to help her at this point. The vet needs to do some bloodwork on her to determine if an infection is present and then prescribe medication to hopefully stabilize her condition quickly. This cannot be treated at home, especially since we don't know what the underlying problem is. Please take her now. I hope that your pet Kitty is going to be able to make a full and speedy recovery soon! Best wishes and take care.

I am so sorry to hear that the kitten is so sick. Most URIs in kittens are viral, however it is common to treat with antibiotics to help prevent secondary bacterial infections. Pneumonia is certainly possible but typically they are coughing with pneumonia. I would also be suspicious of a nasopharyngeal polyp that typically could be adding to the congestion, but doesn’t usually cause lethargy. I am glad you are going back to the veterinarian. Perhaps they can prescribe a nebulizer to help her more than steam. Also you may want to discuss using saline drops to help loosen the congestion. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

I'm sorry Kiku has distemper. Supportive care is the only treatment available for this disease, which can include IV fluids, anti-seizure medications, and medications to help control vomiting and diarrhea. Unfortunately about 80% of puppies who get distemper will die from the disease. His best chance for survival is hospitalization with a vet, so I would take him into one immediately.

This is such a difficult decision to make, and ultimately I think it would be a better question for your vet. They know the particulars of her case and have probably noticed trends in her recovery. Distemper is a devastating disease, and sometimes dogs that make it through the acute respiratory phase go on to develop devastating neurologic symptoms. If she has truly shown no improvement it may be best to end her suffering. On the other hand she may need a little more time to improve. Distemper can also be very expensive to treat, so if finances are (understandably) playing a role you should let your vet know this as well. You could also give an arbitrary time frame to see if she improves 24-48 hours or so. There are no wrong answers in a situation like this.

Hi there. I'm sorry to hear that your kitten is sick. To know if she truly has parvovirus (also called feline panleukopenia), she would need to be tested for it. If your veterinarian did not test her, then there's no way to know for sure if this is the problem or not. But, her symptoms certainly sound like they could be caused by this. And yes, she will urinate out the excess fluids from her IV drip.