Should I give my kitten penicillin for an upper respiratory infection?

This is a classic presentation of a cat with an upper respiratory disease. They usually do have a fever early in the infection and will feel bad. They also tend to avoid eating and drinking, because the congestion in the nose does not allow them to breathe properly. You can help the congestion by giving him a steam bath (if possible). There is a link below that has good information about how to do this and other helpful tips for this condition. http://www.wikihow.com/Help-Your-Cat-Breathe-Easier Unfortunately, we cannot (legally and ethically) advise medication without having an established patient-doctor relationship. It is also dangerous for us to advise medication without examining Miss Kitty and fully understanding her condition and medical history. I do not recommend giving the penicillin for this. It would be best if you can get Miss Kitty to a vet within the next day or two, but I understand you are unable to catch her. You may consider getting help with this, or hiring a cat trap. While these infections are often due to a virus, they can become complicated with bacterial infections, which will make things much worse. The vet would be able to prescribe the necessary treatment to make her feel better and keep the infection from getting worse. I hope that helps and Miss Kitty gets better soon.

Hello, sorry to hear about Gimli. It is really dependent on what kind of infection you kitten has. Most upper respiratory infections are viral which antibiotics cannot treat. Therefor, you must await for the virus lifecycle to end. You may talk to your vet about using lysine gel or topical anti-virals to help shorten the virus life cycle. Hope this helps.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If you think Cotton Ball is in need of an antibiotic for a infection, I would recommend having him examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate antibiotic can be recommended. Antibiotics such as Convenia and Doxycycline are good choices for antibiotics when treating respiratory infections. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The most important aspect of treating an ear infection is applying the appropriate medication (determined based on ear cytology, or looking at a sample of ear discharge on a microscope slide) directly into the ear canal as a topical treatment to the infection. Sometimes, particularly if the eardrum is ruptured, a dog may be put on an oral course of antibiotics and/or antifungals (depending on the type of infection), but penicillin would not be a usual antibiotic choice as it is unlikely to address the more common causes of ear infections. Therefore, injectable penicillin is not a typical component of treating an ear infection. I recommend you have Aerial seen by your primary veterinarian, and they can help guide you on an appropriate treatment of the infection; injectable antibiotics should never be used without the guidance of a veterinarian.

Hello! It sounds like Tessa may have an underlying herpes virus infection, this allows upper respiratory infections to attack more easily. Herpes is common in cats and not a huge issue, other than occasional infections like you describe. I would ask you vet about some cat lysine to boost her immune system and do another course of antibiotics...but I would have her seen just in case she needs as stronger antibiotic. I hope that helps! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

It is really best if you speak to your local veterinarian. We cannot prescribe medications/treatment over the internet as it is against the law here in the U.S. We would have to examine the animal in person to prescribe anything. The treatment would also depend if the infection is viral or bacterial related. If you are in medical school you should know that antibiotics do not treat viruses but may be used in these cases to prevent a secondary bacterial infection. We also do not know what medications you have available to you in your country. Be very careful here. Just because you are trained to treat humans does not mean you can treat animals; just like veterinarians should not treat humans. There are very many differences between species as to what medications they can have or not have and at what doses. They also get different diseases than humans. You really need to have Lio examined by your local veterinarian. ( https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/sneezing-and-upper-respiratory-disease/ )

No, I do not recommend giving your kitten human amoxicillin. The reason for this is two-fold. If you have liquid amoxicillin, it needs to be used within 10 days of being opened. Any leftover should be discarded or returned to your pharmacy for disposal. The second reason is a 3 lb kitten would use an extremely small dose compared to a human. I recommend visiting your veterinarian to get a safer treatment option. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.