Question:
I'm concerned about my 4.5 month old kitten. With bad luck, she caught a cold a day or so before she was delivered by the breeder and didn't present symptoms until we'd had her a day or so. Coincidentally, she had a reaction to her shots (diarrhea). To add to all this, she was very tiny at 10 weeks and has one smaller than normal nostril/nasal passage.

So, all combined, it's not surprising that she developed a secondary infection, predominantly on the side of the smaller nostril. The breeder, her vet and I have been working together but we're all stumped because it's not going away. We tested her for all the typical chronic diseases that present with cold-type symptoms--all negative. Her partner in crime (Riley), who came with her, never developed any symptoms.

We put her on two different antibiotics, including Zithromax, with very little affect. We gave her a rest, not wanting to overdo the antibiotics. After a few weeks, she was still "bubbling" out of her nose and we put her on a different antibiotic for 10 days. She showed real improvement, but still sneezes (really like blowing her nose) once a day or so, and there's still evidence of a bacterial infection.

It seems odd that she'd be so resistent to the antibiotics. She's otherwise happy and behaves normally (she doesn't seem to know she's sick). The breeder (who's been wonderful) would like to take her back for nebulizer treatments and possibly longer term antibiotics. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

Thanks, and sorry for the long email of woe. -kb

Answer:
If it's a virus, like a rhinovirus, antibiotics won't do a thing.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Prin
If it's a virus, like a rhinovirus, antibiotics won't do a thing.

Very true; thankfully, though, she no longer has virus symptoms, just the secondary bacterial infection (green mucus when she sneezes).

Answer:
I don't know about the other antibiotic, but I was looking at Zithromax and it's not a "broad spectrum" antibiotic, which might be the problem. If you look at pfizer's website, it says this:
The Zithromax Z-PAK (500 mg qd day 1, followed by 250 mg qd for 4 days) is indicated for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) due to Chlamydia pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, or Streptococcus pneumoniae, for patients appropriate for oral therapy.
Maybe the bacteria isn't one of those.

Answer: