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My kitten had a cold and now he is filthy.?
I got my kitten from a rescue last week. He had a cold when I brought him home (eye and nose discharge, sleepy, sneezing/wheezing, some coughing). The rescue gave me antibiotics which he is still on. Two days at my house and he's now a little fluffy ball of energy and he's always hungry (both good signs) however he's still wheezing slightly and coughs at times. The eye and nose discharge is gone but in the place is little brown stains and specs of dirt. Theres also yellow and light brown wax in his ears. I have tried to clean all but he fights me and it doesn't come off so easy. Yesterday it took me and my husband to hold him and cut his nails because in addition to scratching us, he had scratched himself so badly he had started to bleed! I initially thought the ear wax was mites but it's not getting any worse and it's not very dark. He looks so dirty though! Could this be just dried debris from the cold? Could it be a secondary infection of some sort? He did not always look dirty. How can I clean him?
Just a side note- I did email my vet and he said to just keep with the antibiotics for now and to let him know if it progresses or doesn't go away, but he said theres a good chance its also the Herpes virus and it will go away on it's own so he didn't seem too concerned and said to bring him in at 6 mos for his rabies shot.
The rescue he was at was a very large, (surprisingly) clean home that housed about 20 cats and kittens, 4 of which belonged to the woman herself. All cats looked healthy and clean and had plenty of space to roam around. I initially asked her if the ear stuff was mites and she said it wasn't and none of the other cats appeared sick or had dirt in their ears, it was just him. But I don't want to rule it out completely…
2 Answers
- J CLv 77 years agoFavorite Answer
Oh, he's a cute little thing! Get some baby wipes. They do a good job of cleaning up all the ick from a cold, and you can also wipe one around your index finger and use it to clean out his ears (sort of twist your finger in his ear). These things are easier to do when they are sleeping - and that includes claw trimming. He will get used to it the more you do it. For the possible herpes virus - get some l-lysine from the same place you buy your vitamins. For a kitten, you'd give half a 500 ml tablet or capsule daily (crush the pill or open the capsule) in his canned food. Does wonders for herpes!
Source(s): many years of cat rescue - Anonymous7 years ago
It does not sound like ear mites but you can you a small damp tissue to clean him up. Cutting the nails is a good idea because if they get too long and sharp they penetrate the pads and makes if painful for the cat to walk. If he gets a bit overstimulated either take a break and try again late or hold him by his scruff (the extra flap of skin on his neck). I adopted my kitten from a rescue with over 200 cats in the facility. She was just as healthy as any other cat there.