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How do I administer saline nasal drops for kitten?

glaserberl
13 years ago

Took Mr. Bigglesworth (8 week old kitten) to the urgent care vet today. He has an URI and is really congested. He got a Convenia shot and I'm supposed to give him a drop of saline solution in each nostril a couple times a day. I bought the infant drops because I thought the tip would be smaller but that is not the case. I can get the solution on the outside of his nostrils but there is no way it is going to go in. Any tips?

Thank you

Katharina

Comments (18)

  • olyagrove
    13 years ago

    I use saline with nebulizer...not sure if you can get one ASAP.
    You can also get a vaporizer at a drugstore - will help the kitten breathe better/get rid of mucus..

  • glaserberl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Just a regular vaporizer like the Vicks Vaporizer? Do you use the menthol stuff with it?

  • calliope
    13 years ago

    No, don't use the menthol.

  • olyagrove
    13 years ago

    Yup, regular vaporizer. Put the kitten in a carrier next to one, cover up with a towel, and let it steam up.
    I do not use menthol.

    Convenia should definitely help, I have seen URI with congestion respond well to it. In the meantime, and you probably know that, make sure he eats. One congested and not smelling food, kittens start refusing to eat and go downhill fast. If you have to, forcefeed - I had to forcefeed a litter for a week just recently because of the bad URI going around..

    Good luck! Keep the little guy warm and well fed :)

  • glaserberl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Yes, his appetite hasn't been great. I have been offering him food several times a day. He'll eat a little bit at a time. The other cats are eating raw and I started him on it when we brought him home. Today I hit the winning combo. Mixed the raw with some KMR (wanted to add more calories) and pureed it. He ate more of it in one sitting than probably all day yesterday.
    I'll try the vaporizer and hopefully it will make breathing a bit easier.
    Poor little guy. He still purrs as soon as I pick him up.
    Katharina

  • annzgw
    13 years ago

    My little gal was 7 weeks old, skin and bones and a horrible URI when DS found her. The covenia shot helped her feel a little better but the congestion continued. The vet then tried clavamox and after that didn't help he seemed to have run out of ideas except to suggest we start doing lots of tests.

    Instead of tests I decided to take her to a cat clinic and they started her on a compounded Azithromycin. They also discovered she had an ear infection and giardia. After less than 48 hrs on the new med she was a different cat and has been healthy ever since.
    So glad I switched vets!
    Sorry I'm no help on the nasal drops. Just wanted to stress that if you see no improvement don't hesitate to ask for (or seek) other options.

    Be sure to heat the food to make it more appetizing for kitty.

  • glaserberl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    We will go back to my reg vet if there is no improvement. Today we went to the urgent care. (I didn't know we had that until recently. Open seven days a week from 8:00-8:00, and a whole lot cheaper than the emergency vet). The vet told me that the URI is most likely a virus that has to run it's course and that often they get a bacterial infection with it. That's where the Convenia comes in. We will watch for a couple days and go from there.
    As to the saline, I got inventive. I had a small syringe for giving meds from some time ago. I sucked a little saline in and then very slowly pushed a drop out onto kitty's nostril. At least some of it went in.

  • glaserberl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Biggles is much better this morning. Ate with gusto and is showing signs of wanting to play and explore. Still a bit congested but nor nearly as bad as yesterday.

  • olyagrove
    13 years ago

    Glad to hear he is feeling better!

  • susanjn
    13 years ago

    Oh good! Looking forward to hearing about his escapades.

  • glaserberl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    He seems to have taken a liking to my mouse cable and the cord on the calculator. I'm so happy that he finally has an interest in his surroundings and is starting to act like a kitten. He still sounds like he needs ti blow his nose, but is eating well without me cajoling him with smearing food on his mouth or licking it of my finger.
    Katharina

  • glaserberl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Yeah! Mr. Biggelsworth gained 3.25 ounces since Sunday. Looking a lot less scrawny.
    He plays a lot now and eats like a horse.

  • olyagrove
    13 years ago

    Super cute.

  • susanjn
    13 years ago

    Oh, he's so cute! I mean in a rough, tough, scary way, of course.

  • Carla Davison
    6 years ago

    I know this is a very old post, but I have found my way here by googlong the exact same question as the OP. My Persian momma had a litter 10 days ago, aand (surprisingly only) one of my babies has a URI. I have been to the vet (this past Friday), and was prescribed Clavamox (.04cc 2 times/day). In a nutshell, she doesn't seem to be getting better as she is extremely congested more so now than she was on Friday at the vet. I have been syringe feeding her every couple of hours, using saline solution drops that is VERY hard to get into her teeny little nostrils, but after I do that, she starts sneezih, so it seems like some is getting in there! I do have a vaporizer, but my issues are this:

    1) My girl has put all her babies under the dresser;

    2) I could set up the vaporizer but there's no way it's benefits will get to the babies under the dresser;

    3) I could take the one sick baby out and put her somewhere where momma won't get her and take her out, taking her back to under the dresser, HOWEVER, I only have one heating pad for the kittens (and I don't have anything else o could use as a heat source unless I use a box heater?), and all of them still need the heat, so I can't take the sick baby out and not have her on the heating pad, and vice versa with the healthy babies.

    So, I'm stuck. I will do anything I can to save this baby girl!

    I read above in another comment about putting the kitten I'm a bathroom with the shower going to get lots of steam, and leave her in there for approx 15 minutes, so is this he best solution for me situation, or is there something else I'm missing that I could do?

    On Friday, the vet told me she has a 50/50 chance of surviving this due to how young she is, but I am not one to give up, as I will give all my babies a fighting chance to survive, even if that means I get no sleep and cant see straight from lack of sleep. This morning, I actually told my husband, "I am literally watching her die and I don't know what else I can do for her!"

    She looks and sounds sooo bad right now, as she is so congested and cant even nurse from mom. When I syringe feed her, its like she is starving,and its breaking my heart. She eats well from the syringe, but she is dtill losing weight, even though I feed her as much KMR as she will allow me to feed her.

    Is there anything else that I can do, from others' previous experiences? This is all new to me, and it's emotionally killing me.


    Thank you in advance.

  • glaserberl
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Carla, how is the little one doing?

  • Tuğba Görgülü
    3 years ago

    Carla, I hope the little one is doing well. I want to write about my experience with my little girl. She was 2 days old when her mom left her. I had to take care of her. It was emotionally very difficult for me since I had lost a kitten so small like her before. Anyways. This one survived thanks to a vet. He advised me to put some really small amount of cat food in her milk bottle. I mean really small. like the tip of a tea spoon. so she can take some protein she lacks from the mother milk. also I gave her some probiotics. I believe those things helped my kitten survive. I hope this post helps whoever needs it out there. Best