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Kitten URI, eye discharge, not eating, losing weight. Vet or home?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered | 3 months and 7 days old | 1lb

Hey so my kitten has conjuctivitis (clear discharge on one eye and haw protrusion about 1/4] and sneeizng and i believe he has feline URI , but he is too young for antibiotics. His appetite is decreased and he is losing weight. Is there anyway i can ease the pain or treat it without antibiotics? Please help.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on April 8th, 2017

Three months isn't too young for antibiotics, but feline respiratory infections are commonly caused by viruses, so antibiotics wouldn't help anyway. You can try giving Bruce lysine supplements, which can help with URIs in cats. You can get them OTC or from your vet. As for the conjunctivitis, he has to see a vet immediately for that. The eye is such and important and delicate structure that may problem with it should be considered an emergency. That's because leaving it untreated can lead to vision loss. It's also serious he's losing his weight and eating less. Cats won't eat if they can't smell their food, so try gently warming really smelly wet food such sardine or fish based to try to tempt him to eat. There is nothing you can do at home for his eye, please take him into an ER vet or find a vet on call to see him now.

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    Answered By Ann Dion, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 9th, 2017

    Hello. If your kitty doesn't have a bacterial component then antibiotics will not help. If the discharge is yellow, green or cream coloured then antibiotics may be needed. If it is clear then antibiotics won't help. This is independent to vaccinations so there may have been a miscommunication or misunderstanding with your vet. If your kitty has a fever and not wanting to eat from this then anti-inflammatory drugs can help. These also can be given independent of vaccine timing. Do not give any human drugs to Bruce as they could severely damage his kidneys. I would check in with your vet again to see if Bruce has a fever or signs of a secondary infection that would require antibiotics. Good luck with Bruce.

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