My cat has a URI and won't eat after starting medication. What to do?

Question

My cat seems to have an upper respiratory infection. We brought her to the vet yesterday, and he gave her a shot of penicillin and Clavamox to be taken twice a day. Today, she does not want to eat solid food. She is drinking fine (drank a little tuna juice). She has been coughing since Tuesday and the vet did say the medication could be tough stomach on her if taken without food. Should I be worried? Is this normal for what she's on? Should we contact the vet or keep with the medicine? Pet's info: Cat | Siamese | Female | unspayed | 7 lbs

Andrea M. Brodie, DVM · Accepted Answer

An upper respiratory infection often involves nasal discharge or swelling of the mucous membranes which can then disable the sense of smell and then cats do not want to eat. One way of helping that is to 1) remove any discharge from the nose as often as possible with a moist tissue. 2) feed her fishy canned food, preferably pate style, and warm it up in the microwave. This will intensify the aroma of the food. Clavamox tastes not so good, and sometimes it can also make a cat not hungry. However, it is absolutely necessary that your kitty eats at least a little bit every day in order not to get a serious liver disease. Try to hand feed her, if she will not eat from the bowl. If she does not eat at all she will need to be seen by your vet for a recheck.

My cat has a URI and won't eat after starting medication. What to do?

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