I was tickled to open an early Christmas present and found a kitten. She's had her first set of shots but I noticed today (2nd day) that she seems to have a cough. It's not like the long hacking session that accompanies the dreaded hair ball but short 2-3 coughs. She's a very subdued kitty (didn't know God made any of those) so I am suspicious she may have a cold or worse. Can anyone give me a home remedy I can try before I were to check with the $vet$.Thank ya. Q.

-- queen (queenbuffness@hotmail.com), December 09, 2000

Answers

Queen When my kitties have their shots they always get sick for a few days. Hope this is all it is. Sounds like you suffer right along with your sick pets just like me!....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), December 09, 2000.

How old is your kitty, and do you notice any other symptoms, like runny nose or eyes? How are her bowel movements looking, are they in a definite form, or more loose? If she exhibits any other symptoms, or is running a fever ( normal is 101.5 F. ), or is not eating or drinking as usual, call a vet and get his/her opinion. There are no "home remedies" that are safe for cats, they have very different system sensitivities than dogs, and humans.

Please do not use any over the counter products, or even herbs (other than garlic), on cats, it could be fatal. If your kitty is not running a fever, she will probably be feeling better in 1 or 2 days, if she is not, call a vet, and they will be able to ask you specific questions to as to bring her in, or not, for treatment. Let us know how she is tomorrow, good luck with her, I love kittens! Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), December 10, 2000.

hope your kitty is doing better.my male kitty couldnot pee i had to take him to vet three times to have him unblocked. its hard when an animal is sick and you dont know how to help it. my stray litty cost me over $700 in medical bills but i couldnt let him die

-- emilia mykytiuk (countrylady9@hotmail.com), December 13, 2000.

There are SAFE home remedies for kittens. I just found a kitten who I think is about 3 months old. He had a very nasty respartory problem. In fact I thought he might have feline lukemia, his gums and tongue were very pale, bloody discharge from his eyes, a very nasty cough and he had a very stuffy nose to boot. I looked through my book The Encylopedia of Natural Pet Care, written by CJ Puotinen, and several suggestions were givin. I gave my little kitten echinacea tincture in his milk. (That was the only thing he would eat.) About 10 drops in 4 ounces of whole milk. Well it took about a week and a half to notice results, in fact for 2 days I wondered if I did the right thing by not taking him to the vet. For those 2 days he just slept very close by the wood stove, and as usual would only drink his milk. Well after those 2 days he really perked up. It's been about 2 weeks and he has REALLY GROWN! He eats all the time, and he doesn't care if he eats dog food or cat food, he just want's to eat! His cough, pale gums and bloody discharge from his eyes are gone, he does sneeze once in a while, but Wilbur is doing great. I do hope this helps a little bit. By the way you can also give cats colloidal silver. I would also recommend getting a good natural pet care book, there are many out there. Also you might want to get the book called A Shot In The Dark. I don't remember the author, but it has a lot of interesting information about vaccinations. One last thing, in the Encylopedia of Natural Pet Care the is a whole chapter titled "The Vaccination Controversy. You might want to get your hands on a copy of the book and at least read that chapter.

-- Kathy Oestreicher (cluckerhill@superiorinter.net), December 13, 2000.

I'm coming in late, so hope your kitty is better by now. Pinch up a bit of skin on her shoulder or neck and release it. If it takes any time at all to lay flat again get her to the vet as she is dehydrated and that will kill a animal quicker than anything else. Good luck. The herbal pet care books mentioned are very good but a little complicated (the English one) - also a book by the same author on herbal care for farmyard animals.

-- Maggie's Farm (elemon@peacehealth.org), December 14, 2000.