My week-old kitten has breathing issues. Is amoxicillin safe? What's the dose?

No, I do not recommend giving your kitten human amoxicillin. The reason for this is two-fold. If you have liquid amoxicillin, it needs to be used within 10 days of being opened. Any leftover should be discarded or returned to your pharmacy for disposal. The second reason is a 3 lb kitten would use an extremely small dose compared to a human. I recommend visiting your veterinarian to get a safer treatment option. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your kitten. Amoxicillin is a medication with a wide dosing range. I can understand your confusion with the package though. I would recommend following your veterinarian's dosing for now, but be sure to follow up with the prescribing doctor to double check. You should be able to call the office and have someone check for you. This will give you piece of mind. I hope this information helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If the kittens are 11-12 weeks old, they shouldn't still be nursing. They are old enough to be on solid kitten food now. Either way, amoxicillin is not toxic to young kittens. Kisses to Susan!

I would try to start her on a regimen of benadryl twice a day. See link below. If she isn't having nasal discharge and eye discharge then it is unlikely a true upper respiratory infection. Since I do not know the exact concentration of the amoxicillin liquid, I would call your vet to see what amount is safe for her. It is LIKELY 1mL but I cannot say for sure without knowing all of the information. I also cannot say what is safe for Crystal since I do not know her full history. I hope this helps! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/cat/benadryl/#!

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. The answer is, it depends. We need more information. When was the refrigerated amoxicillin reconstituted? If it was longer than 14 days ago then it is no longer good. Is this formulation the same mg/ml as the one you got from the veterinarian? It is best for you to repost with that information so we can help you better. Honestly, though, if he is only sneezing, has no other symptoms and is eating/drinking well I would not bother with the antibiotics. Usually a URI is due to a mixed infection of bacteria and viruses - you cannot treat the viral portion with antibiotics and typically after 10 days the bacterial portion is under control. You are better off letting his own immune system kick in. I recommend you use something like Imuquin to help boost his immunity instead of using antibiotics. ( https://www.chewy.com/nutramax-imuquin-beta-glucans-marine/dp/572566 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I would not be overly concerned, although the recommended dose is 5-10mg/lb (and an 8lb cat would have consumed approx 15mg/lb) it does have a wide safety margin and overdose symptoms are very rare. I would expect some mild gastrointestinal upset and a probiotic would be helpful to reduce the impact on the natural gut balance

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor kitten! Even though you are correct that this kitten likely needs antibiotics it needs to be prescribed by a Vet who can examine the kitten. We are not allowed to prescribe medications by law without a valid Veterinary Client Patient Relationship requires an examination. Cats are miraculous healers and if the kitten is eating and will allow you to clean the wound you can do that. Just be sure that you do not get bitten as you do not know the Rabies status of the kitten. https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/cat/cat-amoxi/ I wish you the best!