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My 3-month-old kitten won't eat and breathes hard. What should I do?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed | 3 months and 19 days old | 4 lbs

My 3 months old kitten was at the veterinarian the other days, he said she might have eaten something but now should be ok. I took her home but she still refuses to eat, or eats just a bit, and shd has a hard breath...i have no idea what to do with her, i put her near the warmer and opened the window, now she started to breathe a little bit better. What is the cause after all and what can i do?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 20th, 2016

Poor Mochko. With symptoms of decreased appetite and "hard breathe" which I assume means she is having a hard time breathing, it is possible Mochka has pneumonia or an upper respiratory infection. I would highly recommend getting her seen by your vet again or another vet for a second opinion. They need to listen to her chest (auscultation) to check the lungs for certain sounds. If certain sounds in the chest are detected and Mochko also has a fever (greater than 102.5 degrees F rectal temp), then pneumonia is suspected. Chest x-rays would then be needed to confirm.
If the chest is free of any abnormal sounds on expiration, then an upper respiratory infection is suspected, which is a better prognosis for kitty. At that time a short course of antibiotics and anti-viral meds (i.e. Lysine) can be prescribed to treat her condition.
At any rate Mochko needs to be re-evaluated and the underlying condition properly identified so that we know exactly what she needs to get better.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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