Should i take my kittens back to the vets?

Question
Hi i have 6 kittens that are 9 weeks old i just recently 2 weeks ago took them to the vets becouse they developed what appeared to be a cold like upper respitory infections.They were sneezing alot and had clear/yellow mucous coming out there noses and developed eye infections.They would not eat and had very stuffy noses so i syringe feed them some canned cat food with chicken broth and raw egg mixed in it for protein and some nutri cal.Well when i took them into the vet he said they were suffering from a feline herpes virus and he put them on clavamox and a antibiotic eye ointment.They all seemed to be getting better they all eat now and dont sneeze as much some still needs there eyes medicated twice a day and others are cleared up.Well all of them are done there clavamox they were on it for 7 days twice a day so they been done clavamox for about 7 days now when they finished it i still noticed a little yellow mucous coming out of there noses but not much and some had dried mucous on there noses.I even got to take a few of them off of the eye ointment as there eyes were better.Well today i went to clean there eyes and noses like i do everyday and one of them who's eyes cleared up had more yellow discharge coming from his eyes and had alot of yellow mucous coming out of there nose.What i want to know is this normal?Are they still doing this becouse all the mucous has to come up?I know when they went to the vets he did say they have alot of wheezing so is all this mucous still coming out of there noses is just mucous that is coming up to get out of them?Thank you so much for reading i really appreciate it god bless

Answer
Hi Evelyn.  Clavamox is usually written for 7-10 days, and I'm wondering if your kittens could have stood to be on the antibiotic for those few extra days.  Most vets write the prescription to give it until finished but discard any unused portion after 10 days.  This means some bigger animals may finish it up a little before the 10 days are up, but most young kittens do receive a full 10 days of treatment.  I would call the vet and see if you should get a refill.  If the vet won't refill it but recommends you bring the kitten in again, then I would go with it.

However, regardless of whether the kitten is recommended to go back on antibiotics, he definitely needs to take a supplement containing lysine.  Lysine is an amino acid that helps to prevent the replication of the herpes virus.  With less herpes virus circulating in the blood, symptoms lessen and disappear more quickly.  It's important to remember that cats become permanent carriers of herpes and will often struggle with symptoms from time to time.  Those who suffer from the symptoms only periodically can take lysine during flare ups, but those who have symptoms frequently should take lysine every day for life.

There are some lysine supplements for cats that make dosing easy.  Two of the brands are Viralys and Enisyl-F.  These products come in gels or pastes that can be given directly into the mouth, a powder that can be mixed into food, or tasty treats.  Some websites that carry the products are www.calvetsupply.com  www.entirelypets.com  www.lambertvetsupply.com

Since your kitten is suffering from the infection right now, you should get him on a supplement immediately, rather than waiting for shipping.  You can buy lysine tablets for humans from any pharmacy.  They are usually 1000mg.  For your little guys, 1/4 tablet a day (each) will be effective (1/2 tablet is the adult dose, but there is no worry of overdose at any age).  You will need to crush up the quarter tablet and mix it into canned food or meat baby food.  You should see improvement in their symptoms in just a couple days.

If you have any eye medicine left, definitely start using it on this little one again.  Herpes can cause serious eye complications including adhesions and blindness if the eyes aren't kept clean and moistened with an antibiotic ointment.  Since you know the babies will be herpes carriers, you may want to keep some Terramycin ointment on hand in case of flare ups.  You can purchase it at the websites I mentioned above.

Best of luck!

Jessica