Kitten question

Question
Hi I just bought an 8 week old kitten from the humane society , while she was in there she had a upper respitory infection and she was treated for it and it went away. well I get a free check up visit from the humane society after adopting my kitty and I just brought her back  in b/c her poop was real runny and she was going more than usuall so they told me not to feed her as much and to only feed her 3 times a day. She also has this like gag/couch it almost sounds like she has a furball stuck in her throat but its not and they put her on amoxcyln that I giver her 2 a day well her poop has gotten better but she is still doing this gag type thing all the time and its been going on for about a week and a half , the meds not helping. so I was wondering before bringing her in again  if you would maybe have any ideas of what it could be. thanks so much for your time .

Answer
Hi Jamie,

There is something called Bordetella bronchiseptica. I would have your vet check her for this. It's prevalent in catteries and shelters. Coughing is a major symptom of this. In fact the hairball cough is how most people describe what the cough sounds like.

Bb is resistant to Amoxicillin, but seems to be sensitive to just about every other antibiotic. Talk to your vet to switch over to Clavamox and or Baytril, either in conjunction, or on alternating weeks. The most important thing-treatment must be continued for at least 14 days! Some veterinarians recommend a 21 day treatment period.
After she is cured there is vaccine for this. Good luck and let me know how she does.

Ciao, Karen