Adopted a kitten at the SPCA

[MuskokaDogLover]

We adopted 'Sexy Simon' on Jan 23/2011 and he is such a cutey <3 He is almost 5 months now and when we got him he had a pretty bad cold. Just curious if anyone has purchased a sick kitten before and how long did it last for? & What is the best thing to do for a cold? Do you think the SPCA should of even sold the kitten to us? He is not so much sick anymore, but still has sneezes once in a while.....and one time he sneezed blood......not anymore tho...

[luckypenny]

It's not unusual that kittens/cats and puppies/dogs can get sick when in an environment with so many other animals. Sometimes symptoms don't appear until the pet has moved to his/her new home. The SPCA may not have known your kitten was ill. Did you inform them?

Have you brought your kitten to see a vet yet?

[kathryn]

Originally Posted by MuskokaDogLover

We adopted 'Sexy Simon' on Jan 23/2011 and he is such a cutey <3 He is almost 5 months now and when we got him he had a pretty bad cold. Just curious if anyone has purchased a sick kitten before and how long did it last for? & What is the best thing to do for a cold? Do you think the SPCA should of even sold the kitten to us? He is not so much sick anymore, but still has sneezes once in a while.....and one time he sneezed blood......not anymore tho...

Congratulations on the adoption! It is quite common for shelter animals to have a cold. If you have any other pets PLEASE keep them separated. You should bring him to the vet within the next couple days for a check up regardless.

There is no way for a shelter to guarantee the health of a pet. If they didn't adopt out cats/kittens because they were sneezing, they'd probably not adopt out 80% of their kitties then. It's inevitable.

I would call the SPCA prior to going to the vet and ask if your vet suggests antibiotics, if you can return to the shelter and purchase the medications for a reduced cost. Sometimes they can do that.

I have seen MANY people get very upset at shelters because they were "given a sick pet" etc but please understand, it is not the intention of most shelters to purposely give you a pet that is unhealthy. They are doing the best they can do with limited resources. Without getting too offtopic, it's quite ironic that many of those people who I've seen freak out about getting a sick pet from a shelter often go on to purchase a puppy/kitten from a petstore under the assumption it will be healthier

[BMDLuver]

The shelter that I used to work at gave each adopter a sheet on two diseases common to cats in shelters, one being Rhino (cat cold) and the other being panleucopenia. The cat cold is extremely common and almost impossible to avoid. Most cats ride it out, some require antibiotics for secondary infections.