Hi hope someone can help.
We bought Lenny from a rescue home and was told that he had previously had cat flu but was over it and was ready to be rehomed, however, 2 days after bringing him home he was poorly again and we nearly lost him. After numerous injections and pills from the vets he was over the worst but still had problems with his breathing - sneezing etc but no discharge.
We took him back to the vets to be neutered at 6 months and I asked them to take a look at his sinuses as I was afraid he might have a blockage. The vets told me that he has permanent damage to his sinuses due to the cat flu at a young age and that has cause something called 'chronic rhinitis' and that there is nothing we can do for him. The vet also said to keep him indoors so he is warm.
He is well and happy and behaves like a 'normal' kitten (mischeivous) but he has difficulty breathing, really smelly breath and is generally congested (ears, nose, eyes etc), this doesn't appear to bother him but I hate watching him struggling.
Is there anything we can do to help him? Should we get a second opinion? Will he still have the same life expectancy as a 'normal' kitten?
Any help or advice will be appreciated.
Thank you

I have no advice for you, I hope people with medical knowledge will see this and answer, I've only poped in to say how sorry I am for Lenny and you, it's sad he's been through so much instead of having a happy childhood.

Fingers crossed for Lenny to have a nice life!

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That is such a shame. I wonder if he could be put on long term antibiotics, or even an antihistimine. I only found out last year that cats can suffer from hayfever and be prescribed something, although I am not suggesting your kitten has hayfever, but a similar treatment may help to keep the congestion under control.

We took on a cat about 10 years ago. She used to sneeze and literally green snot would fly out of her nose - we would find it stuck to walls etc . The vets used to prescribe baytril, I think it was, which we would give for a good few months until it cleared. But eventually it would come back. There was something else we woud give too, but I honestly can't remember what it was. We were only meant to be looking after her until her owners were ready to have her flown to Holland from Saudi Arabia where we were living. They never did have her back, and she was eventually rehomed with someone, as we also left to come back to the uk, and had our own cats waiting for us, having done their 6 months quarantine.

How long has all this been going on for?

Did the vets actually carry out an examination of his sinuses at the time of neutering? Yes, cat flu can cause chronic rhinitis.The smelly breath suggests infection to me having excluded teeth as a problem. Sometimes, as you suspected a foreigh body in the nasal passages can also be responsible for the chronic,recurrent symptoms and infections. I also wonder if taking a swab might help to identify the exact bacteria and the correct antibiotic required to treat it. Often a very long course is necessary. Romoving all potential irritants in the environment could also be beneficial.

A nebuliser should also help with his breathing issues by keeping the nasal passages moist-no need to invest in one though since placing him in a very steamy bathroom for frequent periods would also help him. Some people find using a few drops of Olbas oil in the water ( steam ) also helps.

Hope it resolves soon.