Hi Karen,
Antibiotics are given for bacterial infections, so I'm not quite sure why the
vet would have prescribed them.  It's possible the cat may have developed a
mild upper respitory infection, or could have developed allergies.  Did the vet
suggest it could be from the food being fed and recommend an elimination diet?
If it's airborne, then depending upon the severity, a medication might be
prescribed.  Perhaps that is what is causing the lethargy in the cat.  Did the
vet doing any testing of any kind?

Lauren
________
See my cats:  http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

I agree with Lauren in wondering if the first vet did any testing.

I have a cat who has seasonal allergies (similar to hayfever in
people) in the fall. It's pretty mild, but the main symptoms were
sneezing and crabby-ness in general to his kitty-brother. He would
sometimes be lethargic and not want to play, but would still eat,
drink, etc. My vet suggested giving half a dose of the children's
Benadryl (I use liquid) when needed. I usually give it to him in the
morning, and it seems to help.  Guess I'm pretty lucky b/c this is
only seasonal and mild.

If it's not airborne, has your friend used anything new in the house
lately--cleaning products, laundry soap, fabric softener, etc?
Anything new in  the house, like carpeting or furniture that might
have something to irritate him?

Rene

Some cat allergies are food, some are particulates and some are chemical
(such as what we use when we clean our homes, remember our furry friends are
a lot closer to the floor than we are, unless you are very, very, very
short.... oh forgive me my fingers are wandering.....) Seriously, have you
though of first making sure your cat has a healthy and well balanced diet to
make sure that his immune system can function at peak efficiency. After that
I would add a nutritional supplement that has a good antioxidant and will
help with free radicals.

Then examine every cleaning chemical that you use for harmful petro
chemicals. Think about changing to macrobiotic cleaners that use natural
chemicals and biodegradable components for your pets safety. After all we
are our pets protectors are we not!

Finally make sure your cat has a clean fresh supply of running water (yes
cats like running water not still water sitting in a dish, that's what makes
toilets so attractive to our friends) and make sure the water is not
strongly chlorinated as the cumulative exposure to chlorine in water can
aggravate allergies and autoimmune system disorders.

I wish you the best with the health and happiness of your pet!

How was he diagnosed?

Antihistamines usually don't work very well in cats. Does it seem to be
helping?

Lethargy would be a common side effect of the antihistamine.

Well, with our cat, once the antihistamine did not work, our vet tried a short
course of prednisone. Since that alleviated symptoms almost immediately, we
then switched to an inhalant (Flovent). Prednisone can cause problems when used
long term. Our cat has inhalant allergies, however.