All my cats are having sneezing attacks- it started two days ago with my 1-yr old kitty. Now the 6-month old kitten is sneezing like mad. My 3rd cat, the 10-yr old Siamese hasn’t sneezed yet. Help! Can anyone suggest a reason behind their behavior, and should I take them into the vet? This is a first for me, and I thought I’d seen it all, I’ve been around fine felines for many years. There’s a cold front moving through, flu season upon us - would this have any impact upon the health of cats?
Cat’s can catch colds. They’re also susceptable to several viruses particular to felines. I’d get them to a vet quick, especially if they haven’t had their shots!
thanks - it’s quite odd, they are all healthy and have had their shots, but I think they have all got a bug. This is the first time I’ve ever heard them sneeze like this…
Have you turned on your heat? Sometimes my cats get a little sneezy (So do I, from the dust) when our heat is turned on. Some cats seem more sensitive to dust, my older two sneeze but I have never heard little Hanna sneeze, ever.
Otherwise, I would suspect a respitory infection, they can spread fast and a vet visit is in order.
We have seen our first Northerner blow in today - but don’t have our heat on yet (I’m in Dallas). Thanks to all, I believe I’ll be taking all my little critters to the vet.
I agree with the others. A trip to the vet is definitely in order. If made no noticable changes that could cause an allergic reaction, then it is likely an infection of some sort that should be treated immediately. Do they feel hot at all, as if they have fevers?
Colds and flus in cats aren’t the little, uncomfortable things they are in people. They can apparently be quite dangerous, so I’d say a trip to the vet is in order.
If they’re all otherwise healthy, eating, pooping, etc., you may not need a vet visit. But if any of them seem dull, sad, or uninterested in food, by all means – off to the vet!
I recently had company stay for the weekend. The three social butterflies sucked up to them; the rest fled and hid.
Except Freddy, who’s normally a fraidy-cat. He came into the guest bedroom Saturday night, lethargic, mewing pitifully, and actually allowing the Dread Cat-Eating Strangers to touch him. We decided that explained the cat-upchuck we’d been finding all day – especially the blood-tinged frothy fluid. Freddy got rushed to the emergency vet hospital the next morning.
Turned out NOT to be an intestinal blockage requiring surgery, thank goodness! He came home a couple of days later, rehydrated, on antibiotics for a mild fever, and with appetite and spirits restored. Meanwhile, several of the other cats went off their feed a bit, but were otherwise normal – other than Eddy, who slept under rather than on the bed for a day or two. Only one or two heaved at all, though.
Consulting the vet on all this, we concluded that there’d been a virus among my cats; that Freddy’d had a particularly bad case of it, leading to the vomiting, dehydration, and real illness that could have killed him if I hadn’t got him to the vet’s when I did; and that the others should be fine – just monitor them.
All is well now in the ETF menage – but yes, the vet call for Freddy did save his life. I now have a $600 kitty who sometimes pisses where he shouldn’t. If I didn’t have so much invested in him, I’d kill him. 
Oh, I should have added: Even if they’re not ill enough to merit an immediate emergency visit, by all means consult your vet via phone, with observations on any changes in excretion or consumption, behavior besides the sneezing, etc. Your vet can advise you whether there’s something going around, whether it’s serious or not, and so forth.
Cat-Flu is the one to be scared of, it’s a killer, but if they’ve all had their shots and boosters, this should be ruled out.
My (very healthy) cats get a sneezing bug once a year or so, and it passes in a few days without problems. If they are eating enthusiastically, then they are probably OK.
I tend to take them to the vet only if (a) they have been off their food for longer than 2 days and (b) if their noses are hot and dry (indicates a fever - noses should be cold and damp).
Not to scare you, but…
I used to have 2 cats. They started sneezing. I thought it was a cold or something minor for a while, but it didn’t go away after a few days so I took them in.
Turns out one cat had been into some antifreeze. The vet did his best, but he ended up having to be put to sleep.
The other cat turned out to have chronic kidney disease. He lived another 10 months or so with twice daily medicine. Once he degenerated to the point of needing saline IVs, I made the hard decision to have him put to sleep.
Take your cats to the vet if they sneeze.
There are different strains of viruses that the shots don’t prevent, including some nasty ones going around now. Our local shelter just had to put down over 100 cats, all of which had been vaccinated when they first came in, and many who had had boosters before being surrendered.
One of my new kitties that we just got a few weeks ago started sneezing and having eye goobers. Turns out he has a respiratory infection. We got eye ointment (fun, fun, fun) and oral antibiotics (banana flavored!) for him.
If it’s a bacterial infection, just as in humans, it’s easier to stop if it’s caught early.
I think thats a bit alarmist. My cat sneezes all the time. Usually on me. She wakes up, looks at me, sneezes then goes back to sleep.
So an isolated sneeze is no big deal.
And I’m sorry for your loss Athena. I too had to put a cat to sleep, and everyday I sit on the couch and she’s nowhere to be found I miss her.
Thanks for the advice, all. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated sneeze, more like 5 really fast sneezes in a row for both cats. They haven’t sneezed today yet - I’m keeping my eye on them and we’ll be off the vet tomorrow if it happens again.
Here’s a picture of one of our furry friends:
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/psvaughan/vwp?.dir=/pics&.dnm=cherokee.jpg&.src=ph
OOoo you have a siamese cat. Love them. Your other cat, Cherokee, is cute too.
I wouldn’t stress out too much if it was just an isolated sneeze sneeze sneeze type thing, and it doesn’t happen again.
The little kitty Siam is not doing so well - he was sleeping with the old Siamese cat and had his mouth open as he was sleeping. I’m a freaking wuss and have been teary-eyed for the past 15 minutes after noticing it, which did not go unnoticed by my two kiddos. (The oldest, my 8 yr-old, is the love of Siam’s life). We’re off the the vet in the morning. He’s curled up with Sheba, the old Siamese, but he keeps his mouth open as if there’s a problem breathing. Oh Mighty Cat God, keep him safe until the morning light.
Oh, dear. Blonde, have you checked the wee one’s nose to see if it’s cool and damp (good) or warm and dry (not good)? Have you checked for dehydration? Pluck up a fold of skin (from his back, side, or so forth) as high as you can, then let it go. If it snaps right back, hydration is okay, but any delay in its return to normal is evidence of dehydration. My Freddy needed subcutaneous fluids because of what his vomiting did to him.
If he is dehydrated, you could try administering water via eyedropper, or a small dosing syringe, if you have one. Can you tell if he’s been eating/drinking normally? At all? If you offer him his favorite food and he isn’t interested, I’d worry too. I wouldn’t try to force food on him (Freddy went from Saturday’s start of vomiting to Tuesday morning without eating, and was fine), but fluids are really important.
GOOD LUCK!!!
I think we’re OK until morning, here’s a picture of Siam from about 5 minutes ago (he’s on the left, Sheba’s on the right - and no, she’s not his mama, but they like to pretend). He’s a lot smaller than he looks next to big mama; he’s about 6 months old, she’s 10 years old. I brought him some water, but he wasn’t interested - he’s sleeping fine now. He’ll eat anything that moves - I think he ate about 2 hours ago.
I’ll be up all night watching him. Thanks, ETF.
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/psvaughan/vwp?.dir=/pics&.dnm=siam.jpg&.view=t
His appetite is good? Then you can ratchet down the worry level. Yes, still take him to the vet, but relax a little. I wouldn’t be too concerned about the refusing to drink. I assume there’s always water available, and he may well have taken a good drink earlier, when you weren’t around to see it. Does he like to drink from the faucet? You could try him on that.
He looks so sweet with his big (adoptive) momma. Do they often sleep together this way? That’s also a good sign. If he were feeling very unwell, he’d prefer to go off somewhere by himself, where he could hide and be miserable. Poor sick Freddy wanted to huddle under the bedcovers in the guest room, and he normally doesn’t bedlump unless he’s hiding from visitors.
I agree, you’re most likely okay till morning. Let us know how he does!