Sorry - kitty question - sneezing...

[December99]

Since it's been so long since I've had a kitten you will have to excuse me but I thought this would be one of the best places I could ask this.

DH noticed this morning that Candi was sneezing quite a bit. I blew it off thinking maybe she got something in her nose or something. I went home for lunch and she is still sneezing and was sneezing quite a lot. Is this something I should call my vet about and how long should I just let this go before calling him? I know they can get "colds" and "flu" but since she's so small...I just didnt' know.

 

[Big V]

Maybe she's allergic to you Chris! Just kidding! I, myself, would call the vet.
Scott

 

[December99]

Actually I was thinking maybe she's allergic to the old cat that we had...we keep finding some of his hairs down there that she keeps drudging up.

 

[lisajl]

Hey..take it to the vet. Cats get upper resp. problems just like we do. Plus, coming from the humane society, around all those other cats, she might have picked up something.

Prob. just needs antibiotics.

Lisajl

 

[helenabear]

My cat gets her nose into things now and then and like a good mama, I usually call the vet. What they usually do is give me an appointment for about 2-3 days out and have me take her in then if the sneezes haven't gone away. They can get viruses and they can also get their noses in stuff. The vet has reminded me that if these are dry sneezes (nothing to very very little coming out of the nose) that this is probably nothing to worry about. Usually if my baby's eyes are watering a little then I don't have near as much to worry about too since I can tell she has gotten her nose in something in the basement. So I would look and see how the kitty is sneezing (how wet the sneezes are) and call the vet to see what they think. Fortunately with my baby it has always turned out to be nothing to worry about

 

[Gary M]

I agree with lisajl. When we got our kitty a few months ago she sneezed alot. We took her to the vet and it was an upper respiratory infection. I would do this asap, because it can get pretty miserable for the kitty. Some antibiotics should solve the problem, in a few days.

 

[Kermit]

If you'd had the cat for a while, I'd wait a few days unless she just wasn't acting like herself. But since you haven't had her long enough to really know if she's acting funny or not, I'd probably take her in, just to be on the safe side.

 

[coqui]

After setting up the appointment with the vet, watch the kitty. She may just constantly be going under a sofa or some other dusty place. Also is your litter really dusty?

 

[December99]

Well the litter we have been using is the Tidy Cat bag that we had for the other cat - we had just bought quite a bit and wanted to use it up. I don't think it's real dusty but she might...I never thought of that.

She isn't "spraying" when she sneezes and it doesn't appear to have anything coming out...maybe I'll see how she is tonight and call the vet tomorrow. It is a bit drafty downstairs and I've been trying to make sure she is warm....

 

[helenabear]

Sounds like a smart plan Chris. Oh and just to let you know that sometimes it takes Cleo a solid 24 hours to get whatever was "in her nose" out. I hope Candi will be sneeze free soon

 

[Rajah]

I'd observe for 24 hours, then if the sneezing hadn't stopped, I'd call the vet.

Has her sneezing stopped yet? (since this reply is the day after you posted the question)

 

[December99]

No it hasn't so I'm taking her to the vet at 3:30 this afternoon. She is going to come for an office visit before we go though!!! I have a ton of people that want to personally meet her....kinda funny!!!!

The vet assistant agreed that we bring her in just in case. Mike said she was really sneezing when he went home to check on her before lunch and that her breathing seemed a bit labored which sounds to me like it could definitely be a URI.

 

[Rajah]

Sounds like a plan. It's always best to take a kitty to the vet when in doubt or when there's a suspicion. And FYI -- it's not at all uncommon for kittens to get a URI or have some kind of cold after moving into a new situation. It's due at least in part to the stress of the change.

Let us know how she does!

 

[December99]

Well Dr P is going to be able to take (our plans for who was taking her changed 2 times now in the last hour) so hopefully he'll call me before I leave work and I can update you!

 

[helenabear]

Chris, any updates on how Candi is doing?

 

[December99]

Sorry - it's been nuts since I got home (this is dd's weekend with her other family and I just got home from taking her and then running to the store). She indeed has an infection and he said it did sound like URI. He also said she had an infection on her incision where she was opened for her spay operation (I didn't think THAT was good). So he gave us some antibiotics (liquid thank goodness) to give her twice a day. I imagine that after about 24 hours on the meds - similar to a human - she will start perking up. I was concerned that she was eating and drinking much and because she is so congested is probably why she isn't (harder for them to eat and drink than a human while they are congested).

So she is on her road to recovery hopefully. He also checked her ears and said she definitely has ear mites so he cleaned those very well and gave her some other medicine that will help with the mites and the off chance that she might have some fleas, which he didn't think she did but just as a precaution since she'll be inside.

He said that she is a great cat (the vet is a cat lover and I really like the guy). This was the first time dh had met the vet and he was also impressed. They were there over an hour and I was really getting worried. She's down sitting in her pet carrier. I even bought her some treats thinking she might like them and make her feel more "loved" but she wasn't interested. So I hope she is doing better by Sunday!!!! And gets better each day.

Thanks for all your guys' advice!!! It means alot.

 

[helenabear]

Sorry to hear that she is indeed sick... I was hoping for dust or something for her. But I am glad that she will have her antibiotics to take and I am sure she will perk up in a few days! I can relate to how happy you were to get liquid meds... those pills can be a killer for kitties! Many funny/horror stories here relating to that one! It's good though you did take her and take care of the other issues found too! I think I remember earmites being common in a lot of kitten and especially rescue kitties. I hope those clear out soon! Give Candi a big hug & kiss for me

 

[DebbieB]

We got our cat 15+ years ago from the animal shelter. They told us she was 8 weeks old, she had been at the shelter for a week or two until she was old enough to be adopted. A day or two after we got her, she started sneezing and had a runny nose. We took her to the Vet and she had an URI. The vet said she was more like 6 weeks old and was probably taken away from her mother too soon (they said she was a stray). She had ear mites & fleas too that they had started treating at the shelter. Anyway, she got the liquid pink antibiodics and was fine in a few days. I think it was true what he said about being taken away from her mother too soon, for a long time she would always have to be on someone's lap, it was awhile before she would sleep by herself. To this day, she's a lap cat, especially now in the winter. I'm sure yours will be better in a couple days!

 

[December99]

Well even this morning she seems to be doing a bit better. She was a bit more moving around and even ventured upstairs and has been up here since. She was even perky enough to see what was being made for breakfast!!!!

She definitely seems to be a lap cap - or as close to your lap as she can get. I did notice this morning that she indeed seems to have some seepage in her eyes - I'm assuming from the URI which I'll watch and try to keep cleaned out.

 

[lisajl]

That is probably what it is from. Good idea to clean it off with warm water. I am so glad she is beginning to feel better.

It is so nice to have a kitten in the family.