Soleil is sneezing

Soleil has been sneezing ever since I got her last Sunday. I brought her to the vet on tuesday, but they said that she seems to be in good health (no fever, no runny nose, no watery eyes) and they couldn't explain her sneezing. She has still been sneezing ever since. It's not often but in between there is always one sneeze.

Could it be an allergy? Or is she asmatic? She is also panting after a long and tiring round of playing. Any ideas?


For those who don't know Soleil yet: She is 6 weeks (a rescue from the streets), 870 g (As of last Tuesday), female. I am currently keeping her on pine litter but will switch to clay today or tomorrow. And she is on wet food.

She also doesn't drink water - so I add water to her wet food. And if you have any tips on how to get her to drinke water... right now she is only dipping her paws in it, but that's a different story

After long play session, panting can be normal, but you may want to have the vet check her heart on her next visit. It's possible that she has a minor upper respiratory infection causing the sneezing. If so, you may want to check with your vet about giving her some L-lysine to see if that helps the cold pass more quickly.

As for the water, offer her a variety of water containers in different places. Willow prefers to drink out of cups, so I put a small drinking glass on the window sill for her. I also have a metal bowl on the bookcase that she drinks from, and a glass bowl on the fireplace. I've used water fountains in the past (which she liked) but now that Odo is around I can't use them any more (he attacks her while she drinks from the fountain).

Since you're feeding canned food, I wouldn't worry too much about her not drinking water. Willow drinks a good amount because she mainly eats dry food. Odo, however, only drinks water if I've given him a little dry as a treat--the rest of the time he only eats the canned food and doesn't bother with the water bowl. I have started adding hot water to the second half of his daily can so that it both warms the food and gets extra fluids into his system--since he's a senior, he needs the extra water to help his kidneys.

Do you happen to use a carpet-fresh type thing on your rugs? Dash seemed to have been sensitive to it. When we stopped using it, he stopped sneezing. Our other cats didn't have a problem with it, but he did.

As for drinking water, Cats are picky. if anything gets into their bowl, and tastes nasty, they will avoid the bowl because they think it will taste bad. Maybe a kitty-fountain to keep the water fresh? Dash tends to drink out of the faucet. We leave it on since it's winter so the pipes don't freeze up. He seems to enjoy it.
But if your cat is on wet food, she probably won't be drinking as much water anyway. If your worried, you can check to see if she's dehydrated by gently pulling a bit of skin up, like a mother cat would hold her kitten, and letting go. if it goes back quickly, she's hydrated. if it takes a while, then she needs more water.

Originally Posted by Eudevie

If your worried, you can check to see if she's dehydrated by gently pulling a bit of skin up, like a mother cat would hold her kitten, and letting go. if it goes back quickly, she's hydrated. if it takes a while, then she needs more water.

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Wow! I'll test it straight away.

I am more worried for future times, that she just may not drink enough. Right now she is peein a lot so I think the water I add to the wet food is giving enough fluid.

I will check with the vet again on the sneezing. She really doesn't seem to be sick. She will jsut sneeze randomly.

Btw. Can cats catch human colds?? My BF is sick at the moment..., but Soleil was already sneezing before he was sick. I'm just worried she may catch somehting because she is so tiny...

Nope, the human cold viruses are different from the kitty cold viruses. It's just a coincidence.