Chronic Sneezing

jen

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My cat Willoughby whom I found in Walmart parking lot last August has sort of a chronic sneeze. It comes and goes, nothing nasty, not discharge really, nothing more then what would come out in a regular sneeze when your nose tickles. But for a few days he sneezes a lot and is a little sniffly.

Since it comes and goes, I wonder if it may be weather related? Occationally he will have a softer stool when the sneezing comes on more. I think it has been more since the weather warmed up recently. Nothing major, still eats and drinks and does everything else normally. Just wondering if I should maybe have him tested for anything in particular? Could he have like a mild chronic case of herpes or calici or something?

Background info: he is 4-5 years, neutered, very mellow and laid back and getting a little bit of a belly since I found him.
 

ktlynn

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Sneezing could be caused by anything from allergies to heart conditions.

When is the last time Willoughby was seen by a vet? Did he have bloodwork done?

If it's been awhile since he's been checked, and he hasn't had blood tests, it's a good idea to take him for an exam. Make sure the vet listens very carefully to his heart. HCM, or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a silent killer of cats at all ages. Not to scare you, but frequent sneezing can be a symptom of this. Chances are good that Willoughby is fine, though, and it's just a seasonal thing, but you want to rule out any serious conditions too.

BTW, great name! He's a lucky boy that you were at Wal-Mart the same day he was
 

mzjazz2u

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Jake is a chronic sneezer. But his is because of his chronic sinusitus due to his peke face. It would really be a good idea to bring it up to the vet and see what they say.
 

stephanietx

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My two kitties suffer from airborne allergies, esp. when the weather changes. I give them L-Lysine (500mg) a day except when I notice they're sneezing more or their eyes are watering more. Then I bump it up to 1000 mg.

Talk to your vet about the L-Lysine.

Stephanie
 

white cat lover

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Dory is a standard DSH. He has chronic sneezing & there is no vet cause...no allergies, etc. There are suspected causes from the condition he was in when I got him, but that's about it.
 
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jen

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I thought about getting him on some Lysine. Haven't done it yet though. I think I will look into it. He was at the vet for a check up when he was neutered and vaccinated. I don't have bloodwork done on cats who are being adopted out, at the time I had no intention of keeping him. He just sort of stuck around.

How will his heartrate be if he has HCM? I listen to his heart occationally because he is my practice for school. We are supposed to have the heart rate mastered by now, I still need some practice, it is hard to hear when they are purring!
 

ktlynn

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Jen, what a vet would listen for would be a heart murmur. Many cats have heart murmurs and live perfectly well with them. Sometimes though, a heart murmur can be an indication of more serious heart disease. Murmurs are rated 1 - 5 with the most serious being a 5.

If a vet heard a heart murmur that he thought was possibly significant, usually 2 and above, he might recommend an ultrasound of the heart. HCM can only be diagnosed using this test. The best person to do such an ultrasound would be a veterinary cardiologist.

It's a really good idea to have bloodwork done on Willoughby now, while he's young and healthy, so you'll have a baseline for him. He should have bloodwork done once each year, until he's a senior kitty, when every 6 months is better.
 
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jen

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I don't think we found anything when we listened to his heart. He had a normal heartbeat. I know what a heart murmur would sound like and he doesn't have one. I checked and my teacher checked as well as some of my classmates too. My teacher was a vet tech for 13 years and has had many animals with heart murmurs.

I will look into doing bloodwork though, thanks. We might be able to do it in class so it won't cost me anything.
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by Jen

How will his heartrate be if he has HCM? I listen to his heart occationally because he is my practice for school. We are supposed to have the heart rate mastered by now, I still need some practice, it is hard to hear when they are purring!
For cats that won't quit purring, my vet puts them next to the sink, with the water running. Usually the sight of running water makes them quit purring...although I would imagine if the sight of water is that scary, it would make their heart rate increase.
...but at least they quit purring!
 

momofmany

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I had a chronic sneezer (my OTB Bogart). He caught rhino when a young kitten and he had permanent respiratory problems his entire life. He most likely had Herpes, but we could never get it positively diagnosed. When the sneezing got really bad, we'd put him on antibiotics. He'd get them about 3-4 times a year and we'd switch out brands so that he wouldn't build a tolerance to them.

How productive are the sneezes? Not to be gross, but are you getting snot flying all over? Bogart was affectionately called "booger boy" from the trail of snot all over the house.
 
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jen

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just one sneeze here and there will produce flying snot, but not usually.
 

2furbabies

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Could be a URI. My cat sneezes also and usually doesn't product snot. A few week ago tons came out every time she sneezed. Turned out she had a URI. A week of antibiotics and she's back to new.
 
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