Sneezing and hiccuping kitty, oh my!

Well, Cleopatra has yet another question for me to ask you. She went to the vet on Saturday, and he gave her a clean bill of health, no problem.

A couple of hours later, at home, she started sneezing. She had little bouts of sneezing for a few hours. I trie calling the vet's office, but they were already closed for the day (must keep in mind that the vet's office closes at noon on Saturdays). I tried calling another clinic, who told me to just keep an eye on her, and bring her in if necessary (and apparently, the exam would cost ~$73).

I was in pretty dire need of rest myself that day, so I just took a nap on the couch, and let her sleep cuddled up to me. By that evening, her sneezes were gone. On the other hand, I think she's sneezed once yesterday, and she sneezed once today after I got home from work. She's also had bouts of hiccuping pretty much over this entire week.

Is this something I should be greatly worried about? Is it necessary to take her to the vet? I'm not sure that I can get off of work to do it, but I may be able to take her Saturday if she needs it.

Thanks again to all you wonderful people for answering all my questions. This is still pretty new to me, and I'm hoping that I'm managing to be a good mommy.

I've never heard of a cat hicupping....it doesn't sound dangerous....just keep an eye on it...make sure that she is still eating and drinking. Hopefully she doesn't hiccup as she's trying to eat and choke.....just like we can do.

Hopefully they'll subside soon. Would it be abusive to sneak up behind her and 'scare' her out of the hiccups????

There might be dust or pollen thats bothering her. Mine can sneeze like that then it passes. I've also had a couple of them that had the hiccups. It usually doesn't last too long. Like people its a little indigestion.

Good to know it's probably not too serious, then. I was afraid she might have suddenly gotten a URI. What are th esymptoms of that, that I ought to look out for?

The symptoms of URI is sneezing, runny nose, runny eyes and sometimes sores on the mouth. If your cat is constantly doing it then it should be checked by a Vet. Mine can have spurts of sneezing then it goes away. I don't know if the hiccuping is related, I don't believe so, with mine its when they eat their food to fast.

hmmm............... the only one of those Cleopatra has is sneezing, and it's not constant, either. I guess she's ok, then. I'll just try to make sure she eats, drinks, and stays warm...

It's probably dust or pollen, I know a few times if I'm dusting one of them will start sneezing.

Well, I talked to a friend at work today about Cleopatra. Basically, her symptoms are about the same as before, except yesterday, when I got home from work, she sneezed for about 5-10 minutes straight, and then calmed down. My friend thought that she might have Bordatella. She recommended a vet (I love recommendations!) that she uses, and I have an appointment with them tomorrow morning, unless I cancel it beforehand. I'll be keeping an eye on her tonight.

Only issue is, it's in Round Rock, about 20 minutes or so from where I live, and I'm actually not all that used to driving yet, so I'll be taking the feeder roads for as long as I can, which is going to extend the drive. And so far, the longest drive Cleopatra's been on in her carrier was to the other vet last week, about 5 minutes. And I held her in my lap, as my fiance was driving - tomorrow, I'd probably be driving alone. I'm also a bit worried about the fact that I've had Cleopatra about two weeks, and this will be the second time I've taken her to the vet.

Any opinions on any of this?

I would go to the Vet and have her checked out.

She'll be fine in her carrier to the Vet. Please do not let her loose in the car while you're driving...that is so dangerous for both you and for kitty.

She may complain and not like it, but honestly, it won't hurt her. Make sure there's air flow arouond her cage if your car doesn't have AC.

I think taking her to the Vet is a good idea...sneezing that much is exasperating...and it's a good idea to try to find out what's causing it...you don't want a blood vessel to be damaged under the strain of all that sneezing.

Just drive to your comfort level if you're not used to driving...you'll get more confident as time goes on.

Good luck and I hope your kitty feels better soon.

If she is sneezing as soon as you come near her, she could be sensitive to a smell from your car, a lotion that you wear, or a perfume that you use, or a shampoo... etc.

But I would take her to the vet, too, just to feel better. She will be ok. If she meows while she is in the carrier, do not worry too much. 20 minutes isn't a super long drive. You with both be ok.

You are doing a good job.

for your baby!

It is a good idea to take her, mine didn't sneeze that much from the dust. It might still be dust or something, but its better that the Vet says it.

You'll feel better after you get, I hope, an all-clear from the new vet. But, I also agree never to carry a cat loose in the car - just potentially too dangerous for everyone involved, including other drivers. It's usually suggested you put cat in carrier in back seat, and a lot of carriers are able to be buckled in as well, which may help if you have to come to a sudden stop or get in an accident.

You might want to type up a list of symptoms and chronology for the vet - I always somehow forget to tell them something as we go along. Might help in the diagnosis.

My Dharma cries too, in the car, but honestly, she's ok - I'm probably more perturbed than she really is.

Good luck - Cleo is so lucky to have such a caring mom.

Thank you all so much for the advice! Especially on keeping her in the carrier in the backseat.

I actually just had another thought that I think settles any remaining doubt I might have had.

When a cat coughs, can it look and sound as though she's coughing up a hairball?

There have been times the past couple of days (mainly in the mornings), where she starts looking and sounding as though she's trying to get a hairball up (I usually try to carry her downstairs if I can, on the theory that if she throws up on the floor, it'll be much easier to clean up than on the carpet -somebody please stop me if I shouldn't be doing this). Either as soon as I pick her up or very shortly after (definitely by the time I set her down downstairs), she's fine. No coughing or hacking, no sneezing, and no hairball to be found.

I think I'd been forgetting about it because it always stops, and she's fine (or maybe wishful thinking that it doesn't mean anything), but I just remembered that now. Definitely, to the vet we go tomorrow!

Well, Cleopatra went to the vet today (I got lost on the way there, but we managed all right). I tried to seatbelt the carrier in the backseat, but the belt wouldn't stretch all the way around, so I ended up keeping her on the floorboard behind the driver's seat (I'm short, so the seat was already as far forward as it could go).

Anyway, the vet said that she did have an upper respiratory infection, but that it was still in the early stages, and prescribed some antibiotics for her, and the vet tech showed me how to give her the dosage over there, so I'll start tomorrow. I like this vet's office MUCH better than the one I took her to for her wellness exam last week.

I was planning to get her FVCRP vaccine done this weekend, but as she's now on antibiotics, that has been postponed until the vet gives me the ok (the shelter had told me to get her revaccinated by the 29th).

Watching her this week, she has been losing weight since I got her (she's a little over 2 pounds at the moment). I'm hoping that she can be done with the antibiotics fairly quickly, and start growing again. I'll be calling the vet on Monday for an update on her progress, and hopefully she'll be a happy, hungry, playful kitten again soon.

The antibiotic he put her on is Zithromax, according to the receipt (apparently they mixed it themselves). Has anyone had any experience with this before? Are there any side effects I should be expecting? How long did you have to keep giving it?

On another note, my parents are visiting today, and they brought a bunch of toys and a pet bed that we had originally gotten for our cat, Cleo, a long time ago, and Cleopatra seems to like the pet bed (at the very least, she's gotten into it on her own a couple of times). Of course, at the moment, she's sleeping next to my mom on the couch.

Thank you for all your help, guys! If I hadn't found this site, I might never have suspected the URI in the first place.

Prayers and that her recovery is speedy.

That's great that you got her to a Vet, and are able to stop the URI before it turned into something nasty.....good for you!

I'm sure once she starts feeling better, she'll start eating more and will gain weight.

I've had to give my cats antibiotics from time to time, and have never had a reaction. I'm not familiar with that particular one....I hope all goes well.

I bet your Mom enjoyed having Cleopatra snoozing beside her.....