Sneezing?

Possibly overreacting again, but I always like to "ask the experts" to keep me from worrying too much.

Sophie has been sneezing periodically...not constantly, but often enough that I've taken notice. It's not really consistent - I might have heard her sneeze 2 times today, some days a dozen times, and some days not at all - but I've read here that sneezing is one of the few outward signs of a URI. I also occasionally (even less often) think I detect a slight nasally edge to her purr.

Is this something that warrants immediate vet attention? She's going to have to go in for her rabies shot in a little over a week, and I always insist on a vet visit instead of just a tech appointment when she goes for shots, so that her umbilical hernia can be monitored. I'm currently unemployed so money is excruciatingly tight, but if these occasional signs alone are enough to be cause for alarm, I'll see what I can scrape together. She was just treated for roundworms, so I'm concerned that she could end up with pneumonia because of the way they travel through the body.

She's had no nasal discharge, and I've noticed only extremely minor eye discharge (some is normal for dogs, not sure about cats?) on occasion (although not for the past few days). Behavior/energy levels/etc seem about normal for her.

So, is this Immediate Vet material, or is it safe to wait and monitor her a bit? As I said above, my financial situation is very bad at the moment, and I don't want to be overzealous now and then not have the funds to have her spayed immediately when she's old enough (my vet won't spay until 6 months, but because of the hernia I want her in there the SECOND she's old enough).

Any advice would be appreciated.

My personal feeling is, if I would post about it on here its worth going to the vet

But there is little a vet can do for URI and with only slight discharge and a few sneezes it does not sound like she has a major problem. However if she does have URI they probably will not vaccinate her (or at least shouldnt) so you may be paying for an office visit for no reason and have to go back and pay a second time. Could you make the rabies appt any sooner?

What color is the nasal discharge? If it's clear, then there's really no concern; it's probably a tickle in her nose, dust, or airborne allergens. If the discharge is either yellow, green, or some other color, then definitely take her to the vet because there's something going on. Is she rubbing her ears and eyes with her paws more than normal or scratching her ears with her back paw?

What about the eye discharge? Is it runny and clear? Again, clear is okay but anything colored needs to be addressed by the vet. Also, anything goopy ("eye boogers") is a cause to go to the vet. It's usually thicker and more the consistency of mucus, not watery.

I've got a chronic sneezer and sometimes when the weather changes (front blows in, rain comes, windy, for example), she'll sneeze. Also, when the air dries out during the winter, she's more sneezy, snotty sounding, and has a more raspy purr. She also has feline herpes and it manifests itself in URIs, so I'm always on guard with her.

We've found that when she's sneezy and snotty sounding, a steam in the bathroom will help clear her up. Just get your bathroom nice and steamy, take kitty into the bathroom and close the door with her in there with you. Sit with her until the steam dissipates. I usually do this when I take my morning shower, so my cat's in there for about 10-15 mins. It really helps clear up the mucous and helps them breather easier. We also run a vaporizer at night during the winter months to help add some humidity to the room.

Call your vet tomorrow - it won't cost you a thing to ask for a vets advice. If she is getting sick, though, she can't have her rabies vac till she's well.

Is she an only cat - or is there even any way a virus could have been introduced? If not, make sure to tell the vet this in case it could be something else.
In my experience, unless your pets are coming in contact with a virus somehow or a carrier they shouldn't get an (viral) URI. Due to being very careful, the last URI cat I dealt with was Sho nearly seven years ago.

I do however have one that has issues with dust. Regular house dust and clay dust makes him sneeze and bothers his eyes. So if it's not a virus it could be something around the house.

My cat sneeze's when she gets all worked up.

URI droplets can remain on your clothes etc (between hours and weeks depending on the virus type) so it really could have come from anywhere and some cats can bring on URI through stress

Originally Posted by icklemiss21

URI droplets can remain on your clothes etc (between hours and weeks depending on the virus type) so it really could have come from anywhere

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Probably why I've haven't had issues so far - if I'm around strange cats I won't let them that close to my clothing, if they do I strip before coming inside and everything goes right in the washer.
I'll change clothes after being at the vets (and hospital), too. Extreme, but good precautions for people to try to remember.

I am the same but we have had a lot of sick cats come into the shelter recently and I am usually in the isolation room at some point

We have people who get mad at us asking them to wash their hands between handling the cats in the shelter

If I had an occasional sneezer, I would watch for one more indication of a virus — changes in appetite, vomiting, issues in the litter box, runny eyes, hoarse meow, or lethargy, for example — before dashing to the vet.

Keep watch over that eye discharge. Make sure it's really normal and that you aren't seeing an excess amount and that the eyes are bright, clear, and not irritated.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Probably why I've haven't had issues so far - if I'm around strange cats I won't let them that close to my clothing, if they do I strip before coming inside and everything goes right in the washer.
I'll change clothes after being at the vets (and hospital), too. Extreme, but good precautions for people to try to remember.

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Six weeks ago, I'd have thought your method was extreme. But after nursing two cats with calicivirus for a month (and it may be coming back), I'm going to follow your example.

Fiona is my sneezy girl. She has discharge from her eyes always, but it is clear. If it was dark yellow/green/black I would be concerned of an infection.

Fiona has the feline herpes virus. She has had an infection once in shelter custody and once in my custody. I would say from what you are saying you can wait till you see your vet in a week or two just keep an eye on changes like labored breathing (like she is really stuffed up) or changes in color of disharge, as well as the "goes without saying" not eating well or litter habits changing etc.

But make sure to bring it up to your vet when you see them in the next few weeks.

L-Lysine is a good thing to help with a kitties immune system. If you type into into the search here it will bring up a ton of info for you! Good luck!! Also, I keep my home humid by using a humdifier in the drier months. It helps very much!

usually if i notice sneezing i monitor the frequency and check for unusual discharge. if my kitty seems energetic i'll wait and see, otherwise i'll go in right away.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Probably why I've haven't had issues so far - if I'm around strange cats I won't let them that close to my clothing, if they do I strip before coming inside and everything goes right in the washer.
I'll change clothes after being at the vets (and hospital), too. Extreme, but good precautions for people to try to remember.

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that's a solid piece of advice. the one time i didn't take my scrubs off outside my kitten ended up with ringworm.

Wow, so much good info here, thanks everyone!

Little Sneezy has been fine over the past 48 hours, and I've heard maybe 2 sneezes from her during that entire time. Her eyes haven't been running at all, but I have noticed the tiniest bit of clear nasal discharge - if she head-butts my hand for an ear-scratch, I can feel the littlest bit of moisture, not even enough to really see. She's been otherwise bright, energetic, and affectionate, totally normal eating and toilet behaviors.

I have no other cats, just dogs, but I'm in the vet's office at least once every week - I have a 13-year-old yellow lab with diabetes so I have to pick up insulin - and I had no idea that germs were so easily transmitted, so I'm definitely going to make sure I'm very careful to "clean up" before seeing her after a visit there.

That said, based on what everyone has described (and the fact that my occasional-sneezer has been otherwise okay), I am no longer in panic mode. It DOES seem to get dusty in this house very quickly, and she's always getting into those tight corners that you can just never seem to get totally dust-free. It's also pretty dry...I use space heaters a lot to supplement the heat (especially in the bedroom, where I have the heater vent blocked off b/c the cover isn't attached safely - can't have kittens in the heating ducts!!), and they seem to suck all the moisture right out of the air.

We had some "steam time" in the bathroom today..she is a water baby, loves playing in the sink and splashing in the "puddles" left behind in the bathtub, but wow, does she hate the steam! She's fine until it starts to build, and then she starts hollering to be let out. If it's good for her though, then we'll deal with it!

Oh, and for the record, I was hesitant to call the vet only because, like all vets I've known (and my own doctor, for that matter), their answer to everything is usually "we can't really say for sure without seeing her - why don't you bring her in?" They've brought me through a LOT with my old, sick dog (and they have been helpful, even waiving emergency fees after staying well past closing time), so I'm confident that they mean well...but my budget is nonexistent, so I have to be really careful. And since I have a penchant for overreacting any time either of them so much as twitches, that can be a hard balance to maintain.

Will continue keeping a very close eye on her, trying to keep the air from getting too dry (she already insists on hanging out in the bathroom while I shower, so that part's covered!), and keeping the dust at bay, and see what happens!

Thanks again to all! I'll update if anything changes.

Thanks for the update! I'm glad she's okay!

If you don't want to spring for a humidifier in your bedroom (I find them annoying to clean, personally), you might try a vaporizer from CVS. They do a great job of adding pure, warm moisture to the air, especially if you follow the directions about using salt. I notice a real difference when I come into my apt. after one has been running for awhile in the bedroom, and they are supposed to make the air feel warmer, too.

The vaporizer is only slightly less annoying to clean, but it really does a good job.