How can I get Shunra to sneeze and clear out her thtuffy nose?

Poor sweetie has a cold that seems a bit more severe than we've had in the past. Last night & today, I gave her antibiotics, which I do very rarely, and it helped her quite a bit. She's breathing easily, eyes aren't runny, isn't coughing, and sneezing much less. She is pretty comfy right now, snoring away at my feet. But her nose is stuffed, she doesn't quite know how to deal with it (she keeps trying to suck it in and swallow, KWIM?) and it's obvious she would be much more comfortable if we could un-stuff it. Telling her "Blow!" has not helped  .

If I could only get a big honking A-Choo! out of her, along with all the mucous, she would feel so much better. Is there any benign substance that won't harm her or us, an herb or spice or something, that might tickle her nostrils into letting out a big sneeze? Or anything else I could try to ease the discomfort? She was suspicious when I tried to lure her into a steamy bathroom, so that's out.

More generally, I have a humidifier going and today I will start giving them Lysine as a supplement because I understand it is good for boosting their immune system. Our two kitties - first pets ever! - are former ferals who have lived indoors for about three years and are patiently  teaching us how to serve them best . 

TIA from me, gentle honk-shu's from Shunra, and M'rrrrow from Boo.

Don't you just wish you can hold a tissue up to her nose and say, "Blow!"??? 

A vaporizer will help soothe her nasal passages and help her breathe.  Also, steaming her in the bathroom helps break up the snot and get it out.  Cats don't sneeze to remove snot; they swallow it.  If it's been a short time since she's had a URI, you might want to have her tested for Feline Herpes.

BLOW! LOL! Of course that's exactly what I was thinking. And I was wishing I could use one of those aspirator-thingies we used on the kids when they were babies, that sucked out the gunk from their noses. But my babies - the human ones, that is - didn't have ten sharp claws, LOL.

Right now, after the second dose of antibiotics, she is much improved. It's frustrating, because the antibiotics are effective and work quickly, but you can't use them too often, either.  

She stopped doing that thing you described, swallowing to get the snot down, so for now I'll leave her little nostrils alone. She seems less congested and her breathing is easier too, no sneezing or wheezing.

I have a humidifier going but I'm not sure that's the same as a vaporizer. I will check that out. I wanted a better one anyway so I'll get one that's good for the kitties too. She refused to be lured into the bathroom, so sweating it out didn't work.

She is just feral enough that it's impossible to restrain her without terrifying her, so we only went to the vet once after the first time, when she got basic shots and was neutered. She does get mild colds - this week it was out-and-out congestion and sneezing, but usually it's just some sniffles.So she might have Feline Herpes, but basically we just follow good habits to keep her as healthy as possible. So far, so good *crosses fingers*. 

I just learned about Lysine and started giving it to both of them. Maybe that will strengthen her immune system a little bit in general.

Thanks for the good advice!

Saline nasal drops will also help! We use it very often here with the sick fosters. It clears out nasal passages, but it does make them sneeze out the yuckiness as well. Good luck hun!

Glad to hear she's feeling better. Her name caught my eyes - it was the name of my first cat website, in Hebrew Of course, technically, it's Aramaic, but everyone knows it from the Seder

Anne said:

Glad to hear she's feeling better. Her name caught my eyes - it was the name of my first cat website, in Hebrew

Of course, technically, it's Aramaic, but everyone knows it from the Seder

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Yes indeed! And you are the first person to instantly make the connection. Do you still have the site? I have found Shunra in the results when I searched in Hebrew, so I think it might be a bit more common in Israel. But IIRC, I also saw it in relation to non-cat topics, like the name of a women's group or similar. 

They were both feral, and when I had to fill in names on their TNR forms, I called them Zeeskeit and Meeskeit *. But they are both very "zees" and neither is "mees," so we had to change that. Shunra's name was instantly obvious. She is a dignified lady. The boy is Boo, but he thinks his name is Boogetdownfromthere!

* (For English-only Catsters, it's from Yiddish [and German]: Meeskeit = Uggo, and Zeeskeit = Sweetie Pie.)

And yes, Shunra is doing well and is much happier (and not dripping snot).

Thank you, Kailie! I actually have some sterile saline drops, I will keep that in mind. She wouldn't be happy about it but if it's necessary I think I might be able to dose her... once. 

Glad she's feeling better!  You can use one of those baby aspirator thingies to suck the snot out if you need to.  Just make sure she continues eating.

No, I'm afraid I no longer run that site. I shut it down over a decade, then I focused on TCS instead. It was a relatively small site, though it did create a local buzz back then in the early days of the internet.

By the way, I don't know any Yiddish to speak of, so I needed that translation as well :lol3: