Allergy season?

Hi - I was wondering if any of you are seeing more allergy symptoms in your cats this year? 

 I believe my cat Taz is showing allergy signs, but frankly I don't remember her ever having anything like this. She was due for another Depo shot last weekend for her rodent ulcer, but I put it off since it was 99% resolved. I will be calling my vet tomorrow for them to see her if her new symptoms aren't considerably better when I come home form work. I just hate bringing her in unless I absolutely have to since she was a feral kitten and hates the vets more than anything. It stresses her out more than I can say. She gets very violent and it will be hard for me to hold her so they can listen to her chest.

 So what she's doing started with normal sounding sneezes last week. Just one or two, here and there. Then she started this sound, and honestly I can't tell if it's a cough or a sneeze. If it were me, it's be exactly what I sound like when I sneeze with swollen sinuses. I looked up tons of youtube vids for asthma, and she isn't doing any of that - unless she's atypical. No hacking, no out stretched neck, nothing that mimics coughing up a hairball. She suddenly gives several quick sneeze/barks. When she does she gives a tiny quick partial shake/twist of the head (like a sneeze) then she makes a licking motion and swallows. That part reminded me of the asthma vids. I hear a whispy whistle in her nose about 50% of the time, mostly when she purrs. When she grooms, she makes the most God-awful snorty snotty sound. I can hear congestion in her nose. She has been shaking her head now and then. Today I thought I heard a crackle in her lungs for the first time, that's why I'm calling the vet tomorrow.

 No discharge, no weepy eyes, she's slightly lethargic, I'd say she's slowed down 25%. No fever. Appetite is down slightly too, but she's eating and drinking fine, just eating a little less at the bowl.

 Now I have two crabapples right outside my living room windows that are in bloom, not to mention rows of white pine and Bradford pear 40 ft away. Flower beds surround the windows too, but I don't think their pollen is doing much right now. I did start a home improvement project the day before this all started - that's why I'm really, really hoping this is allergies. I'm laying new sub floor over my old (involves freshly cut plywood & caulk gun adhesive) and then I'm mixing and laying down poly thinset mortar and concrete backer board, and more mortar and tile. Then grout. I admit even MY throat is sore and my sinuses are stopped up since starting this, my throat burns and my eyes are watery - I'm running an air purifier in the room for all it's worth.

 So what do you think? 

 I will take her to the vets, I'm just wondering what allergy symptoms can be like if it's respiratory...

Yes on the allergies big time but your cat's symptoms sound much more like an upper respiratory infection which needs antibiotics. I'd get her to the vet asap. She's going to stop eating soon if she can't breath or smell anything and a URI is very dangerous in a cat. I know you said you hate bringing her but this is very, very important.

Thanks, I've been looking at online articles on URI, FIP and allergies, and I'll be calling my vets tomorrow...I tend to think it's a URI too.

If she gets any worse tonight, make sure to take her to an ER. If she gets fluid in her lungs, she's in trouble. If she sounds like she's gurgling, she may need to go sooner than later. Make sure she doesn't develop a fever. Tell the vet in the morning that she needs to be seen asap!!!

I won't be able to see my vet until after 4pm. Missing more than 5 days of work within 6 months is grounds for termination where I work. I had a dislocated hip two weeks ago that kept me out of work 3 days. That puts me at 4 days in 4 months. No job = no care for the cats, so it's a balancing act. I understand the urgency, but this isn't a perfect world. I will do the best I can for her! So far she isn't showing any signs of getting worse, fingers crossed until tomorrow...I will update this as soon as I know something.

I just discovered that what I thought was allergies last spring was probably a kitty cold.  (I discovered it when I took my cat in to the vet this spring and he had a fever/cold and had to go on antibiotics.  Another cat was also sneezing before that, so kitty colds for sure.  I was hoping it was allergies too.) 

I discovered l-lysine (recommended by my vet) and I ordered a powder from amazon and sprinkled in on my cats' food.  It helps the cat's immune system fight off certain viruses.  I think it helped my 3rd cat not get the cold.  Just thought I'd mention it in case you hadn't heard of it.

I understand, believe me. I'm sure she'll be okay. At least you're getting her in tomorrow, that's the important thing. keep us posted okay?

Well I just got home from the vets. I saw a stand-in vet since mine are on vacation, and she was very informative. I briefly considered cancelling the appointment since Taz is much better today, but I still wanted to be sure her lungs were clear and she had no fever. So; no fever, perfectly clear lungs - the diagnoses is possible allergies since it started when I started working on tiling the floors (mortar dust), or a relatively mild URI that may be improving. It's been 5 days and my other cat is showing no signs of the "cold" hence the possible allergy. Both of my cats are strictly indoor cats, btw. She gave me saline to put drops in her nose, and an antihistamine to use at my discretion if she turns worse. (Chlorpheniramine 2mg up to 3x a day) Taz put on a pound since she was last weighed - maybe 6 months ago? So she may have undetected fluid (although she is a pig and I indulge her). However I opted to forego the x-rays since she freaks out so much at the vet, and one thing this vet told me was that she heard a severe heart murmur when she listened to Taz's chest (something my regular vets have never done, btw. Not in all these years have they listened to her chest). On a scale of 1 - 6, she put the murmur at a solid 4. She said severe stressing at the vets could actually push Taz into a heart attack, that's why I opted out on the x-rays. Taz was a feral kitten and goes ballistic at the vets. She told me all the medical options, and the final outcome of either sudden death or congestive heart failure. Maybe tomorrow, maybe years from now, impossible to tell. So I am crushed to hear she has a murmur, but I'm glad I finally know about it. We went into a great deal of info - I was there an hour, so I won't get into all that here. 

 She did tell me her own red tabby male - my Taz is a red tabby female - was part of a study at Virginia Tech because he developed the same sinus wheeze Taz has, at the same age Taz is! It was then she found out that he too had a heart murmur. He was (and Taz is) nine at the time. He lived to be 14.

 So now I have more info and knowledge, and we will continue to enjoy every day she has left. I wonder how long she's had this murmur, and if she was even possibly born with it? Being fat isn't helping her, so I guess free-feeding the food has to stop...  

Thanks for listening  

Oh dear....so sorry to hear about the heart murmur.  But good news that her cat had the same exact thing and lived for five more years .  Is there anything you need to do for her heart, medication wise?

Can you find a mobile vet to cut down on her stress level?  I just discovered a mobile vet in our area that even does acupuncture!  'Course, I live in a large metropolitan area.  But maybe this "stand-in" vet might even consider making housecalls, since she had a cat with the same condition?