Go the the vet for a cold?

My cat Max has been sneezing for a day or two. He is eating well, a bit less playful than usual, but generally seems fine. He is not having trouble breathing (that I can tell) and he doesn't seem congested, just sneezing.

Is this cause for a trip to the vet? Can I take a "wait and see" attitude and take him if he seems to get worse or not better? Do these things clear up on their own like they do in people?

Please don't flame me, I just really want to know. I hate to take him to the vet and traumatize him for no reason.

Thanks!

You need to go with your cat to the vet . No a could is not clearing up by itself by a cat , but it can get worse .
Just on wednesday I went with 2 cats to the vet . One were just snezzing every day a ltttle , out of experiance I know it is more and sure enough he had some kind of viral infection (sp) .
So please let your vet see your cat , the longer you wait the worse it could get with your cat . The longer you may need to treat him/her with meds and that sure is no fun .
You can buy some feliway spary to spary the carrier with out the cat insite , and it will calm your cat down .

OK. You convinced me. I called the vet and they said the same thing, that he should be brought in. My appointment is at 6:30pm. Thanks! (Now I just hope my other cat doesn't catch it!)

Weird When I brought both my cats to the vet after I got them from the shelter they were both sneezing and the vet said it was a mild cold and would go away on its own. She never gave me meds for either of them and their little colds both cleared up on their own.

She had told me that if their eyes and/or nose were mucuous or runny that's when they would need antibiotics.

Anyway I'm sure its just a little cold.. hope kitty feels better soon

Sicy a cat cold is a upper rasporatory infection (sp) and will not go away by its own . With Cookie now , all what he did was sneezzing over the day a little bit . There was no mucuous or anything els , just the sneezing . I forgot where I read the article about cat cold wont go away by itself , sorry .Maybe some body else can explain it better then I do .

There really is no medication for viral infections. Often times my vet will prescribe antibiotics ONLY to prevent opportunistic bacterial infections when they are really sick. He does not give drugs out for simple sneezing and I no longer take them in for that.

I DO take them in when sneezing gets persistent, loss of appetite, lasts longer than a few days, lethargy, change in behavior, or there is any sign of mucosy eye/nose discharge.

As in humans, overuse of antibiotics can lower their effectiveness overall and build a tolerance to the drug that might be essential for more serious illnesses later on. IMO, if a vet prescribes drugs every time a cat sneezes, he is not looking at the overall welfare of your cat.

Originally posted by PurrfectCatlove
Sicy a cat cold is a upper rasporatory infection (sp) and will not go away by its own .

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Hedi, both of my cats had MILD cases of URI and they both went away on their own.

All they had was sneezing. No runny eyes/nose, no loss of appetite or change of behaviour.. but they did catch sneezes from the shelter before I brought them home.

My vet told me they would go away on their own. Within a couple weeks the sneezing stopped.. for both of them, at two entirely different occasions.

It's like a human cold. You can take as much medicine as you want but it's not going to cure your cold, it will alleviate symptoms but that's all until the cold can run its course.

Cheryl, I hope your cat gets better soon. Hopefully it's just a small cold.

Koa has a runny nose but he's not sneezing, coughing, and there's no discharge from his eyes. I'm going to wait 'til the beginning of next week if anything. He's eating just fine too.

It's sometimes a difficult judgement call to make. We all don't go to the doctor when we have colds, but then again, we can intrepret our illness. Cats can't tell you when they are sick and you have to judge by their symptoms and behaviors. If at all in doubt, you are better to refer to your vet, but I do know that I have been turned away more than once as being a worry wart. Time and experience with your baby ultimately becomes your guide.