Seasonal Allergies? Or a cold?

patrick65

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I took Leona to the vet and they gave me some things that that took care of her lice problem both for her and my home. 

But now, it seems, I may have to go back. I don't know what the problem is, but she's sneezing a lot and she sounds congested (she rumbles when she eats and I can hear the congestion in her breathing when I hold her).

I asked the vet if cats can have seasonal allergies (I'm told they can get everything we can get), and she said, "All animals have seasonal allergies." I don't know if that's literally true or if she was indulging in hyperbole. She also told me that cats can get colds, although she seemed to imply that that was unusual. What can I give her to help her feel better? She sounds awful, although she's still eating and reasonably active. She's still affectionate and likes to lick my nose. 

I've had many cats throughout my life. I just never saw one sneeze and sound congested before.
 

talkingpeanut

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She should go back to the vet. This sounds like an upper respiratory infection.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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If it IS allergies, she might actually need to take allergy pills (Zyrtec or something similar),  however, your Vet would need to tell you just how much.  If it's a UTI, sometimes those require antibiotics, sometimes not, depending on whether they are viral or bacterial.  What you need to keep an eye on is her appetite.  As long as it remains good, that's a very good sign.  If it wanes, that's a cause for concern.  If she gets too congested, you can  put her in a steamy bathroom to try to help with that.  Also, heating up her food to bring out the smell sometimes helps.  Luckily, doesn't sounds like you have that issue, at least not when you last posted.
 

cinqchats

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URI is what Mrsgreenjeans means. I'd start at assuming a URI and if you are still having issues, then start looking into the possibility of allergies. How old is Leona? My vet said that most cats with allergies don't develop them until they hit about 3-5 years of age. 
 

mrsgreenjeens

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URI is what Mrsgreenjeans means. I'd start at assuming a URI and if you are still having issues, then start looking into the possibility of allergies. How old is Leona? My vet said that most cats with allergies don't develop them until they hit about 3-5 years of age. 
 Oops....right you are! 
     URI!  Mea Culpa
 

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Hi there, I have a cat Honeybee who has asthma and gets colds a lot-here are some things to be on the look out for:

sneezing WITH discharge-just like people-if there is boogies and they are yellow or green-then it could be bacterial=if its clear it may be viral.

the post above mentioned steam baths-yes yes!!

The thing with colds=often viral=keep on the eating-if they stop eating then to the vets you go-they will do fluids and may prescribe antibiotics if it doesn't go away after two weeks-

Honeybee had to get subfluids 2/3 times a week because she refused to eat-then they gave us appetite stimulants but sounds like you don't need to do this yet-pretty much watch for change in color of nasal junk and lethargic not wanting to do normal cat things.

the winter is so tough on them. The other thing you can do is feed lysine in their wet food daily-sneezing is usually viral and I don't know if you have heard of herpes virus in cats that causes sneezing/eye discharge/general weeping of sinuses and lysine stops the virus from replication. It doesn't kill it-just doesn't allow the RNA to complete the chain and its an amino acid. Unfortunately the body does not store it.

Its been said that many cats have been exposed to the herpes virus-which is catchable by air droplets of sneezes and licks etc. The lysine will help keep It at bay=I suggest every kitty get on lysine if they have been exposed to other cats or have had sneezes etc in the past.

Stress will make it come out and be noticeable. I bought my lysine off Amazon-the NOW! brand is a 1 pound bottle. Tasteless and gritty and mixes well with wet food-I add it ontop of the canned food slurry that I make for my older kitty. the recommended dose is 500 mg which is about 1/4 teaspoon. When they have flairups you can go up to  1/2 teaspoon daily and 1/4 teaspoon for maintenance.

I saw with my own eyes it really helps clear up the junk but takes a few days to get working-usually by the second week I notice a difference...

Let us know how Leona is doing.
 

mollyblue

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Not to replace the advice of your vet, but something you can try for the congestion in the meantime is steam treatments / and or the use of a vaporizer or humidifier.  I have a cat with lots of upper respiratory issues and every morning when I am cleaning the litter boxes, I start the shower as hot as it will go, and leave the shower door open and the bathroom door closed.  By the time I am done cleaning the litter box the room is pretty filled with steam, and I bring Snowy in.  She stays in the bathroom with me while I shower (again, I leave the shower door open a bit so the steam can escape).  After the shower, I wash her face (her eyes and nose always seem to be gunky... and she has chin/nose acne also)  Snowy also has dental issues so we brush out teeth. Right now this consists of me wetting a tooth brush and holding it out to her, she chews on it.  Not sure if its helping, we haven't been back to the vet, but she doesn't have bad breath!  Next she gets brushed.  She didn't care for the routine at first, but now when she gets congested, she will go sit in the bathroom and stare at the shower, it really does help, at least temporarily!  We also run a humidifier, and Snowy will sit right beside it, or sometimes on top if it.  She knows it makes her feel better. 
 

foxxycat

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Not to replace the advice of your vet, but something you can try for the congestion in the meantime is steam treatments / and or the use of a vaporizer or humidifier.  I have a cat with lots of upper respiratory issues and every morning when I am cleaning the litter boxes, I start the shower as hot as it will go, and leave the shower door open and the bathroom door closed.  By the time I am done cleaning the litter box the room is pretty filled with steam, and I bring Snowy in.  She stays in the bathroom with me while I shower (again, I leave the shower door open a bit so the steam can escape).  After the shower, I wash her face (her eyes and nose always seem to be gunky... and she has chin/nose acne also)  Snowy also has dental issues so we brush out teeth. Right now this consists of me wetting a tooth brush and holding it out to her, she chews on it.  Not sure if its helping, we haven't been back to the vet, but she doesn't have bad breath!  Next she gets brushed.  She didn't care for the routine at first, but now when she gets congested, she will go sit in the bathroom and stare at the shower, it really does help, at least temporarily!  We also run a humidifier, and Snowy will sit right beside it, or sometimes on top if it.  She knows it makes her feel better.
molly have you tried Lysine? It really helps. It takes a week or so to start seeing a noticeable change. It helps my elderly cat with her eyes, otherwise we were doing ointment in the eyes but the lysine seems to really help. and it is also good for the heart.
 
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patrick65

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Leona and I just got back from the vet. It seems the poor thing has an upper respiratory infection. But with a shot of antibiotics and some vitamins for me to give her, she should be protected from any secondary infections. The virus, like the common cold, simply has to run its course. You cannot cure it. It could take one to two weeks.

We came to this conclusion based upon her symptoms. She still eats, drinks, sleeps and plays normally, but she's coughing and sneezing a lot. She once sneezed on my computer while sitting on my lap. Her discharge was clear. (The doctor said that was a relatively good sign; apparently, if it were yellow, there'd be a greater cause for concern.) No, she does not have diarrhea and is not vomiting. Just sneezing and coughing.

Leona did not have a good time, unfortunately. They took her temperature, and they did not ask her to lift her tongue. They lifted something else on her, on the other end. She's running a slight fever. The temperature would be alarming on humans, but in the case of cats, it was only slightly elevated (a little over 103). Again, that is alarming in a human being, but not so much in a cat, who normally runs a temperature of 101.5-102.5.

The shot part she didn't like either. They had to reposition her for this, because when they gave her a shot in the usual way last time, she suddenly lashed at the doctor. A lovely young lady whose surname is Love. So, Leona goes to visit Dr. Love.

I'm impressed by the ways they have to restrain cats for unpleasant procedures without hurting them. They restrained her for her temperature and the shot. They even showed me a good way to put Leona in her carrier when she's in a foul mood. Normally, I just urge her into the carrier, but the best way seems to be to angle the carrier upwards (almost so it's standing on end, you can hold it between your legs), pick her up and put her in backwards.

Edit: And because someone asked, Leona is 2 years, 10 months. Technically, still a kitten, as cats are not adults until they reach three.
 
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cinqchats

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Ms Jilly also had the unfortunate experience of the thermometer in the rear end- but after they got her temp, she wouldn't let go! Haha!

Leona will feel much better soon. If you notice she is having very frequent URI's, start keeping a log of them and what is happening in her environment, such as changes around the house, pollen levels outside, new food or laundry detergent or litter, etc. You could notice a pattern that would help the vet make a diagnosis. 
 

mollyblue

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molly have you tried Lysine? It really helps. It takes a week or so to start seeing a noticeable change. It helps my elderly cat with her eyes, otherwise we were doing ointment in the eyes but the lysine seems to really help. and it is also good for the heart.
Yes, Snowy was on the lysine gel for 9 or 10 months.  We have slacked off on giving that to her as she has been doing much better and there was some controversy over lysine not too long ago, and Snowy doesn't really like it, so if she starts acting like she doesn't feel well, we start giving it to her again, but not daily anymore.
 
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