Cat sneezing

Hi all! I was hoping you could give me some advice on my sneezy cat and if I should take him into the vet.

My cat Finn has a URI history -- after I first adopted him in June, he developed URI symptoms (ocular discharge, squinty eyes, no nasal discharge though) and was on eye drops until it finally cleared up about 3-4 weeks later. Since then he takes Lysine treats every day and I've had no issues until I had to board him for a week and a half over the holidays. The vet where I boarded him is fantastic and updated me about his condition every other day. They said he developed some diarrhea which he had a history of during the URI and they put him on an antibiotic, which I'm still continuing now. When I picked him up last Thursday, I noticed immediately that he was sneezing. I took him home and monitored him, though his sneezing hasn't decreased in the past few days. He's settled back in very well, extra cuddly and seems more lethargic, though still eating and drinking and wanting to play. He has no other symptoms besides the sneezing and frequent nose grooming. I'm wondering if this is his URI rearing its head again because of the stress of being boarded. I'm not sure if I should take him back to the vet for them to tell me it's a viral infection, and have him go through that stress again if all he needs is R&R.

Any help would be very appreciated! He's a 1 y/o small DSH.

Since he was sneezing when you picked him up, did you ask the Vet where you boarded him about it? 

Most URI's are viral, but since he's already on antibiotics for his diarrhea, in case it's bacterial, that may cover it IF it's a UTI.  It's possible that since it's seasonal allergies though, since he doesn't have other symptoms like discharge from his eyes, congestion, etc. 

Maybe tomorrow you could contact the Vet and ask if there was anything going in the Boarding Area that him might have caught, and just tell them what is going on.  I would think unless they tell you otherwise, it's ok to just keep an eye on him and unless his behavior changes, no need t take him in.

Diarrhea is usually not correlated with an upper respiratory infection, and you said he tends to get diarrhea whenever his URI flares up, so my advice would be to test his stool for parasites or bacteria.  It's possible he has chronic herpesvirus (which can flare up in times of stress), but the diarrhea may be unrelated, so please have that checked out.  Hopefully the boarding facility did not have giardia floating around, it's unlikely, but you want to rule it out, and/or bacteria that he may have in the GI tract that has gone undetected before this.

Thank you so much! I was wondering about that with the antibiotic as well, if it would kick a bacterial respiratory infection. I didn't mention it because I didn't think it was relevant, but the reason he was on the antibiotic was because they did do a fecal stain and found an overgrowth of bacteria in his intestine, though I didn't think that was what led to the sneezing. So yes, the diarrhea has been checked out!

I'm going to give the vet a call and ask if they noticed the sneezing while he was there. I'll up his Lysine dosage too in case it is his URI, but I hadn't considered allergies! I'll ask about that too.

Thank you both again!

EDIT: Solid poop tonight! I was never so excited to see logs in the litter box before I got this kitty. Glad the diarrhea is improved, just need to tackle these sniffles of his!

Both of the times he's had these flare ups have been times of intense stress for him, moving to a new home and being boarded away from home. Stress is a big trigger for upper respiratory infections, but it could also be he has an underlying condition such as feline herpes. A simple feline PCR URD (upper respiratory disease) panel will tell you if he has herpes. 

The diarrhea isn't consistent with an upper respiratory infection, but is consistent with antibiotic use.  We always give our kitties a probiotic when they are on an antibiotic.  If you didn't take his regular food for them to feed, that may also be contributing to the diarrhea.

If he's the kitty in your profile pic, he's a cutie!

@stephanietx

Thank you so much! When I took him to the vet after I adopted him, they said it was a URI based on his symptoms, but I don't think he's ever had a PCR URD panel. I'll ask the vet about that as well, it'd be nice to know for certain what is causing these symptoms so I can better prevent them and manage them.

He was on his regular food (he has a sensitive stomach) and received a probiotic with the antibiotic! The vet said that the stress could have contributed to the bacteria growth as well.

That's him -- he's an adorable sweetheart! He's burrowed underneath my electric blanket on my lap purring right now, he's such a snuggler. Here's him today!


Again thank you so much for your help! I really want to pin down what these flare-ups are.

Oh my! So much cuteness!

It could very well be stress related, especially if he doesn't display the symptoms at home. You could always run Feliway diffusers at home and also spray his carrier with it as well as the exam room to help him.  I have to do this when I take my little boy to the vet.  Also, upping his lysine, or just using Lysine powder might help. We use lysine powder and mix into wet food.