Reverse Sneezing

I have a 12 year old nuetered male (Buster) who has been on prednisone for about 6 years for suspected pancreantitis, IBD etc... Long time ago I weaned him down to the smallest possible dose (.25mg every other day). He did pretty well as far as vomiting was concerned, but I always wondered about long term. Recently I saw a new vet. He is off the pred totally and eating a very simple food (California Natural Chicken and Rice). He is doing very well. Vomited twice in 3 weeks, hair is growing back and coat is soft and shiny. The other boys have improved coats as well. They all like the food. Here is my question...
Last November he had a bought of reverse sneezing. I took him in and they took xrays to check lungs for signs of asthma. Found nothing, told me to up his pred because the steroid would be the treatment anyway. He didn't do it again until a few weeks ago. He is doing it more often that I am aware of. 6 episodes in 3 weeks aprox...had a fit just a little while ago. Does anyone have experience with this? I did some quick online research for Feline Asthma and his situation does not match. Just wondering how worried I should be...
Thanks for the help.

I don't have any experience with this in cats, but...

My mom's puppy does reverse sneezing. She was all freaked out and took him in and after $800 worth of tests, they determined it was nothing big. The vet said some animals just do this. With dogs at least, you can "stop" the reverse sneezing attack by pushing gently on the bridge of their nose (between their eyes) or stroking their throats.

You might ask your vet about whether any of this holds true with cats, too.

Good luck!

Thanks. I know this is much more common in dogs. Also, I said in my original post that he was getting .25 mg of pred...should have been 2.5...oops!

I am interested in the dose of prednisone as my Wellington takes it for asthma. The vet has him down to 1.25 mg (1/4 tablet) every other day as he is concerned about long term effects. But it doesn't totally control the attacks - he still has short episodes almost every day. I note that your cat has been taking a higher dose for 6 years - have you noticed any side effects?

He started out on a full 5 mg tablet every day. I have tried several times to wean him off it but the vomiting would always come back. Finally we settled on a routine of 2.5 mg every other day. If the vomiting came back...back to 5 mg for a few days. The pbvious physical side effects were weight gain and patchy bald spots. The new vet I took him to did some bloodwork and thankfully his kidney and liver functions were still within normal ranges. He did say that Buster was headed for trouble if he stayed on it much longer. He has been off the pred for about a month now and his bald spots are filling in already. He is also on a new food...California Natural Chicken and Rice. Very simple ingredient list. Easier on the digestive system. I just weighed him on the home scale at 15.4 lbs. Exactly the same as the vets scale a month ago. I don't expect he will lose very quickly just being off the pred. Does your cat do the reverse sneezing thing with asthma? Or is it more of a cough?

Sash has done the reverse sneezing for years now. When he had chronic bronchitis/asthma/allergies he would sometimes do it several times a day. When I first heard this it really scared me, because I didn't know what he was doing so I would call the vet and try to describe to her the sound he was making, and she didn't know she thought it was coughing and I said no it's not that. So, I was reading a lot of cat health books and I came across this "reverse sneeze" and that described exactly what he was doing! It's basically harmless and just means they are trying to clear out their nasal passages and yes it's much more common in dogs.

Sash rarely does this anymore, maybe once a month I hear him now and that's because of allergies which he will always have. He was never on prednisone, only antibiotics a few times for his sinus condition, which turned into chronic bronchitis/mild asthma. I rarely jump when I hear him reverse sneeze anymore! I hope your kitty's asthma gets better, if that is what it's coming from or just allergies? But I don't think the reverse sneeze is anything to worry about.

Hmm, doesn't sound like asthma but it is strange. I have a kitty who does have asthma and it usually starts as a cough that gets very frequent and then he will occassionaly vomit. I've never heard him have a reverse sneeze but he does have chronic runny nose and does real sneezes quite a bit. He has had pred pills in the past but the latest vet treats him with a steriod shot instead. We haven't been back since May 1 and I am very optimistic- Last time we were there within 3 weeks and I was getting worried I might have to treat him with inhalers. I'm probably jinxing myself by saying this though.
My other cat Zakk does have occ reverse sneezing, but it seems to happen like two or three times a year.

I understand where you are coming from with not knowing how to describe the sound a cat makes - I had the greatest difficulty with Wellington. It is not a cough, not a sneeze, not retching, but a somewhere between all of those and lasts anything up to 30 seconds, with his head stretched out. I never know whether to pet him or hold him or leave him alone - it sounds so awful, yet when it is over he just shakes his head and runs off. Apart from the attacks, since he has been on prednisone his general breathing sounds much better - he used to keep me awake at night with raspy breathing. He is now the biggest of my cats, but I am not sure how much that is due to the meds, he always had a big head and feet, and he is only ten months old, so not fully grown yet. He is not fat in any way. He certainly has no bald spots, but I will watch out for those, I did not know that could be a side effect. When we all move to France I will look into the idea of shots, as that treatment is not available here.

Thanks for the stories everyone. I am going to not overly worry about this unless it gets worse. It startles me when it happens though. The other night he was curled up on my lap, sleeping peacefully. He changed position and had a reverse sneeze attack. Instant come on. I think it startled him too!

Hi,

I've read through these posts rather quickly, but my 14 year old Lenny, who was diagnosed with a combination Hep, Gall Bladder issue, and Pancreatitis, has been on the mend for a few weeks. However (if you read my other posting) he has been sneezing, successively even before his week in the hospital, and has done so a little more since he has been home. My question is, "what is reverse sneezing, and is that what I am seeing with him? Or is this just regular sneezing due to allergies as the vet seems to think? When he was checked in to the hospital, they said his lungs and heart sounded fine.

Thanks

About reverse sneezing ... My little 10 year old female cat who weighs only 8 lbs just started diing the reverse sneezing. I took her to the vet and they told me to give her 5ml of zertec for 3 weeks to see if that clears it up. I will keep you posted on wether it works)
Ps when ever you have an issue with your pet and can't afford to go, i take a video of whats happening and my vet will take a look and watch the video and advise me. Since i have 3 cats and am a regular there they are understanding of my limited funds.
Good luck to all