Gingivitis and Reverse Sneezing

[Catlover830]

I’m writing to see if anyone has had a cat with similar issues. We adopted a cat about 4 years ago. At whatever point we found out that she had really bad gingivitis and eventually all her teeth were removed. Before and after the teeth removal, she was sneezing normally as well as reverse sneezing. The only remedy we were offered was a $3k-$5k procedure that would see if she had a polyp and that “might” be causing the issue. We obviously couldn’t afford that. Unfortunately, the cat passed away before making it to the age of 3 and we never had an answer. A year later and we rescued another cat and didn’t think to ask about her teeth. She’s only a year old and has gingivitis. We’ve had her for 5 weeks and she was sneezing off and on and now this week she started making reverse sneezing like sounds. I’m so distraught because I don’t want to lose another cat but I also don’t want to spend $5k for a “possible” answer. Has anyone else had a cat with gingivitis and reverse sneezing??

[Mollycat]

Possibly, my boy started coughing and later it progressed to sneezing fits and this peculiar snorty-snuffle and his teeth weren't the best. His upper and lower respiratory tract were clear and I was offered x-rays, no thank you. It was years before a different vet said in his case it was likely a dormant chronic herpes that woke up any time he had a minor bacterial infection on top - something that happens a lot with bad teeth. He was a lot better after a dental, but not for very long, and it could also have been the antibiotics.

From what I'm reading it seems there might be other things to try before a surgical procedure. Has your vet suggested or have you tried giving a decongestant or antihistamine?

Gingivitis is one possible cause and it's understandable that having been there once you're worried but there are many many possible causes to look at before heading for the $5000 option. I would see a different vet, and ask outright for a frank discussion of all the possibilities, then start at the simplest and work your way upward. You need a vet you can trust.

[Catlover830]

Unfortunately, for the first cat this happened with we saw many different vets. We brought her to a very favorable vet as well who didn’t really have an answer. There were tiny solutions but nothing ever really worked. We had given her antibiotics a few times when it got really bad but that wasn’t going to be a long term fix especially since she wasn’t even 3 years old.

This is now a new cat presenting with the same issues so I already know what all the vets are going to say. I will take her for a cleaning but I don’t know if that will fix it.

[Ruth B]

While I've not noticed the reverse sneezing, my 5 year old lad only has 3 teeth left, one upper and two lower canines. We adopted him at 6 months and when he was about 18 months the vet told us he had 'viral gingivitis' and would probably need all his teeth out as some point. He always had bad breath, which I just put down to the gingivitis, and each year at his annual check up and boosters the vets told us his teeth would probably need doing 'soon'. As he never had a problem eating I never thought too much about it. Then we noticed he had lost one of his upper canines so off to the vets for a dental. They phoned while he was in theatre, all his incisors and premolars had been reabsorbed and his molars were all in a bad way and were best taken out before they fell out. That happened at the start of this year and he has been fine since, he is even back to successfully hunting and bring us back mice (both dead and alive) He does sneeze occasionally but just the occasional sneezing fit. I would however think that a good dental to remove any bad teeth is worth while, we put it off as it wasn't giving him any problem, but in hind sight I think I should have had it done earlier, i just wanted him to keep his teeth as long as possible. You could also ask if they could have a good look at her nose while she is on the table, while they won't be able to do any scans or endoscopy they can often see things better when the cat isn't struggling and moving.

My older girl, now about 18 years old does have a respiratory problem and has had it for about 2 years, antibiotics helped at first, but the ones needed were long courses and caused a lot of stress all around, and seemed to get progressively less effective. She can have sneezing fits, coughing fits, some fits that seem to be a cross between a cough and a sneeze, which might be what you refer to as reverse sneezing or might not, there are times when her breathing sounds like Darth Vader, and times when her ears seem to be a irritation for her. After about 3 course of antibiotics not doing much good, and due to her age, we decided to go to palliative care for her, she is now on a daily does of Bisolven to try and break down any mucus that builds up which helps a lot, she is happy to take the powder in Lick e Lix and even moans at me each morning until she has had her daily Lick e Lix. Two years ago I thought it would just be for a few months, but she is still plodding on, so something like Bisolven might really help yours out, it would certainly be worth asking your vet as something to try and would be a lot cheaper than the tests.

[Mollycat]

Ruth I had to search for the reverse sneeze thing, turns out it's common with dogs and rare in cats apparently so might not be what you and I are thinking - but if this is right then it seems pretty common to me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOKp3bbWpZ8 or this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK-xhshgccQ

[Catlover830]

Yes those videos are what I am referring to. They are inhaling inside of exhaling like regular sneezing, hence reverse sneezing. I think I figured this out on my own as my vet wasn’t even sure what my first cat was experiencing.

[Ruth B]

That first video particularly looks very similar to what Tiggy will do when she gets really congested.

I also wonder if it is similar to what I, being human, tend to do using a voluntary action instead of an involuntary reaction. I suffer a lot with sinus problems and catarrh and sometimes clearing the back of the nose and throat give a very similar action.

Either way, I hope it is nothing more that a bit of an infection in the throat and sinuses.

[Mollycat]

What's bothering me here is that although Boo did something similar though his was more cough, I've had a little read of various things and it seems mostly it's not a problem, or at least easily resolved. But in this case given what poor OP's already been through with the previous young cat, we're not in a position to offer any reassurance. Ruth's Tiggy and my Boo won't be any help at all.

Ok so you don't have a trusted vet ... how would you feel about carefully researching dosages and what otc drugs can be given safely to try decongestants and antihistamines before going down expensive routes?

It's not something any of us wants to think about but is it possible that something in the environment could be causing this irritation in their respiratory systems? Some kind of fumes, air conditioning, smoking, vapes, chemical cleaners, litter additives, deodorants, perfumes, air fresheners, garden chemicals, nearby farm or airport or chemical works ... industrial premises ...

[Ruth B]

Mollycat makes a good point, we aren't vets and our experiences may have nothing in common with yours.

While you may not entirely trust your vet, i would certainly ask about things like medication to reduce mucus such as the Bisolven, or antihistamines. Starting with treatment like that might help and if it works could reassure you that there is nothing malign going on.

Also, where did you get her from, if it was a shelter you could contact them for advice and to see if any other cats have a similar issue, it could be an infection she picked up there but only became noticeable after you got her home. As we are all aware now due to the Covid crisis, infections can take quite some time to manifest sypmtoms.