Cat sneezing

[goldilocks3bears]

Hi

My perfect 5 year old cat for some time now is sneezing and has some nasal discharge -clear or white. Besides that she acts as always and eats and drinks as she always does and has plenty of energy. The vet gave us some medication to give her but it is really hard to get her to take it..actually impossible. Anyways, he said as long as she is acting normal then not to worry.

We spoke to 2 other vets who also don't seem too concerned but told us to bring her in for a medical examination. The one told us that since she won't take medicine she will give her an injection if needed. The other one told us from our description he thinks she might need a nasal flush.

Has any of your cats had anything like my cat? If yes, what treatment did they get and did it help? I am not sure which vet to go to so based on your answers and treatment I will decide. Both vets are really good.

Thanks

[Kay]

did either vet mention chronic rhinitis, as this is what it sounds like to me

it's fairly common in cats, and not serious - if the discharge thickens or turns yellow or green, then a course of abs, or injections, will be necessary,, but the condition is incurable

you might find she needs food which is on the stinky side - fishy rather than meaty - as a bunged up nose will diminish her sense of smell

[Ruth B]

A couple of years ago my old girl got a bad respiratory infection, as the discharge was a yellowish green the vet was fairly certain it was an infection as if it was an allergy response it would be more clear, so from that it sounds like it is more likely an allergy or similar problem than an infection. Do you know what the medication was or what it was meant to do, antibiotics are only good if it is a bacterial infection, something like an antihistamine is good if it is an allergy, or it could be something to help clear the mucus out to help her breath. As multiple courses of antibiotics didn't seem to clear the infection fully and it was coming back quicker each time, we decided to just treat the symptoms. For the last two years she has been having Bisolven powder once a day, she may sometimes have a few weeks when she doesn't need it, but the congestion keeps coming back and we just treat that now. Fortunately she will take the powder in lick-e-licks so there is no problem getting her to have them.

I would suggest having a think in case you have changed anything in your house or brought anything in, cleaning products, plants, even a change of cat food or cat litter might be triggering an allergy. If like us the heating has recently started to run, that might be stirring up dust or drying the atmosphere in the house which could be causing the problem.

Hopefully you can find the cause and if not a cure then a way of controlling the discharge so it doesn't give her problems breathing.

[Mollycat]

Does your cat go out? If that's a yes, could it be a blade of grass?

[goldilocks3bears]

Thanks for the replies. Nothing changed in the house and she doesn't go outside only to our tiny garden that has no leaves.
I can't remember what the antibiotics were for...but unfortunately we weren't able to give it to her. We tried so many ways. Any advice will be appreciated.
How can you know if my cat has difficulties breathing as she seems fine and we didn't notice anything strange besides the sneezing and discharge (and also not always)?
We told her previous vet that we weren't able to give her the medication but he said that as long as she is acting normal then he isn't concerned and not to worry.
I think from what I noticed she sneezes more after she wakes up or eats. We decided which new vet we will take her to so she has an appointment on Wednesday. I am hoping I will be able to catch her as she is feisty and bites and scratches hard

[Ruth B]

When my cat has breathing problems it is easy to hear, she does a very good Darth Vader impression, her purr also tends to sound different as well, a bit more gurgly for want of a better word.

Good luck getting her to the vets, I had to take one of mine for her boosters Friday and she doesn't like being picked up, several good scratches to the hand and a few nicks in the forearm, and a feeling of achievement as I closed the carrier and went wash off the blood and clean the wounds.