Just like humans cats also sneeze. Your concern about your cat enters where the frequency of the sneezing is concerned. If the cat sneezes once in a while, then, it is nothing to be worried about. It may just be because of something irritating in the nasal passages of the cat for the time being. However, if your cat sneezes often, then, it could be something serious and a veterinarian’s help should be sought. Although, cat sneezing doesn’t usually imply anything serious but that does not mean that you overlook it altogether.
Causes of Sneezing in Cats
Upper Respiratory Infection
Symptoms that may point at susceptible illness are too much mucus, discharge in the eyes, coughing or puffiness of the eyes or glands. They may indicate towards an upper respiratory infection which is cause by a virus and is transmittable. It may also be caused by two bacteria namely Adeno-2 and Bordatella. Contact with another animal infected with the disease may also cause such an illness in your cat.
Allergies
A cat explores its surroundings through its nose, thus, it may inhale something that cause the cat to sneeze. These can include certain perfumes, mold, pest sprays, cigarette smoke, cleaning agents, etc. Cat litter with very fine granules can also cause sneezing. It may also be because of the presence of certain allergens in the air because like human, cats are also allergic to certain allergens.
Flat-faced cat breeds such as the Persian are more vulnerable to allergens because of their comparatively tighter nasal passages.
Abscessed Tooth
Another cause of sneezing can be infection from an abscessed tooth. You might ignore any relation between teeth and sneezing but it is important that you also check your cat’s mouth for any redness, swelling of gums or tooth pain which may be causing the sneezing. However, this problem should not arise if your cat has proper dental cleaning taken care of.
Feline Herpes or Leukemia
Sneezing may also be cause by feline herpes or feline leukemia. In herpes, sneezing comes when there is an outburst. However, in leukemia, the immune system of the cat is weakened and will make it more prone to infections like asthma and sinus. These infections are caused by viruses and cats are generally vaccinated against these infections when they’re young for they cannot be cured.
Cat Sneezing Blood
If you find your cat sneezing blood, then you must visit your cat’s vet as soon as possible. Although it isn’t necessarily something to worry about but it could also turn out to be something as serious as nasal cancer!
How to Treat Cat Sneezing?
When treating cat sneezing, you need to follow the following steps:
- First of all, try to figure out what makes your cat sneeze. It could be sinusitis or a cold which go away on their own, or it could be allergens. Thus, keep an eye on your cat and determine the cause as to when the cat sneezes or if she is around some particular thing when she starts sneezing. Once you have figured that out, you can stop the cat sneezing by simply eradicating that particular object or allergen.
- If an allergen is not the problem, then check if your cat is allergic to the litter. Some cats can get allergies because of the fine granules of the litter. To make the sneezing stop, buy litter that has granules that cluster.
- This not being the problem either, you must clean your house meticulously so that there is no dust left. Some cat may also be allergic to dust and subsequently sneeze.
- A cat may also be sneezing because of a moisture-free air. If that is the problem then spray a vaporizer in the air that should improve the condition.
- You can also give your cat fatty-acid supplements to enhance its immunity and hence, the probability to get cold.
- You can also apply saline nose drops which aid in thinning the mucus in the nasal passage of the cat. Thick mucus can also be one of the reasons why your cat is sneezing.
- If none of the above remedies work, then, it is advised that you take your cat to a veterinarian who can best figure out what the problem with the cat is.
[Guest Writer Amara Zulfiqar]
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