Sneezing! Snot! Since Day 1!

Hello! I’m hoping I could get some advice. My two indoor kitties (bonded sisters) are almost 3 years old and very happy and active. However, since day one they have had horrible upper respiratory problems with constant sneezing and lots of yellowish boogers. Their breathing is occasionally very noisy, and the smaller one has terrible sneezing fits after sleeping for a few hours, where she will expel huge chunks of dried snot that look almost too big to fit in her little nose I’ve taken them to the vet so many times over the years, but besides giving me antibiotics or shooting them up with antibiotics, the vets just shrug their shoulders. The antibiotics NEVER work. I’m going to take them to a new vet in a few days (why is it so hard to find vets who care about cats?) but I’m going crazy trying to figure out how to help them.

Sometimes they will do that wheezing “air hunger” thing, or reverse sneezing, but they are totally happy and healthy otherwise - they have always had good appetites and they love to play. I’ve tried lysine and allergy tablets but nothing has worked.

They have never had weepy eyes or skin allergy symptoms. Aside from the nasal symptoms they are fine. Does ANYONE have any idea what I could do? Or what I should ask the vet to test for? I’m getting desperate. I want to think they aren’t suffering because they are so happy otherwise, but I still feel so bad for them

Hi! They are cuties!!! Going to a new vet is a good idea at this point. This could be related to either food or environmental allergies. Ask the vet what tests could be run for both or either. There are some basic tests for common allergens, so that is at least a place to start.

Your poor kits. How frustrating for all of you.

A new vet is a very good idea. Your current vet doesn't seem to have a clue and doesn't sound very interested in looking into the problem. If the new vet can't find the cause s/he maybe able to suggest an allergist who could help.

I'm guessing you vacuum most of the time.

Are you in a rental? Did the place come with carpets? Have you had the carpets steam cleaned - don't let them put chemicals on the carpets if you get this done now. A friend's dog itched terribly when they got new carpets and a year later when the dog stopped itching they got the carpets professionally cleaned and the cleaner made her start itching again. I was the only one who thought there might be a connection.

Have you used the same litter since you got them? Our cat was sneezing more and more, until someone suggested changing to a different type/brand of litter. After a couple of tries (and one that really smelled bad) we found a clay clumping with little dust. Her sneezing stopped. I didn't change anything else so I'm thinking it was the litter.

I'm wondering if this could be some kind of viral infection. If the antibiotics never work, either they're the wrong kind or the vet doesn't realize antibiotics usually don't take care of viral infections.
I get so mad when a vet just shrugs and says "it's just normal for them." No, it's never "normal" for any cat to spend their lives sneezing up snot chunks the size of a buick after they took a nap
I'd definitely look into a new vet. If not a cats only vet, one that's feline friendly and has a vet that specializes in them. If this is something viral, they might be able to help you out and get them healthy again. I'd ask them about that.
They are beautiful. We have a pair that could be their twins, and my own Queen Bee could pass as your cat that's on the right.
I hope you get this figured out.
Also, just a thought. Ask your vet to see if they feel the cats could have viral rhinotracheitis. I don't know what kind of testing is done and I don't believe it's life threatening. Just a chronic, nasty head cold.

Thank you for such a thorough reply! I moved into my new house from an apartment a year ago, hoping that the sneezing would get a little better (my upstairs neighbor smoked inside) and I got all hardwood floors, complete with a roomba and a few air purifiers. Unfortunately, NOTHING changed with them when we moved in I also changed both their litter box and litter a few months ago, but again, no changes. These were great suggestions though - i never even considered the litter, it was a coincidence that I changed it.

I’m really hoping a new vet who has good reviews online will do some good!

Kflowers said:

Your poor kits. How frustrating for all of you.

A new vet is a very good idea. Your current vet doesn't seem to have a clue and doesn't sound very interested in looking into the problem. If the new vet can't find the cause s/he maybe able to suggest an allergist who could help.

I'm guessing you vacuum most of the time.

Are you in a rental? Did the place come with carpets? Have you had the carpets steam cleaned - don't let them put chemicals on the carpets if you get this done now. A friend's dog itched terribly when they got new carpets and a year later when the dog stopped itching they got the carpets professionally cleaned and the cleaner made her start itching again. I was the only one who thought there might be a connection.

Have you used the same litter since you got them? Our cat was sneezing more and more, until someone suggested changing to a different type/brand of litter. After a couple of tries (and one that really smelled bad) we found a clay clumping with little dust. Her sneezing stopped. I didn't change anything else so I'm thinking it was the litter.

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Aw thank you! I’m hopeful about a new vet. Someone HAS to know what’s going on!

We are going thru somewhat the same thing with 2 of our newly adopted kitties.
They both came to use with URI symptoms and it is specifically nasal. In our case antibiotics do work, but they only started to work after they were on them for at least 4 weeks. We are dealing with a VERY stubborn bacterial infection, but we were also told by the shelter that one of them "for sure" has Feline Herpes. Lysine does not work for us either. We adopted them at the end of December and it was not until we started using our vet (we were using the shelter vet at first, as they were covering the cost of vet care) that we were able to get ahead of the infection.
What has finally started to work, was when we were given a 5 week prescription of doxycycline, then they were given a follow up prescription of Azithromycine for 7 weeks. The first prescription was twice a day for the full 5 weeks, but the second was one dose a day for 5 days followed by one does every 3 days for 6 weeks. We are currently on week 3, and they are about 90% better. Out vet did recommend that if this last round of antibiotics does not kick it out completely, we can do a nasal flush and really try to clean out their sinuses, we may have to continue the antibiotics for a short period after the flush.

Have you had a culture or PCR panel done on their boogers?

majesticartax said:

Aw thank you! I’m hopeful about a new vet. Someone HAS to know what’s going on!

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Where about are you located?

Perhaps someone near you has a recommendation for a good vet in your area. I had a similar problem with my vet that I had for MANY years, they just didn't seem all that interested in my cats... My bird, ferrets and chinchillas they were quite interested in, but were awful when it came time for them to see my sick cat... I finally found a Vet I absolutely adore, who is knowledgeable about a lot more than feeding them science diet, overusing antibiotics and giving them their vaccines.

Welcome to my world! I have a kitty who has feline herpes and it causes her to sneeze frequently and she has icky colored snot. She often sounds very snotty.

I would suggest that you ask the vet to do a culture and sensitivity test on the discharge to rule out a secondary infection that could be causing all these symptoms. The culture will tell the doctor if there's a bacterial or fungal infection. The sensitivity test will tell the vet which antibiotic(s) will best treat the infection.

I also would look for a new vet who will work with you and is willing to go the extra mile. Talk to the vet about a daily antihistamine. Hannah (my snotty girl) gets 1/4 to 1/2 tablet of plain Claritin once a day. We also have her on several supplements to help her overall health as well as a grain-free diet.