Allergy, Sneezing And Reverse Sneezing

[nese]

We have cats since 2 years. We had 3 cats and they all show similar symptoms. We visited vet several times, tried many things but couldn't find a solution.

Shorty, our story;

Our first cat, Kofte, lived as a single cat in our house until 1 years old. His vaccines were up to date and never had any health problems.
That summer, in August we have found a sick stray kitten, 2 months old approximately. Adopted her, took her to vet and kept her in a separate room until she is fully recovered.
She recovered, however she was continuing to sneeze and cough. First vet said it is allergy, I took her to another vet since I was not convinced. Second vet took a chest xray and also said she has asthma.
She took antihistamines for 3 months, which helped. After that we stopped giving her antihistamines with the advise of our vet. She is free of any medicine for 5 months now and coughs and sneezes from time to time but not very serious. She also has reverse sneezing.

7 months after we adopted this kitten (Gofret), in 2017 March, our first cat Kofte started to show some symptoms. He started to sneeze and also reverse sneeze, but no cough. We took him to vet. He said it is allergy. Since it was spring time I tought it may be pollens or something else... Antihistamines helped him also.

Now we have another kitten since 2 months. She is 3,5 months old. She was fine when she first came, but then started to sneeze now and then. And last week she also started to reverse sneeze. Our wet again said allergy.

All these there cats act perfectly normal besides these symptoms. They eat and drink normally, they are very playful and energetic. They do not look sick.

We tried many things; we feed them grain free, tried chicken and also fish, tried raw feeding. We use %99,9 dust free unscented clumping betonite litter, tried many different brands, even tried wood pellets. We put all the carpets away to make our house more dust free and easy to clean. We also vacuum our house with hepa filter vacuum cleaner.

It is really devastating that all our cats have similar symptoms and we don't know what causing it and how to solve it, besides giving them relief by antihistamines. Did you ever have similar experience? Is it possible all these cat are allergic? Or can it be something else?

 

[Ariel2611]

Hi there,
My cat also sneezed from time to time but nothing serious. Just like your situation i was told it was probably an allergy or asthma. To help prevent it i cleaned the carpet/floors regularly, brushed her fur regularly etc.. and i just gave her plenty of water.
I don't know if this will help, but if you think it is pollen etc.. invest in a humidifier and pollen filter and keep your windows closed and make sure any plants are removed from your home as this can make it worse.
I hope i could help
Good luck!
Keep us updated x

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I was going to post a thread about other cats with sneezing and reverse sneezing, but I see you've posted already on that thread asking if they ever got any answers to the cause. One thing of interest I read there was the questions someone posed about smokers in the house, and/or the burning of incense. Do you do those things? They could certainly be contributing factors. Even just burning candles or having any kind of scented plug=in air fresheners can contribute to this issue. I would say for all three of your cats to have this issue it's definitely something environmental.

 

[fodder]

I posted this over on my topic to so anyone reading could get an update.

Not really any resolve yet for my guy but Zyrtec did seem to improve his condition after a 2 week dose. I have not yet given him the above mentioned antibiotics as he has improved to the point where it is probably better not to be on any antibiotics.

He still sneezes daily but rarely reverse sneezes now. To be honest i have tried some other things as well...
I have fully removed any chicken from his diet.
My other cat has asthma so once in a while i give him a dose of her inhaler. It seems to help even though i have had him tested for asthma and the tests were clear. I only give it to him if i notice a reverse sneeze occur but it really does seem to help him for a few days/weeks at a time.
After the improvements i have seen in him i am thinking he most likely has some sort of allergy. Even though my vet was adamant that wasn't the case

In your case it seems to have spread from cat to cat. I have another cat that is always in the same room with my sneezy guy and she has never shown signs of it herself so it could be a different issue. One thing that can cause a lot of sneezing, coughing and other flu symptoms and is also transferable between cats is FHV(Feline Herpes Virus). It is very common in cats. Maybe mention it to your vet and see what she thinks.

Most likely, if the antihistamines are working then it is an allergy issue though. So long as they show no other symptoms and they aren't sneezing excessively then you most likely have nothing to worry about.

If there is anything else you would like to know i will do my best to answer.

 

[MeganLLB]

At least I know for dogs, a reverse sneeze is usually caused by an elongated soft palate most often found in brachycephalic breeds like pugs, bull dogs, english toy spaniel, and cavalier king charles spaniels. It can also be caused by other irritants. It's not really a sneeze, its a pharyngeal gag reflex. This is a spasm of the soft palate.

Surgery is sometimes done to remove the excess flesh of the soft palate that blocks the pharynx, but usually it isn't that big of a problem.

 

[nese]

Thank you for replies. Yesterday we went to another vet. Explained everything in detail, and also showed a video of kitten. Kitten's is not actually reverse sneezing yet. But it seems to me like the beginning of a reverse sneeze.
The vet was not very helpful unfortunately, she even did not know what a reverse sneeze is... She took a lung x-ray, said it is fine. However, on Sunday there will be a specialist and we will go again. Until Sunday I am trying to catch as much video as possible, to Show actually what they are doing.

Since one of our cats has asthma we do not use any candles, plug ins, deodorizers etc... We keep the use of house cleaners at minimum. We do not smoke, we do our best to keep house dust free.

I guess another information will be helpful;

Before we adopt rescue kitten (Gofret) our other cat (Kofte) was very healty. He did not sneeze even once in 1 year. When we found Gofret on the street, she was sneezing, had runny nose, no apetite, fever, parasites, fleas and was very skinny. When we took her to vet they prescribed Zovirax, gave her antibiotic shots for 5 days, and also dewormed her. I guess she had FHV. So, I suspect now, after her recovery as she still will be carrying FHV, it may be spread to other cat (Kofte) in the house.
However, even if this is the case, there is one thing I cannot explain. Gofret and Kofte lived together for 7 months, during which Kofte did not show any symptoms. After 7 months Kofte started to sneeze and reverse sneeze. And now, the kitten is also sneezing. But if it was FHV why did not any symptoms occur for 7 months?
This again leads me to allergy...

I am very confused.

 

[nese]

Here is the video of our asthmatic cat Gofret, coughing. No other cats are coughing, only Gofret.

And this is the video of kitten. She does not do this always when eating. She does this anytime, when sitting, laying, on my nap etc... Yesterday vet thought it was something related with stomach, since she is eating in video. But when I listen carefully I can hear it is a post-nasal sound, not something related with stomach... And it started to be more often since last 2-3 days.

Our first cat Kofte unfortunately passed on May , regardless of these issues. Now we have these two cats.

 

[boney girl dad]

So sorry for your loss of Kofte. Sure hope you get a definitive answer to what's going on. I had Boney Girl for not quite 5 years and she was always sneezing. Didn't really seem to bother her much and symptoms never transferred to my other cat Xena. We tried everything thing for her and never did get a satisfactory answer from our vet. I understand your concern and frustration. I regret that I eventually accepted her condition as something I couldn't do anything about. You're doing the right thing by continuing to search for the answer.

 

[Ariel2611]

Oh no!
I am so very sorry for your loss
My cat Ariel also had the exact same issue! She would sneeze like that (exactly) and sometimes even vomit.
But, now she is pain-free, happy and safe in heaven with god relaxing - God Bless her!
Good Luck!
I hope your kittens get better soon x

 

[nese]

Thank you for your replies. I am so sorry for your losses. May all our fur babies rest in peace.

Another update:

Yesterday when I got home from work, I noticed that our kitten developed a runny nose also and her nose is a bit clogged. I prepared saline solution and put a few drops on her nose. She was feeling better after a while. I repeated it 3 times on different hours. And this morning when the clinic is opened I took her to vet.

They done a blood test. Results showed no sign of infection but her WBC level drop to 3, which shows her immunity is decreased. Normal range is 5,5-19,5. Vet also said that according to blood results, it is allery for sure. They also made panleukopenia test, just to make sure because of low WBC. It came out negative.

We will start to use antihistamines and an immune booster for 5 days for both cats and then we will go and check the levels again.

I also asked my questions about FHV. But since all our cats are vaccinated and there is no sign of infection in bloodwork our vet insists on allergy. I am tired of thinking what may be the cause of possible allergy...
I also mentioned that all the problems started 7 months after we adopted Gofret from Street. Vet suspected maybe something on Gofret is causing allery and advised to bath her.
I had never gave bath to any of my cats. But it is worth a try. We are also not using any flea drops regularly (in every 3 months as advised) because I believe not to use any medicines, chemicals if it is not necessary.
Vet thinks there may be house mites on their fur, and that may also cause allergy. I will also try flea drops.
Lets see if any of these will help

 

[di and bob]

It still might be an allergy, it seems mighty suspect that all of the cats in your house developed these symptoms. Check houseplants, maybe isolate them one by one, water, (give bottled for a while) laundry detergent, bug sprays,cleansers, bath soaps, even your furniture which can give off fumes, especially if it was anti-stain treated, ANYTHING that you have in the house or have used consistently since the symptoms first started. I would just change the most used items or isolate them one by one. Really, I think that if it is an allergy and you find out it is, would you want that around yourself? I would also quit giving any flea and wormer treatments, inside cats don't really need them, not very often anyway. I have had three cats over the last few years scratch them selves bald from being allergic to flea treatments, I'm very cautious now and give only when necessary.

 

[nese]

I exactly agree about flea treatments. I only gave flea drops to all only when I first introduce them to our home. Since they are all indoors, I believe it is not necessary and even may be toxic and harmful to give flea treatments to indoor cats in every three months. However since our vet mentioned it before, and still insists it may be the cause, I agreed to try for once. Yesterday I applied flea drop to both, but if it does not help I am not planning to give any more flea drops to them.

We have house plants but they were there before all these sypmtoms started...
They are always drinking bottled water. Since spring (when the sypmtoms started) they spend plenty of time on balcony (which has cat enclosure and is safe), I suspect this may be the reason. But last summer they also spent plenty of time in balcony and there was nothing...
But just to make sure, I will isolate them from the balcony and also from all house plants for couple of weeks.
If it does not work, it will isolate them from rooms one by one. At least I hope I can find in which room the allergen is.

Since these sypmtoms started we did not purchase any new furniture or we did not change anything, soaps, detergents, cleaners etc...
In fact we started to keep the house more clean without using any chemical cleaners. We try to keep the use of cleaners at minimum.

 

[tarasgirl06]

My heartfelt condolences on your loss of Kofte. <3 ((((((((^^)))))))) <3 May Kofte watch over you all until you are reunited in due time.

In the second video, of Kitten, it looks like she may have aspirated (breathed in) some of the liquid from her food and is sneezing because of this.

One of my three cats, Tarifa, the eldest at 14, has a cough and sometimes sneezes as well. She is otherwise healthy, playful and happy, and while I wish I knew the cause of her conditions, I do not.

 

[nese]

Update:
Since 3 weeks both our cats are on Zyrtec, 5 mg once a day before we go to sleep. It completely eliminated sneezings, reduced reverse sneezings substantially but not completely. However it did not have any effect on coughs.
Our asthmatic cat Gofret is still coughing as before. But I know this is due to asthma.
However, our 4,5 month old kitten Nohut was not coughing at first, now she is also coughing (little cough, sometimes like trying to push something out). I took a video and showed to our vet, he said it is not cough, it is allergic reaction...

In these 3 weeks we tried many things, again w/o success
We stopped using fabric softener (previously we were using an antiallergic one)
We isolated them from balcony and all house plants
We bathed Gofret (it was vets advice...)
We dewormed both with the widest spectrum dewormer in the market here, which is also effective against lungworms.
We applied flea drop to both, since our vet said there may be many mites on their fur and cause allergy
We took notes on when and where they sneeze/cough, no specific place...
We even went on vacation together with them for 1 week. It was an opportunity to see if there will be any change in their symptoms in a different house. No change again, not worse, not better...

I will talk with our vet again today and ask if we continue with Zyrtec. Since Zyrtec helped, even not eliminated symptoms totally, yes it may be allergic.
But it sounds so crazy and difficult to accept to me all our 3 cats have allergies, especially our first cat did not have any problems for 1 year when he was the single cat in house.

We also found a sick stray kitten (2 weeks old approximately) abandoned by her mother in Street, 3 weeks ago. We took her to vet, stayed there for 13 days. Now she is with us since 10 days, quarantined in a separate room of course. She has no sneezing, no cough... I will introduce them after she groves up and receives her vaccines. If she also starts sneezing and coughing after introducing them, I will be convinced that it is not allergy but something that spreads from cat to cat.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Update:
Since 3 weeks both our cats are on Zyrtec, 5 mg once a day before we go to sleep. It completely eliminated sneezings, reduced reverse sneezings substantially but not completely. However it did not have any effect on coughs.
Our asthmatic cat Gofret is still coughing as before. But I know this is due to asthma.
However, our 4,5 month old kitten Nohut was not coughing at first, now she is also coughing (little cough, sometimes like trying to push something out). I took a video and showed to our vet, he said it is not cough, it is allergic reaction...

In these 3 weeks we tried many things, again w/o success
We stopped using fabric softener (previously we were using an antiallergic one)
We isolated them from balcony and all house plants
We bathed Gofret (it was vets advice...)
We dewormed both with the widest spectrum dewormer in the market here, which is also effective against lungworms.
We applied flea drop to both, since our vet said there may be many mites on their fur and cause allergy
We took notes on when and where they sneeze/cough, no specific place...
We even went on vacation together with them for 1 week. It was an opportunity to see if there will be any change in their symptoms in a different house. No change again, not worse, not better...

I will talk with our vet again today and ask if we continue with Zyrtec. Since Zyrtec helped, even not eliminated symptoms totally, yes it may be allergic.
But it sounds so crazy and difficult to accept to me all our 3 cats have allergies, especially our first cat did not have any problems for 1 year when he was the single cat in house.

We also found a sick stray kitten (2 weeks old approximately) abandoned by her mother in Street, 3 weeks ago. We took her to vet, stayed there for 13 days. Now she is with us since 10 days, quarantined in a separate room of course. She has no sneezing, no cough... I will introduce them after she groves up and receives her vaccines. If she also starts sneezing and coughing after introducing them, I will be convinced that it is not allergy but something that spreads from cat to cat.

From what you write, I have the sense that it is environmental. What the problem is, I don't know. But there's something there that is irritating to them.

 

[mosimom]

I put my cat on Zyrtec when needed. She has dust and pollen allergies for sure. Check your filters in furnace and air conditioner. If you have floor vents there are filters for those too. An air purifier helps quite a bit. Are you frying any smoked or cured meats (bacon, bologna, ham)? Nitrates from the preservatives get in the air. Even going in and out side through a door will bring pollen inside....from shoes, clothing, windy days. Ragweed is bad this time of year. Dust with a damp cloth. Make sure your vacuum doesn't have a leak through filter or bag. Look at spray glass cleaner (ammonia),kitchen non-stick spray, perfume/aftershave, detergent, litter, powder, spray deodorant, hairspray, remove all plants regardless, bug spray, mold.....
See if you can lower the dose of Zyrtec gradually. I can get down to .31 mg a day and it is still effective. It can cause dry mouth and urine retention at higher doses. Vets use Zyrtec as an appetite stimulant too...I am sure you noticed the increased appetite already.

 

[nese]

I can get down to .31 mg a day and it is still effective. It can cause dry mouth and urine retention at higher doses. Vets use Zyrtec as an appetite stimulant too...I am sure you noticed the increased appetite already.

We use Zyrtec pills, they are 10 mg and very tiny. Are you using liquid instead of pills? Because I cannot imagine to divide pills 0.31 mg pieces

 

[mosimom]

We use Zyrtec pills, they are 10 mg and very tiny. Are you using liquid instead of pills? Because I cannot imagine to divide pills 0.31 mg pieces

I am cutting up a 10 mg Zyrtec pill. Not generic. Yes, that is cutting up the pill into 32 separate pieces. I have a good pill cutter and a magnifying glass.

 

[fodder]

Wow. A lot of replies. For some reason i wasn't getting emails for this thread. Anyway, what your cat is doing in the video is a very mild version of what mine does to. My guy does it quite violently for about 10 seconds when it happens.

His dosage for zyrtec was 5mg a day for 14 days. Still hasn't really fixed it. I am pretty sure it's something in the environment though. It almost stopped over winter, the same with my other cats asthma. As soon as spring hit they both started again.

Where i live there is a lot of tree's and flowers that could be causing issues, far to many to eliminate. The good news is that he has had this for over a year now and it hasn't caused any other adverse side effects.

After trying so many things i have come to the conclusion that it may just be something we have to live with although i will continue to search for causes and will let you know if i come across anything else that helps.

Still baffles me that antibiotics stops it from happening immediately for my cat though...

Sorry for your loss with Kofte
Congratulations on your new adoption

EDIT: You know one thing i have noticed? It is probably just coincidence but both of us have an asthmatic cat as well. Do you think it is some how possible that there might be a connection there?

 

[nese]

Wow. A lot of replies. For some reason i wasn't getting emails for this thread. Anyway, what your cat is doing in the video is a very mild version of what mine does to. My guy does it quite violently for about 10 seconds when it happens.

His dosage for zyrtec was 5mg a day for 14 days. Still hasn't really fixed it. I am pretty sure it's something in the environment though. It almost stopped over winter, the same with my other cats asthma. As soon as spring hit they both started again.

Where i live there is a lot of tree's and flowers that could be causing issues, far to many to eliminate. The good news is that he has had this for over a year now and it hasn't caused any other adverse side effects.

After trying so many things i have come to the conclusion that it may just be something we have to live with although i will continue to search for causes and will let you know if i come across anything else that helps.

Still baffles me that antibiotics stops it from happening immediately for my cat though...

Sorry for your loss with Kofte
Congratulations on your new adoption

EDIT: You know one thing i have noticed? It is probably just coincidence but both of us have an asthmatic cat as well. Do you think it is some how possible that there might be a connection there?

It seems that we very much have the same situation. It is frustrating to not to know the reason, but good to know you are not alone
It is very strange that both of us have one allergic and one asthmatic cat. Yes, i think what triggers allergy also causes discomfort in our asthmatic cat, and there may be some relation.

We are off Zyrtec since two days with the advise of our vet. Today we had a conversation with him. I took a new video and sent him. He said what we call "something like little cough" is actually an allergic reaction and generally happens at night one or two times a day. He was right, that is exactly what she is doing and always happens at night. Our vet says we should find the cause there is nothing can be done. He knows how hard we try to find the cause and really tries to help. But i guess it is all he can do.

Like your situation our cats' symptoms also started in spring. We will see if there will be any change in winter.

Today suddenly i suspected catnip toys. This is something i didn't try before. I put away their toys with catnip we will see if it works...

I will continue searching the cause. I will post all the updates.