Kitten Has Sneezing Fits After Running

[punkrockkitty]

Hi all, been trying to figure out whether I should take my kitten in to see the vet or not over an issue I've noticed has been recurring every time we play and he runs for a few minutes. He starts to sneeze heavily, like he's having some sort of fit, and it usually lasts a good two minutes. He also seems pretty out of breath afterwards, sometimes with his mouth a bit opened.

He's 7 months old now, but when I first got him at 2 months old, he sneezed practically all the time - everyday, up to 15 times a day! My vet said he probably had herpes and to give him L-Lysine daily. Which I did, up until about 2 months ago, when I noticed that he just stopped sneezing! Completely stopped.

But now the sneezing only occurs after a good play session and I'm worried. He's seen 3 different vets and all of the have listened to his heart (when he was between 2 and 4 months old) and all said his heart was fine.

Could this be asthma...?

 

[duckpond]

Im not sure about sneezing and asthma. my cat has a mild case, and does not sneeze. Hacks and coughs if he is around anything dusty. But different cats, could be different symptoms. IDK. I make sure to use dust free, fragrance free litter only. and to keep up with the dusting and vacuuming. I also quit using any fragrant laundry soaps or fabric softener. no candles or plugins or essential oils around either. All unscented eco friendly cleaners.

Sounds like he has be checked a few times, but im thinking i would want to have him checked again. Doesn't sound right, maybe allergies, or something else wrong with his respiratory system? Have the vets done any testing, other than listen to his heart?

How hard, and long are you guys playing?

 

[punkrockkitty]

We mostly play with string toys, or sometimes balls, but he'll run a good couple of minutes after the string - up and down the bed 10 times and jump real high each time - that sort of play

And then right after, it's sneeze sneeze sneeze, with the mouth a bit opened, very weird. But he seems so happy and excited.

He hasn't been checked since he was 4 months old and they only did the standard listening to his heart type checking, nothing else. When I told them he sneezed on a daily basis (not related to playing back then), they seemed to just shrug it off and say it was probably just herpes.

I just read a site that mentioned that sometimes, although rare, sneezing can be associated to cardiomyopathy. So yeah, I'll give my vet a call tomorrow and see what the technicians say. I don't know if it's possible for a kitten to develop this at a later stage in life, if his heart has been listened to and seemed normal when he was younger...?

 

[duckpond]

I dont know anything about cardiomyopathy, so cant say. But i might not play hard enough to get him to sneezing until you can get him checked again. Just to be safe.
And i would make sure they check his lungs, as well as his heart, even stomach, maybe x-rays. Sometimes stomach problems, swelling can cause difficulty breathing. Best of luck, and keep us updated.