Kitten Sneezing Blood...help!

[firstimefoster]

My 4th month old is sneezing blood. I've had her for about 3 weeks, and a week ago yesterday she was taken to the vet and was put on antibiotics for a URI. She also tested positive for worms, so I've had her on daily dewormers as well.

All other symptoms of the URI have cleared, she's 10x as active, eating, drinking, and using the litterbox very well. The bloody sneezes however have not stopped, and if anything, have gotten worse at times. Overall she's sneezing less than she was, but its still frequent enough to be a concern. It's nothing extremely excessive, but its more than a few drops too.

I plan on calling the vet tomorrow, she still has 3 days of antibiotics to go so I'm hoping that this could just be the last push of any drainage. She did have a blood test last week, everything came back normal.

Any ideas or similar experiences?

 

[goholistic]

How long has she been sneezing blood? If I were you, I'd call a 24 hour emergency vet. I'd be very concerned about sneezing blood. That's not normal in my experience with cats with a URI. The nasal discharge is usually clear or yellowish.

 

[firstimefoster]

I'm not entirely sure. I've had her 3 weeks - but it took almost 2 for her to let me touch her/get near her so I didnt see much evidence of it prior to then. I did however notice the blood days prior to taking her to the vet, I made mention of it while I was there. They attributed to either an allergy (adapting to a new home) or the UTI which she's been treated for, but otherwise didnt make any serious note of it. The running nose and eye discharge has cleared up. She's breathing fine through her nose, and never shows any blood around it - only when she sneezes is anything evident.

 

[mservant]

I haven't experienced a cat sneezing blood though have had them with URIs, and one with a virus that causes him to sneeze sometimes when he's a bit under the weather. None of them have ever done this. It is definitely not normal and I would be worried.  If it's been going on since before you saw your vet and she otherwise seems well and infection is improving that you don't want to call an emergency vet  I would certainly call your the vet tomorrow.  Even a little bit of blood would have me worried.  It may just be that her infection and sneezing has damaged a blood vessel or something but it would need a vet to determine the cause.  Even though your kitten is now eating, drinking, and more active she could still be in pain or be distressed by what's happening.

Was she sneezing and evidence of URI when you got her or did it come on afterwards?  If it came on after you brought her home do you use any cleaning products, or have any plants / a lot of pollen around where you live that might cause an irritation? Also is there any sign of irritation in her mouth?   Worth mentioning anything you can think of to the vet when you call. They may want to take a closer look at her, or say they feel you should wait until the antibiotic is finished.  If you're not satisfied with what your vet tells you you can always see a different one in your area if you can get there.  

I hope you find out what's causing this and she gets better soon. 

 

[firstimefoster]

Thank you for your reply! I dont believe this was something that was going on prior to me bringing her home, however the shelter I had adopted her from had literally just gotten her in - so they didnt have much of a background story on her other than she was semi-feral and didnt like to be touched. She has since transformed into the biggest cuddle bug

and is just the sweetest thing.

I don't have any plants, or anything exposed that she couldve gotten in to. I keep the house clean, but dont use anything harsh. I have no other pets, and even unplugged my air fresheners when I realized she was getting sick. I did wonder if she was possibly allergic to the litter I'm using, as it is more on the dusty side.

Her mouth seems fine, I do know the vet inspected her mouth and gums too. Plus I've seen quite a bit of it giving her the daily medicine, haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary.
 

 

[stephanietx]

I have a sneezer and at various times in her life she's sneezed bloody mucous.  There is probably a secondary infection going on.  I would ask the vet to do a culture and sensitivity test of the nasal discharge to see if you've got something severe going on.  It will tell the vet what kind of infection you're dealing with, bacterial or viral, and it will also tell the vet which med will most effectively clear it up.  (My girl had a secondary pseudomonas infection.)  Sometimes the nasal passages are so irritated from sneezing that a blood vessel will burst, just like in a human.
 

 

[firstimefoster]

Thank you stephanietx, that makes me feel a bit better! I started to worry she had a foreign object, polyp, etc etc - sometimes I swear I should stay off the Internet lol

I think it may be a vessel, it seems like she'll have one big bloody sneeze, then the blood tapers off - then she'll sneeze again and blow the clot and start all over (sorry for the icky description)

Hopefully at best her poor little nose is just irritated from being sick, and at most something seperate but treatable. I've decided I'm going to finish out her antibiotics, and call towards the end of this week if she's still sneezing. Until the sneeze goes away, her nose isn't going to heal and I have a feeling if that's the case the vet will recommend I finish the antibiotics first anyways.

 

[stephanietx]

Thank you stephanietx, that makes me feel a bit better! I started to worry she had a foreign object, polyp, etc etc - sometimes I swear I should stay off the Internet lol

I think it may be a vessel, it seems like she'll have one big bloody sneeze, then the blood tapers off - then she'll sneeze again and blow the clot and start all over (sorry for the icky description)

Hopefully at best her poor little nose is just irritated from being sick, and at most something seperate but treatable. I've decided I'm going to finish out her antibiotics, and call towards the end of this week if she's still sneezing. Until the sneeze goes away, her nose isn't going to heal and I have a feeling if that's the case the vet will recommend I finish the antibiotics first anyways.

 You are correct.  Her nose won't heal until the sneezing clears up.  When she was younger, my kitty always required a longer dose of antibiotics to clear up any infections due to being herpes positive.  Our vet told us that Hannah (my kitty) may indeed have polyps or something like that, but as long as she was breathing well, which she is, and all that, then the occasional sneeze is fine.  If you notice any exaggerated swallowing (like sticking neck out to swallow) or you have repetitive sneezing, then that is cause to seek vet help.  I'm really thinking your kitty probably has an underlying or secondary infection, but once you finish this round of antibiotics up, you might have a better picture of what's going on.

 

[firstimefoster]

Little bit of an update - I called the vet, and as expected they suggested I finish out the antibiotics, so I did 3 days ago. Still a few sneezes here and there, one had a little bit of watery blood in it but nothing near as dense as it was last week. I myself am not prone to allergies, so its definitely possible I've been overlooking what could be a huge allergen for kitty. The litter may very well be the culprit. I was giving the litterbox a good clean tonight, and as I was topping it off I found myself kind of grimacing at the dust. I finished up, came in the other room and was congested for a good hour afterwards.

I use Fresh Step Extreme Odor Block. I didn't really shop around prior to buying because I rescued the kitten on a whim, and kind of just bought what looked to be the best. I think I'm going to research a little bit and see if I cant find a good clumping litter that isnt as dusty. I'm hoping that will take care of her sneezes!

 

[mservant]

I am really glad to hear kitty's doing better.  

Hopefully you are now getting to the bottom of what's going on and if you make changes to the litter the nasal issues will keep under control and kitty stay well. 

   I don't know the type of litter you've been using but generally I do think it's a good idea to go for one with as low dust level as possible. Little kitties breath in loads of dust as they dig away. What ever dust and odour you get they will be getting at a much more concentrated level. YUCK!

I prefer something without lots of added fragrance as well. I'm in the process of experimenting with change from one clumping Betonite litter (Sanicat Professional Clumping Gold) to another (Tigerine Canada clay Clumping  Unscented). The one I use is very low dust and is great for odour control but I'd like to see if the other one clumps better. My boy likes very fine litter and it has to be kept really clean or he won't go.....   It's worth looking through the various threads on litter and allergies on this site as everyone has different opinions, and comments on which ones more cats seem to be allergic to (corn seems to be one of the culprits).

 

[stephanietx]

Sounds like things are improving, which is great!!  Always like it when kitties start feeling better.  As for the litter, my husband has asthma, so we can't use anything with fragrances.  We use either World's Best Cat Litter or Blue Buffalo litter.  Both are flushable unless you're on a septic system.  They can both be dusty (as most litters are), but we prefer the World's Best as it's not as noticeable.  The Blue Buffalo leaves a brown dust on everything!
 

 

[firstimefoster]

Just wanted to give an update - less than 4 days after purchasing a new litter, and the bloody sneezes have gone!! I purchased Tidy Cat scoopable, and I've been topping off her box with it. So even though there's still some of the Fresh Step Extreme in there, its been enough to subside her allergy....and we're both much happier!

 

[paws4life]

You should contact the company of the old litter and let them know....or write a review for others with the same problem! Happy she's ok

 

[mservant]

That is really wonderful.  Happy kitty - happy firstimefoster. 

  Long may it continue and hope kitty doesn't have any other allergies to keep you busy.  

I hope you can now get down to some serious play and kitten cuddling.