Questions About Sneezing And Pooping.

Lari

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Hey guys. I have a couple questions I'd love to get some insight on.

Lelia's been sneezing quite a bit the past few days. She has no other symptoms - no watery eyes and is eating and playing normally. My first order of business is a good vacuuming. I also recently switched to a clumping litter, when my boyfriend's cat was here and I had a second litterbox to experiment. I like it a lot better but if the clay pieces are a lot smaller, could they be making her sneeze? Or is she probably sick?

I've also noticed just in the past couple days, she's not squatting to poop. She's standing and putting her left hind leg on the edge of the litterbox. The poop that's coming out looks completely normal, but I'm wondering if I should be concerned.

I have enough in savings that I can afford a vet visit if you think it's needed, but I just spent a bunch of money on an eye exam and contacts for myself so I'd rather not spend more if I'm just overreacting as a fairly new cat owner. Any suggestions?
 

mrsgreenjeens

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It could definitely be the litter that's causing her to sneeze. Is it scented? If so, maybe try another one that is unscented. And that could be the reason she isn't putting all fours on the ground in there! I don't know...just guessing. But if she isn't favoring that leg when outside the box, then I'm thinking there isn't really a problem.
 

Brian007

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Well, I'd hazard a guess that the new litter could be the cause of both 'symptoms'.

The dust from clay litters can tickle little noses.

And, if it feels different on her sensitive paw pads, then she might be experimenting with squatting styles.

I've just put a different litter into one of my boxes and it's taking a while for my cats to get their heads around it. I'm keeping a keen eye on all activity in this box - much of it consists of Parker jumping in and out, but he did a poo in there today, which is a step forward.

Keep a close eye on her litter box and nose behaviour to see if she is just adjusting to the newness of it all.
 
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Lari

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mrsgreenjeens mrsgreenjeens - it's supposed to be unscented. I bought the red tidy cats clumping for when the bf's cat was here, but I noticed a scent to it which the red non-clumping didn't have. So I bought the white unscented with charcoal this time. But there's probably still some of the scented one around - the other cat was pretty messy in the litterbox. It's just the granules are so much smaller than the non-clumping which made me wonder if they were tickling her nose.

Brian007 Brian007 - I noticed she did the same leg up thing yesterday before I changed the litter.

Anyway, it sounds like I should vacuum and give her a couple days to see if she adjusts before getting too worried, them?
 

Brian007

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The leg thing might be pure coincidence or some new-fangled fashion she's discovered. Either way, any new behaviour should be watched, so try to keep a quiet eye on her when she goes to the box. My lot are used to me poking my nose in on their business, following them around, and generally making a nuisance of myself. But if Lelia isn't used to you spying on her every move, I'd try to be subtle about it as cats can be quite self-conscious. :hide:
 
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