Sneezing cats and fur loss

[jolo84]

My 1 1/2 year old male cat Charlie Rascal started coughing and sneezing around 6 weeks ago. The cough has now stopped but he is still sneezing. He is completely fine in himself with his normal appetite and playful. I noticed a small patch of fur missing around his neck a day or two ago, near his shoulder blade. No scab or anything (I will post  a picture). He did have ringworm as a kitten 18 months ago so I'm a bit concerned that he's got another ringworm infection? Or I think it could be linked to the sneezing/some kind of allergy.

I also have a 1 year old female foster cat called Chloe who was fine up until about 10 days ago when she also started sneezing. As of yesterday she also started coughing. She is lethargic and has lost her appetite. I took Chloe in off of the street in December, she has tested negative for FIV/FeLV and both cats are fully vaccinated. She and Charlie Rascal get on with one another to a certain extent, although they do fight, with him being such a nervous cat I'm concerned that he is stressed by having Chloe around.

Both cats are Arabian Maus and former street cats and they get extremely aggressive when at the vet, even so I took them for an appointment yesterday. The vet was unable to examine Charlie Rascal but he examined Chloe and found her temperature to be normal and her airways and lungs clear. He thinks it's an allergy to something in my apartment. I did change laundry detergent a while back and the cats often sleep in the spare room where we dry the laundry so I'm going to change to a hypoallergenic detergent and re-wash everything in the house as well as hoover and mop all the floors (with vinegar and water as opposed to using any chemicals).

Otherwise maybe it could be a food allergy? They currently eat Royal Canin Steralised dry food and either Felix or Friskies pouches of wet food.

The vet prescribed some steroid based anti allergy pills for 5 days, they took them last night and this morning the sneezing seems to have subsided somewhat. He said we really have until they finish the meds to truy and determine the cause of the allergy. They had been taking lysine for the last 3 weeks but they finished the packet and because I went away for a week I didn't get them anymore, the vet has given me a new bottle of that though and they are having it twice a day.

The other thing to mention is that I live in the UAE in a very small town where knowledgeable and expert vet care is limited so I would appreciate any other thoughts on the causes of the sneezing/fur loss.

Thanks in advance for any ideas or suggestions.

 

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• jolo84
• Apr 2, 2017

 

[margd]

I'm sorry you haven't gotten any replies before now.  It doesn't usually take someone so long to hear back but sometimes posts move so quickly down the queue that they are overlooked.  Unfortunately, I'm going to be of limited help because you and your vet have already covered almost everything that I would have covered.

I do think that it's important that the vet be able to examine that bald patch on Charlie Rascal (great name, btw.) You might consider purchasing a can of Feliway spray to spray inside his carrier before he goes to the vet and around the exam room at the vet.  Feliway is a product that is based on pheromones cats emit when they are happy and content and can often calm and relax anxious cats.  I don't know where you would obtain it in the UAE but here is the link to Comfort Zone's site to give you more information.  (Comfort Zone distributes Feliway products.)

Alternatively, you might ask your vet about giving Charlie Rascal a mild sedative before he goes to the vet.

It would not surprise me at all if this is an environmental allergy.  I had a cat once who was allergic to the carpets in my apartment and he developed asthma as soon as we moved in.  Your plans to switch detergents and to wash down everything with vinegar and water are exactly right.

Yes, it could be a food allergy - you may want to start keeping a food diary so that you can figure out if that's involved.

Good luck finding what's wrong and getting your two kitties back into good health!

 

[abyeb]

The bald patch can sometimes be caused by a flea/tick preventative. Was Charlie Rascal on something like that? Is there discharge around Charlie Rascal's eyes? Feline Herpes Virus can flare up with stress, so that could also be something to look into. I also agree with Margd about calming him before the vet visit... you could also feed him before the visit so he is feeling full, and a little lazy and less likely to be aggressive. Hopefully they can figure everything out!

 

[jolo84]

Thanks so much for the advice guys, I really appreciate it.

We have a pretty good pet food company in Dubai so I could probably get some Feliway spray delivered from there. Also I hadn't thought about asking for a sedative, great idea. I normally tend to not feed them before the vets in case they have an accident but it's definitely worth trying to feed them up before we go if it might calm them down somewhat!

Charlie Rascal does have watery eyes since he started sneezing. The vet did mention the Feline Herpes Virus so I'm now wondering if it could be that. Especially since today is the last day of their steroid medicine and I don't think it's made any difference.

I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and see what he thinks with a view to going back for another apppontment (waaaah!!)

 

[abyeb]

Let us know how everything goes!

 

[margd]

Let us know how everything goes!