Sneezing coming & going in my cat!

[LuckyGirl82]

Hi everyone! So my cat Lucky has been battling what the vet says is an upper respiratory infection. She was seen Saturday December 13th & given the shot Convenia. We were fine the next 2 days & suddenly she began sneezing. I called the vet they told me that was normal that if she is sneezing after the medicine wears off in 14 days then she needs to be seen.
Well after this she was still sneezing on & off with just little tiny sneezes. Then on Christmas she was having sneezing fits with boogers flying & doing this coughing/hacking thing in the morning but then all day she was fine. She continued with no sneezing or hacking sounds until just today. I noticed a thick mucus booger in her nose & went to clean it out when she started sneezing & now she is doing the coughing/hacking sound again. The Convenia shot is done with the 14 days so now I’m at the point of okay this must be something else!
Had anyone ever experience this on/off sneezing with there cats?? I really thought we were out of the woods but of course my luck she starts to sneeze again! What do you think it could be??
I’m going to call the vet tomorrow even though my hubby tells me im being to hypersensitive your every little thing Lucky is doing & that she needs to just let her body fight the infection. She just got over a double ear infection too that turned into vertigo so I’m also wondering can this mucus get involved in the ears?? Any help would be appreciated!
I forgot to mention she is eating, drinking, going to the bathroom just fine. Her energy level is normal for this time of year as its too cold to go outside so she does lay about during the day till nighttime when it’s party time lol. She was fine this morning too jumped up on the bed & wanted to play. We also started giving her Lyseine every morning too.

 

[lisahe]

Given what you say about coughing and hacking, I think you should definitely give the vet a call tomorrow. Although it's not atypical for a cat who's had a URI to sneeze a little, intermittently, for a long time after (even years, as our previous cat did), the hacking cough is definitely something to be concerned about because it can be a symptom of asthma. (One of our present cats was just diagnosed with asthma.) It's definitely a good sign if your cat's eating, drinking, and using the litter box well (not to mention playing at night) but the coughing (particularly if the coughing doesn't stop quickly and/or it almost looks and sounds like Lucky's trying to get rid of a hairball) would concern me. At the very least, it would be a good idea for the vet to listen to Lucky's breathing.

Did you recently adopt Lucky from a shelter? I ask because the four cats we've adopted from a shelter have come home and gotten URIs almost immediately: some got over them faster and easier than others. The cat who sneezed all her life had a very hard time with the URI and had to be given fluids along with antibiotics (Clavamox); our cat with asthma didn't have quite as hard a time but I was concerned about her, too. The other two got over the infections quicker.

Good luck with Lucky -- I hope she feels better soon!

 

[LuckyGirl82]

Given what you say about coughing and hacking, I think you should definitely give the vet a call tomorrow. Although it's not atypical for a cat who's had a URI to sneeze a little, intermittently, for a long time after (even years, as our previous cat did), the hacking cough is definitely something to be concerned about because it can be a symptom of asthma. (One of our present cats was just diagnosed with asthma.) It's definitely a good sign if your cat's eating, drinking, and using the litter box well (not to mention playing at night) but the coughing (particularly if the coughing doesn't stop quickly and/or it almost looks and sounds like Lucky's trying to get rid of a hairball) would concern me. At the very least, it would be a good idea for the vet to listen to Lucky's breathing.

Did you recently adopt Lucky from a shelter? I ask because the four cats we've adopted from a shelter have come home and gotten URIs almost immediately: some got over them faster and easier than others. The cat who sneezed all her life had a very hard time with the URI and had to be given fluids along with antibiotics (Clavamox); our cat with asthma didn't have quite as hard a time but I was concerned about her, too. The other two got over the infections quicker.

Good luck with Lucky -- I hope she feels better soon!

Our vet actually did mention checking her for asthma if this didn’t clear up after the medication ran it’s course. I hate to keep loading her up with antibiotics too because I want her body to be able to fight off infections & not be one immune to antibiotics. What was the treatment for your kitty who has asthma??

we’ve had Lucky for 4 years now we actually use to feed her mother who was a feral cat she brought Lucky to our back porch door & she had such crusty eyes that she couldn’t see. We decided to get her looked at because she probably wouldn’t survive. Turns out she had a URI they tested her for everything else & it all came back normal. She was taken care of for a month by a foster parent & then we adopted her. She has a history of URI’s too & they always clear up with the meds but this one is hanging on which is leading me to believe it is something else.
I’m gonna call the vet tomorrow & if they brush my concerns off (which sometimes I feel like they do) I’m going to call this other vet that is #1 in our area but always impossibly booked!

 

[lisahe]

That's interesting that the vet already mentioned checking for asthma: I wonder if Lucky's lungs didn't sound quite right even after taking the URI out of the equation? (Back in the summer, our vet said Ireland's lungs sounded like they'd changed for the worse, gotten noisier.) I'd also have the same concerns as you about antibiotics.

Our vet prescribed an inhaler (Flovent) for Ireland; Flovent is used daily, preventively. We're now waiting for the inhaler to arrive. (I'm not sure where you live but if you're in the US, they're very expensive here but much cheaper if purchased from somewhere else, like Canada.) Ireland hasn't had many bad coughing incidents -- her worst two were nearly six years ago, shortly after we adopted her, but they stopped after we switched her kitty litter to Dr. Elsey's Respiratory Relief, which is unscented and low-dust -- but she's had a few small coughs and/or reverse sneezes over the years. (She really loves sniffing absolutely everything so tends to snarfle up dust and lint, which is terrible for her!) But the big thing was the sound of her lungs. The vet x-rayed her chest in early December and the x-ray showed inflammation and a "donut." It's unclear if Ireland actually has asthma or a form of bronchitis but the vet says that's not really important since the treatment is the same (Flovent) for either. We've also been doing tons of cleaning and decluttering, to try to get rid of as much dust, mustiness, and scented things as possible. (Goodbye ancient chairs and rugs! This and airing out more, too, despite it being winter, has really helped my year-round indoor allergies, so I'm hoping Ireland's also breathing a little freer!)

It's great that you have another vet you can turn to if the first one brushes you off. Considering what you say about the other infections, I would definitely want to get Lucky a chest x-ray if she hasn't already had one. If the other vet's a cat specialist, so much the better! (We're lucky to have a great cat specialist very close by.)

Please let me know what happens! Lucky's lucky to have you looking out for her.

 

[LuckyGirl82]

That's interesting that the vet already mentioned checking for asthma: I wonder if Lucky's lungs didn't sound quite right even after taking the URI out of the equation? (Back in the summer, our vet said Ireland's lungs sounded like they'd changed for the worse, gotten noisier.) I'd also have the same concerns as you about antibiotics.

Our vet prescribed an inhaler (Flovent) for Ireland; Flovent is used daily, preventively. We're now waiting for the inhaler to arrive. (I'm not sure where you live but if you're in the US, they're very expensive here but much cheaper if purchased from somewhere else, like Canada.) Ireland hasn't had many bad coughing incidents -- her worst two were nearly six years ago, shortly after we adopted her, but they stopped after we switched her kitty litter to Dr. Elsey's Respiratory Relief, which is unscented and low-dust -- but she's had a few small coughs and/or reverse sneezes over the years. (She really loves sniffing absolutely everything so tends to snarfle up dust and lint, which is terrible for her!) But the big thing was the sound of her lungs. The vet x-rayed her chest in early December and the x-ray showed inflammation and a "donut." It's unclear if Ireland actually has asthma or a form of bronchitis but the vet says that's not really important since the treatment is the same (Flovent) for either. We've also been doing tons of cleaning and decluttering, to try to get rid of as much dust, mustiness, and scented things as possible. (Goodbye ancient chairs and rugs! This and airing out more, too, despite it being winter, has really helped my year-round indoor allergies, so I'm hoping Ireland's also breathing a little freer!)

It's great that you have another vet you can turn to if the first one brushes you off. Considering what you say about the other infections, I would definitely want to get Lucky a chest x-ray if she hasn't already had one. If the other vet's a cat specialist, so much the better! (We're lucky to have a great cat specialist very close by.)

Please let me know what happens! Lucky's lucky to have you looking out for her.

He actually said her lungs sounded fine he did hear a bit of wheezing but he wasn’t alarmed by it seeing as how she was sneezing just a little when we brought her in. They didn’t do any X Rays or swabs from her nose I think they are just treating it symptomatically. They did this when she had vertigo until I demanded they check her ears since she wasn’t improving & sure enough she had a double inner ear infection that caused her vertigo incident. She is on a 3 month steroid that I read ca suppress her immune system so this could be a factor too.

He mentioned it could be dust so everyday I’ve been dusting everything everyday I took the baseboards off & vacuumed out the dust & cat hair. I got rid of all the air fresheners we had plugged in & I haven’t burned any candles I did this when she had her vertigo episode. Our kitty litter is the clumping kind so it does have dust in it we defiantly need to look into that respiratory kitty litter. I’m willing to try anything at this point & don’t care how much it costs as long as she is healthy is all that matters to me.

Im going to call & see what they have to say so far she hasnt sneezed or coughed since around 1 but I’m still going to call. I swear she hears me say vet & then it stops but as soon as I get relaxed & think we are out of the woods she starts sneezing again!The vet we go to is just a on man show the other is a practice so they have specialists I’m thinking that is going o be the next step. I feel comfortable going to him because he knows her history but at the same time maybe he is overlooking something because he has been treating her since 4 weeks old.

I will keep you posted on what they say tomorrow! Thank you for putting my nerves at ease. I’m a worrier & my mind goes to throwers possible scenario. Google doesn’t help my worrying either lol!

 

[lisahe]

You sound just like with the worrying and worst-case scenarios! It does sound like your vet has been giving you a lot of good advice on this and considering possibilities -- that's a great start. On the other hand, despite this vet knowing Lucky so well, I can see where the ear infection would make you want to consider other options... like the specialists.

It sounds like you're far better on the housecleaning angle than I am! I don't think I've ever swept and Swiffered this much in my life. Or thrown so many old things away. I now have to figure out what sorts of unscented cleaners I can use. I'd already been switching to gentler ones but now I have all the more reason.

Definitely check into Dr. Elsey's Respiratory Relief: it's very expensive kitty litter but I think it's really helped Ireland. (Particularly since we'd been using very dusty, very perfumed Fresh Step!) We use the clay/clumping Respiratory Relief. They do have coupons: there's a coupon booklet on the side of every box ($1 off) and their site has a rebate offer on this page. (It does mention "bag" rather than box, which is how the RR litter is sold, so you might want to call.) Our local Petco and PetSmart stores do sell Respiratory Reliev but their prices several dollars are higher than at our local Loyal Companion store so it's worth shopping/asking around.

Fingers crossed that Lucky makes it through the rest of the day without sneezing or coughing. Even if you get her checked out and there's nothing to worry about now, at least you'll be better prepared for what to watch for over time.

 

[LuckyGirl82]

I hope I’m not going to jinx this but there hasn’t been a single sneeze, stray booger or cough out of Lucky since 1. She wanted to go outside & walk around but it’s raining so she just walked around the porch now she’s laying on my husbands lap sleeping.

I’m defiantly going to switch litters we have 5 cats so we have 3 litter boxes which is going to be pricey but as long as there is no sneezing I don’t mind the cost. My neighbor was telling me about pellet litter but I’m not sure how my cats would feel about it lol. Our other neighbor also owns a pet store called Red Barn so I’m going to see if they carry it.

Try going on Grove.com they sell a lot of gentle cleaners. I switched to more natural cleaners than using my Clorox spray that is harsh.

Fingers crossed everything works out I will keep you posted

 

[lisahe]

I'm glad to hear Lucky did so well yesterday! The fresh and rainy air on the porch might have done her some good, too. I've been happy that it's been warm enough lately for Ireland to go out on the veranda for some air.

With all those cats, maybe you could buy new kitty litter in bulk! I'm not sure how the Respiratory Relief differs from regular Dr. Elsey's litter but you might want to write to ask them about the dust: I know that the RR has some sort of added "herbal essences" that allegedly reduce stress. I'm not sure if I'm paying a bunch more for that (and equally not sure if they help in any way!) but am afraid to switch because the stuff seems to (knock wood three times and all that) really work for Ireland!

I've never tried pelleted litter but do watch out for corn and wheat, which Dr. Pierson (here's what happens when you search "asthma" on her site -- scroll down looking for "asthma") says seem to be linked to more asthma. (Allergies/sensitivities/inflammation, I guess...)

Thank you for the tip on Grove -- I've also been googling around for homemade cleaner recipes, too, so who knows what will happen! I've gotten rid of all the Clorox-like stuff, too, those things are so nasty!

Good luck with that vet call today. I hope Lucky still isn't sneezing or coughing!

 

[lisahe]

Were you able to talk with the vet today? I hope all is well!

 

[LuckyGirl82]

I'm glad to hear Lucky did so well yesterday! The fresh and rainy air on the porch might have done her some good, too. I've been happy that it's been warm enough lately for Ireland to go out on the veranda for some air.

With all those cats, maybe you could buy new kitty litter in bulk! I'm not sure how the Respiratory Relief differs from regular Dr. Elsey's litter but you might want to write to ask them about the dust: I know that the RR has some sort of added "herbal essences" that allegedly reduce stress. I'm not sure if I'm paying a bunch more for that (and equally not sure if they help in any way!) but am afraid to switch because the stuff seems to (knock wood three times and all that) really work for Ireland!

I've never tried pelleted litter but do watch out for corn and wheat, which Dr. Pierson (here's what happens when you search "asthma" on her site -- scroll down looking for "asthma") says seem to be linked to more asthma. (Allergies/sensitivities/inflammation, I guess...)

Thank you for the tip on Grove -- I've also been googling around for homemade cleaner recipes, too, so who knows what will happen! I've gotten rid of all the Clorox-like stuff, too, those things are so nasty!

Good luck with that vet call today. I hope Lucky still isn't sneezing or coughing!

I was unable to get in touch with the vet today so I’m going to try again tomorrow. We went all day without any issues no runny nose, sneezing or coughing but about an hour ago she did that cough thing & then swallowed almost like she is trying to throw up a hairball. She only did it for 3 seconds & then went & ate like nothing happened. I checked her nose there are no boggers or corner wetness. Hopefully this stops all together I’ve been saying lots of prayers! Otherwise she is acting like her normal self! Thanks for checking in I’ll keep you posted what the vet says!

 

[LuckyGirl82]

Were you able to talk with the vet today? I hope all is well!

Update on Lucky today she is really sneezing & doing that hacking coughing thing this morning. We were able to get in touch with the vet & they said trying another round of oral antibiotics. My husband asked about ruling other things like asthma or polyps since her respiratory issues are reoccurring so they said they can do an XRay on Thursday. I’m so on the fence of what to do I hate the thought of dropping her off & she is sedated but then I’m like what if this is something else & we keep giving her antibiotics & her immune system becomes Immune to the antibiotics when she didn’t need all this medicine in the first place.
They scheduled her for Thursday morning just in case we still wanted to go through with it. Did they sedate Ireland for XRays?? I’m pretty scared right now & on the fence about what decision to make.

 

[lisahe]

Update on Lucky today she is really sneezing & doing that hacking coughing thing this morning. We were able to get in touch with the vet & they said trying another round of oral antibiotics. My husband asked about ruling other things like asthma or polyps since her respiratory issues are reoccurring so they said they can do an XRay on Thursday. I’m so on the fence of what to do I hate the thought of dropping her off & she is sedated but then I’m like what if this is something else & we keep giving her antibiotics & her immune system becomes Immune to the antibiotics when she didn’t need all this medicine in the first place.
They scheduled her for Thursday morning just in case we still wanted to go through with it. Did they sedate Ireland for XRays?? I’m pretty scared right now & on the fence about what decision to make.

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that she's been doing the hacking cough thing again today! My personal view is that I think you're right about prescribing more antibiotics. And good for your husband about asking to rule out asthma and polyps: given the fairly frequent coughing, I'd want to get that checked out ASAP even if it takes an x-ray!

I don't know the details of how other cats were diagnosed (I'll tag a couple other people with asthmatic cats to see if they have stories they can share) but Ireland hadn't had many coughing episodes. Her lungs didn't sound good at her annual exam in July. And they sounded the same again in early December when she had a tooth pulled so the vet x-rayed her when she was still anesthetized. The x-ray showed inflammation and a donut so the vet prescribed an inhaler. That was it. I think A Azazel has mentioned that a cat doesn't necessarily need to be sedated for an x-ray. Maybe She's a witch or 1 bruce 1 or LTS3 has thoughts on diagnosis?

It's my understanding that x-rays are pretty key to diagnosis. (Here's an article that mentions it.) I have to confess that I was scared about x-rays and diagnosis, too, probably mostly because I was pretty sure I knew this would happen eventually. Plus asthma can progress with very little "notice." As scary as the diagnosis is (both in terms of how it's made and what "asthma" means) the really good news is that inhalers -- for prevention -- seem to help cats a lot. Ireland's inhalers arrived yesterday and I was able to give her her first puff, which she even breathed in a couple times, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic, particularly since her asthma/bronchitis was (I think/hope!) caught before she had a lot of persistent symptoms.

I hope Lucky stops coughing today! (I know this is especially hard, given the holidays. )

 

[LuckyGirl82]

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that she's been doing the hacking cough thing again today! My personal view is that I think you're right about prescribing more antibiotics. And good for your husband about asking to rule out asthma and polyps: given the fairly frequent coughing, I'd want to get that checked out ASAP even if it takes an x-ray!

I don't know the details of how other cats were diagnosed (I'll tag a couple other people with asthmatic cats to see if they have stories they can share) but Ireland hadn't had many coughing episodes. Her lungs didn't sound good at her annual exam in July. And they sounded the same again in early December when she had a tooth pulled so the vet x-rayed her when she was still anesthetized. The x-ray showed inflammation and a donut so the vet prescribed an inhaler. That was it. I think A Azazel has mentioned that a cat doesn't necessarily need to be sedated for an x-ray. Maybe She's a witch or 1 bruce 1 or LTS3 has thoughts on diagnosis?

It's my understanding that x-rays are pretty key to diagnosis. (Here's an article that mentions it.) I have to confess that I was scared about x-rays and diagnosis, too, probably mostly because I was pretty sure I knew this would happen eventually. Plus asthma can progress with very little "notice." As scary as the diagnosis is (both in terms of how it's made and what "asthma" means) the really good news is that inhalers -- for prevention -- seem to help cats a lot. Ireland's inhalers arrived yesterday and I was able to give her her first puff, which she even breathed in a couple times, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic, particularly since her asthma/bronchitis was (I think/hope!) caught before she had a lot of persistent symptoms.

I hope Lucky stops coughing today! (I know this is especially hard, given the holidays. )

So we were actually able to speak with the vet ourselves not just the vet tech & he said he lungs didn’t cause any concern for asthma when we brought her in last time or any other time. His recommendation is to try oral antibiotics & then move on to the X Ray if this doesn’t work. He said given there is fluid when she sneezes that is coming out it is most likely the infection still hanging on. I’m wondering if she has a dust allergy yesterday we installed a closet in our bedroom & it kicked up a lot of dust & debris & all of this started shortly after. I vacuumed (we have carpet in that room) & wipes the walls down.
We have to go pick her medication up at 3 so I’m going to show the vet the video I have of her doing that hacking/coughing sound & see what he thinks. I’m also going to ask if she doesn’t need to be sedated while doing the X Ray I just hate to put her through that. Thank you for all the links to read up on asthma I’m going to read up & then bring questions to my vet. Fingers crossed the antibiotic does the trick!

 

[She's a witch]

My cats were never sedated for X-rays. One generally freezes when at the vet so he was easy, but my girl is usually restless all the time so I was somewhat amazed when I watched two vet tech restraining her for X-rays in some sort of magic way that made her still without force. They know how to do this. For asthma two pictures are needed so it made it even more difficult, but they managed without any problems at all.

Even if the X-ray would show inflammation, my vet would still insist on doing antibiotics run to rule out some bacteria that cause similar symptoms (I think bortadella and mycoplasma but I may be wrong...). I avoid giving my cats strong medication without confirmed reason so I opted for culture instead which was negative. My vet still voted for antibiotics as the sample used was not from lower respiratory track (that would require sedation) but she also agreed that in our case, bacterial infection was very unlikely due to her symptoms. Since your cat is sneezing as well and not only dry coughing, in my not professional opinion it makes sense to check if it’s bacterial. But maybe it could be allergic reaction as well? So if i were you, I’d insist on X-ray just to be sure. If I remember correctly the antibiotics for mycoplasma& bortadella must be given for a long time and that was one of the reasons I opted not to do this. Anyway, I hope the current treatment will resolve all the issues and you won’t have to consider this again

lisahe I’m using diluted vinegar for almost all cleaning. I was used to 10% vinegar, and most vinegars in the shops in the US are only 5%, so I buy a gallon of 20% from amazon and dilute it with water to my liking I have spray bottles that I use almost on everything. Smell is difficult, especially for my husband, but goes away quickly. I still use some detergents but I make sure they are unscented, there are many options for unscented laundry detergent or unscented dish soap. I even use vinegar as laundry softener/anti static and it works great. All my cosmetics (shampoo, body lotion) are unscented. When I use perfume I make sure Ygritte is away. I still use toilet disinfectant but I always make sure cats are away, although I will change it to hydrogen peroxide as soon as I’ll mobilize myself to search for a good recipe.

 

[lisahe]

Thank you for checking in, She's a witch , everything you say (as always!) makes good sense to me! This also reminded me that our other cat had to be x-rayed (after her plant-eating incident) and that was done without sedation. You're right that the vet techs know how to do this.

Particular thank you for the cleaning tips! Do you use white vinegar? I've used that for certain things over the years but we're run out. We've been using unscented laundry detergent for some years (thankfully, since detergent puts so much smell into the air!) and our dish soap has very little smell... it's the spray uses (the shower, sinks, etc.) I need to figure out. I'm going to start phasing out scented cosmetics (though what we have is pretty minimally scented) but so far, the hardest thing to part with has been hairspray. It's what works best on my (very fine) hair but oh well!

 

[She's a witch]

Yes, white vinegar, diluted (not dilated I corrected it in my previous response) with filtered water. I pour it to glass spray bottles and use it on my kitchen counters (my cats allow themselves everywhere so to me it's important to use it before any food preparation), sink, shower, bathtub, for spot cleaning after barfs, I even use one in the litter box (Ygritte pees high on the box's wall so I spot clean the sides everyday). Every now and then and if more scrubbing is required for sinks etc, I use baking soda.

I have no tips on replacing hairspray.. but I'd say if it's not strongly scented and if you use it behind closed doors, you can get away with this one ;-) there are some recipes for natural hair sprays in the internet but I'm pretty sure they won't recreate a proper commercial hairspray, but maybe I'm wrong?

oh and as for litter, we use sorghum grass seed litters (SmartCat or Petco's version, SoPhresh), I find it the least dusty of natural litters that we've tried, and we've tried many. I was skeptical about this being grass at first since it can be allergen but now I'm convinced it doesn't add to Ygritte's issues and it being almost dust free is a win for us. I did and somewhat still consider pine pellets but haven't tried that for several reasons, one being that my boy is not a fan of pellets (we tried wood clumping pellets back in Europe), and then I always thought that pine is a strong allergen and toxic for cats, and although I know the pellets are kiln dried and should be safe, I'm still not convinced as I hear mixed reports on how strong the smell of the pellets is. The price aspect of pine pellets is so tempting though..

 

[lisahe]

L LuckyGirl82 , I hope the trip to the vet's goes well! Also, about the dusty closet: if it's at all possible to open a window, even if it's really cold and you can only leave it open for a short while, that can help a ton. (We had to do that a couple weekends ago when we had to do some unexpected bathroom reconstruction!) Exhaust fans are fantastic.

Thank you, She's a witch , for the cleaning ideas. Personally, I love the idea of "dilated" vinegar. I think you're right about the hairspray! I'm okay with getting rid of it: I'd been using it in the bathroom with the exhaust fan running but even that left a lingering smell. (I'm really noticing those now, particularly since all the dusting has cleared out my nose!) I'm getting used to other stuff for my hair and long due for a haircut so will figure this out!

 

[LuckyGirl82]

My cats were never sedated for X-rays. One generally freezes when at the vet so he was easy, but my girl is usually restless all the time so I was somewhat amazed when I watched two vet tech restraining her for X-rays in some sort of magic way that made her still without force. They know how to do this. For asthma two pictures are needed so it made it even more difficult, but they managed without any problems at all.

Even if the X-ray would show inflammation, my vet would still insist on doing antibiotics run to rule out some bacteria that cause similar symptoms (I think bortadella and mycoplasma but I may be wrong...). I avoid giving my cats strong medication without confirmed reason so I opted for culture instead which was negative. My vet still voted for antibiotics as the sample used was not from lower respiratory track (that would require sedation) but she also agreed that in our case, bacterial infection was very unlikely due to her symptoms. Since your cat is sneezing as well and not only dry coughing, in my not professional opinion it makes sense to check if it’s bacterial. But maybe it could be allergic reaction as well? So if i were you, I’d insist on X-ray just to be sure. If I remember correctly the antibiotics for mycoplasma& bortadella must be given for a long time and that was one of the reasons I opted not to do this. Anyway, I hope the current treatment will resolve all the issues and you won’t have to consider this again

lisahe I’m using diluted vinegar for almost all cleaning. I was used to 10% vinegar, and most vinegars in the shops in the US are only 5%, so I buy a gallon of 20% from amazon and dilute it with water to my liking I have spray bottles that I use almost on everything. Smell is difficult, especially for my husband, but goes away quickly. I still use some detergents but I make sure they are unscented, there are many options for unscented laundry detergent or unscented dish soap. I even use vinegar as laundry softener/anti static and it works great. All my cosmetics (shampoo, body lotion) are unscented. When I use perfume I make sure Ygritte is away. I still use toilet disinfectant but I always make sure cats are away, although I will change it to hydrogen peroxide as soon as I’ll mobilize myself to search for a good recipe.

Thank you for all this information it is really helpful! I’m going to talk more with our vet to see if we don’t have to sedate her she pretty much freezes up at the vet so I don’t see the need but I know they may need her to lay a certain way & so on. If they say no they need to sedate her I’m going to try this other highly recommended vet in my area. I don’t want to sedate her unless it’s absolutely necessary. We are doing a round of Clindamycin for the URI I’m hoping it takes & she gets over it. She hasn’t coughed or sneezed since we got home but this is how it’s been very on & off. We had a 4 day stretch without any sneezing or coughing but then it came back. We’ll see what the next few days bring I’m hoping all good.

 

[LuckyGirl82]

L LuckyGirl82 , I hope the trip to the vet's goes well! Also, about the dusty closet: if it's at all possible to open a window, even if it's really cold and you can only leave it open for a short while, that can help a ton. (We had to do that a couple weekends ago when we had to do some unexpected bathroom reconstruction!) Exhaust fans are fantastic.

Thank you, She's a witch , for the cleaning ideas. Personally, I love the idea of "dilated" vinegar. I think you're right about the hairspray! I'm okay with getting rid of it: I'd been using it in the bathroom with the exhaust fan running but even that left a lingering smell. (I'm really noticing those now, particularly since all the dusting has cleared out my nose!) I'm getting used to other stuff for my hair and long due for a haircut so will figure this out!

So we are doing a round of Clindamycin to see if this helps. The vet was busy with an appointment & then he had 2 others behind so I was unable to show him the video. She got her meds & wasn’t happy she knows the sound of the dropper hitting the side of the tube & goes running lol. No coughing or sneezing so far & I hope it stays that way. I’m going to speak more with the vet to see if it’s necessary to sedate her & if they say yes Im going to try the highly recommended vet (That is impossible to get an appointment with) & see what they say.
I’m defiantly going to try opening the windows more she loves to hangout in our mud room/stove room because it’s so toasty but I’m gonna open the windows in there because maybe the fumes from the fire aggravate her when we open to add more wood. I’m gonna have to try everything to rule a bunch of things out.

 

[lisahe]

I’m defiantly going to try opening the windows more she loves to hangout in our mud room/stove room because it’s so toasty but I’m gonna open the windows in there because maybe the fumes from the fire aggravate her when we open to add more wood. I’m gonna have to try everything to rule a bunch of things out.

She sounds like Ireland! Ireland also hangs out by the fires: she loves to run up to them and stare in at the flames! (We have two fireplace inserts/stoves so there are windows.) We generally don't get a lot of smoke from those unless the weather's weird but I've been opening the windows more and putting on the exhaust fans more anyway. It's hard to say what bothers Ireland most since she hasn't had too many coughing episodes at all but I think it's more the stuff that she sniffs up that causes reactions.

I hope you're able to show the video to the vet! I also hope the Clindamycin works.