Information for anyone who has a cat with chronic sneezing problems...

[moosmom]

I got my newest issue of Cat Fancy Magazine the other day. It's the only magazine I read cover to cover.

In the "Ask the Vet" portion of it was a woman who wrote in to say she adopted a cat who has chronic sneezing and nose congestion.

My cat Mollie Rose, also known as the "booger queen" has had chronic problems with sneezing, nose congestion and has been diagnosed with kitty asthma. For those of you who also have kitties with these symptoms, I thought this might interest you.

Here's what the vet said:

What you and your cat are going through is a challenge to veterinarians, as it usually cannot be cured. Most likely your cat was exposed to the feline herpes virus as a kitten, causing permanent damage to her nasal passages and sinuses and making her hose more susceptible bacterial infections. Treating for a minimum of four to six weeks with antibiotics may temporarily help some cats.

There are several different types and combinations of antibiotics including asithromycin or a fluroquinolone paired with clindamycin. Use of antibiotcs and anti-imflammatory drops in the nose COULD give some relief. Interferon treatments help some cats with viral infections.

More aggressive procedures to consider would be a nasal flush under anesthesia and culturing her discharge. Or, if x-rays show they are obstructed, surgically opening her sinuses.

Mollie Rose was exposed to a herpes virus when MooShoo came to live with me. He had a herpes virus, thanks to the WONDERFUL breeder (I'm being sarcastic here) who failed to treat it, hence causing MooShoo's partial vision.

I have come to the conclusion, after many vet visits and lots of money spent on finding a cure, that, as long as my cat is eating, using the litterbox and drinking water, I'm not going to worry about it.

[lisalee]

I also had a chronic sneezer. Sash sneezed, sniffled and later coughed daily for a few years straight. He also had a bad upper respiratory infection as a kitten. It wasn't until this past Sept. for his annual check-up and another x-ray of his lungs for the coughing, that we finally have it stopped. Horray! My vet perscribed the antibiotic Zeniquin, before that Sash was always given clavamox/amoxicillian and it would help for awhile but it would always return. I never gave antibiotics often though, since Sash was always eating and feeling fine. I always tried many homeopathic/herbal supplements over the years instead of resorting to drugs. It wasn't until the zeniquin though that the coughing and sneezing stopped. It is virtually non exsistent now. It's been 8 months and after so many years of dealing with his chronic problems I cannot believe it. I thank our lucky stars everyday. Even though Sash always handled it like a trooper, mommy worried much more! It's a very difficult chronic condition to treat though, but I also believe as long as they're eating and enjoying a good quality of life, I wouldn't try to many antibiotics if there not helping.

Best wishes to Molly Rose, I hope you find something to help your baby too!

Lisa & Sash





http://pages.ivillage.com/lisalee992 (Sash's website)

[eclipseisafatty]

My kitty has the virus and she manages to go through life just fine. The vet told us the virus will come out when she gets stressed. We usually take her in the the bathroom and run the hot water in the shower and that steams her little nose. If it gets really bad, we get her antibiotics. It's so sad when the little one sneezes though!!!!

[lisalee]

Yes, the steam in the bathroom is a good suggestion. We did that many times too! I let it get real steamy in there and brought Sash in when I showered and usually let him in there about 15-20 minutes.

Lisa & Sash

[brettloveskittiez]

So I just stumbled upon this forum and thread but anywho... So my grandma lives out in the texas hill country and has quite a few cats on her land. The cats are all healthy, well fed, neutered/spayed except for one thing... there is this chronic sniffly sneezy runny nose sickness that runs rampant through all the cats she cares for. I'm not entirely sure if ALL of the cats get it but at some point in time most of them do. For those that get it I would say 75% of them clear up and are perfectly healthy after a month or two, but the 25% that don't get rid of it end up living a life a constant sneezing sniffly noses. Now to present day, I adopted one of my grandmas cats and at the time didn't realize how bad his sniffling was. Once I got my cat back to colorado the sneezing became much much worse. It was so bad I started calling him nasty cat, mostly for the 3 inch long solid nasty slug looking boogers, which I refer to as snot rockets if that gives a good mental image, that he would launch out of his nose on a daily basis. My mom being a veterinarian had tried every medecine she could possibly think of, and so had many other veterinarians which she knew and no one could cure nasty cat (Spike) of his chronic sneezy running sniffly nose. Apparently a new medecine, Orbax, came on the market not to long ago and my mom thought I should give it to Spike, err nasty cat, after she had heard good things about it. BAM one day after his first dose it was gone. It has been almost a week now and after months of CONSTANT and I mean ALL THE TIME sneezing all over me, snot rockets on the wall, just nasty nasty kitty stuff... one day is all it took. One day after his first dose of Orbax and I have not heard him sniff or sneeze a single time. So if anyone finds the description of Spike farmiliar I would suggest giving Orbax a try because for me and Spike, it was an absolute miracle which changed our lives forever.

[Linda and Nanu]

I read an entry on this website titled "Sniffly Nose Cat" the author had a cat with the same problem as Nanu. Constant sneezing and slug size snot rockets. My rescued kitty must have contracted feline herpes as well and never recovered from the symptoms. It was 10 months of hell before your website provided the answer. Orbax. I asked my vet to prescribe them and he gladly did. 30 days taking one 22.7mg Orbax pill per day and she is CURED! Don't hesitate at the cost, $4/pill. Your kitty will no longer sneeze, cough, hack & choke. She's even sweeter as I'm sure she had a chronic sinus headache to go along with the infection. THANK YOU to brettloveskittiez for aiming me in the right direction and thank you to her mom, the vet who suggested the new drug to her. Nanu & Linda

I got my newest issue of Cat Fancy Magazine the other day. It's the only magazine I read cover to cover.

In the "Ask the Vet" portion of it was a woman who wrote in to say she adopted a cat who has chronic sneezing and nose congestion.

My cat Mollie Rose, also known as the "booger queen" has had chronic problems with sneezing, nose congestion and has been diagnosed with kitty asthma. For those of you who also have kitties with these symptoms, I thought this might interest you.

Here's what the vet said:

What you and your cat are going through is a challenge to veterinarians, as it usually cannot be cured. Most likely your cat was exposed to the feline herpes virus as a kitten, causing permanent damage to her nasal passages and sinuses and making her hose more susceptible bacterial infections. Treating for a minimum of four to six weeks with antibiotics may temporarily help some cats.

There are several different types and combinations of antibiotics including asithromycin or a fluroquinolone paired with clindamycin. Use of antibiotcs and anti-imflammatory drops in the nose COULD give some relief. Interferon treatments help some cats with viral infections.

More aggressive procedures to consider would be a nasal flush under anesthesia and culturing her discharge. Or, if x-rays show they are obstructed, surgically opening her sinuses.

Mollie Rose was exposed to a herpes virus when MooShoo came to live with me. He had a herpes virus, thanks to the WONDERFUL breeder (I'm being sarcastic here) who failed to treat it, hence causing MooShoo's partial vision.

I have come to the conclusion, after many vet visits and lots of money spent on finding a cure, that, as long as my cat is eating, using the litterbox and drinking water, I'm not going to worry about it.

[Linda and Nanu]

I read an entry on this website titled "Sniffly Nose Cat" the author had a cat with the same problem as Nanu. Constant sneezing and slug size snot rockets. My rescued kitty must have contracted feline herpes as well and never recovered from the symptoms. It was 10 months of hell before your website provided the answer.

ORBAX

I asked my vet to prescribe them and he gladly did. 30 days taking one 22.7mg Orbax pill per day and she is CURED! Don't hesitate at the cost, $4/pill. Your kitty will no longer sneeze, cough, hack & choke. She's even sweeter as I'm sure she had a chronic sinus headache to go along with the infection.

THANK YOU to brettloveskittiez for aiming me in the right direction and thank you to her mom, the vet who suggested the new drug to her

As an aside, Nanu is an 8 pound Egyptian Mau who was a year and a half old when she received her dosages. She was rescued through EMRO the Egyptian Mau Rescue Organization and may well be one of the last kitties to escape Cairo. She came to me after I lost my dear Bastet who I personally rescued on a trip to Cairo in 1997. Check out their website, without the SPCA conditions for our pets would be....well, just read some of the stories. They tell it all.


Nanu & Linda

[skattan74]

Insi had similar problem since we got him. After $325 fees (x-rays, full blood lab test, the work), the vet said he will always remain like this and nothing we can do. I told him about Ziniquin (read the post here). After he finished his course, he is cured. NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH! No sneezing, coughing, nothing! He is still a heavy breather and he may get it back but for now, this is a magic drug! Thanks for the post :-)

[Lovefurbabies]

I was online researching information to see if there is something I can do for my 2 yr old kitty and stumbled across this thread. Elvis is a Ragdoll that we got from a breeder, he was exposed to mycoplasma as a kitten and was very, very sick for the first 4 months of his life; URI and pneumonia and required multiple rounds of antibiotics, nebulizer treatments, more rounds of antibiotics and nothing has been able to permanently get rid of his condition. His latest round of antibiotic was about 8 months ago, we did 8 weeks of Amoxicillin, and while he is on it, he is better, but as soon as the meds are stopped, it all comes back. I can only assume from everything I've been reading that the antibiotics clear up the primary infection, but are not curing the secondary, or chronic condition. At this point, his only symptoms are sneezing and big globs of snot coming out of his nose, and occasional coughing or gagging on the snot while he is sleeping. Otherwise he is a happy, healthy cat. The snot is really gross and usually he cleans up after himself, but many times it lands on us or my carpet or on the wall and I find dried snot everywhere. It's really disgusting!

My vet has been wonderful and has given us huge discounts on all of the tests and different treatments for Elvis. We did the PCR panel which was positive for Mycoplasma Felis, but as I said, nothing seems to be permanently curing this chronic condition.

It looks like maybe Orbax is something that came out recently, I will ask my vet about it and Zeniquin. I wonder why he didn't offer those last year when we were trying to get rid of this. Any insight is much appreciated!!

[Karen]

Do let us know what your vet says! Some vets are better than others at keeping up with the latest in treatments, so it is worth asking.

[TerriO]

I am SOOO glad that my friend directed me to this forum! I read with interest the drugs that folks have had luck with with their sneezing cats! I hate that my DH calls one of our cats "Snots!" I am calling my vet tomorrow and seeing if she will prescribe either Zenequin or Orbax for him. Right now I am giving him Enisyl-F, an L-Lysine supplement that my vet prescribed . It doesnt seem to be doing anything and she did say that if we stopped it the snots would start again! It doesnt seem to be helping and at 40 some dollars for 50 days...and it returns when stopped does not seem like a great deal!
TerriO

[terryroy]

I adopted Milo 4 weeks ago, he is a beautiful 2 year old cross Burmese and Somali boy, the breeder wanted a home as she said he was a mistake breed, she breeds Burmese and Somalis. She said she never bonded with him; he cannot go to cat shows with her and is not part of her breeding plan. So I bought him home on two weeks trial.

I isolated him for a few days from Caspar, my 14 year old lilac Balinese. I notices Milo sneezed a lot and saw large globules of snot on the floor etc. I contacted the breeder and she told me he was on antibiotics and otherwise health and the feeling was this is what he does or there could be a blockage. When his inoculation card arrived I took him to our vet and was told the inoculations are out of date so we have to start again and that he has had cat flu in the past and this is the cause of his chronic condition. Antibiotics can help with a secondary infection but not clear the sneezing and snotty nose, I was advised to bathe his eyes and nose daily with cotton wool and cold boiled water and that it may get better in the future or may never. He could go into the bathroom with steam or use a nebulisor (which some cats will not tolerate.) Consequently the insurance will not cover him for illness for his nose, eyes and lungs for life.

I gave a donation to the breeder and now have Milo micro-chipped and insured (apart from the existing condition), I have not contacted the breeder again as I can’t help feeling she was not up front with me. Milo had a reaction to the first inoculations, just a bit subdued for a day and more runny nose and eyes, he is due the 2nd booster next week. He is a loving cat with a beautiful personality and is lively and get on well now with Caspar. He is part of the family already! I guess I now need to accept that this is his situation, I bathe his eyes and nose daily and it needs doing. Apart from this is a great cat!

[Grace]

I also had a chronic sneezer. Sash sneezed, sniffled and later coughed daily for a few years straight. He also had a bad upper respiratory infection as a kitten. It wasn't until this past Sept. for his annual check-up and another x-ray of his lungs for the coughing, that we finally have it stopped. Horray! My vet perscribed the antibiotic Zeniquin, before that Sash was always given clavamox/amoxicillian and it would help for awhile but it would always return. I never gave antibiotics often though, since Sash was always eating and feeling fine. I always tried many homeopathic/herbal supplements over the years instead of resorting to drugs. It wasn't until the zeniquin though that the coughing and sneezing stopped. It is virtually non exsistent now. It's been 8 months and after so many years of dealing with his chronic problems I cannot believe it. I thank our lucky stars everyday. Even though Sash always handled it like a trooper, mommy worried much more! It's a very difficult chronic condition to treat though, but I also believe as long as they're eating and enjoying a good quality of life, I wouldn't try to many antibiotics if there not helping.

Best wishes to Molly Rose, I hope you find something to help your baby too!

Lisa & Sash





http://pages.ivillage.com/lisalee992 (Sash's website)

Red had a problem with a snotty nose - none of the antibiotics worked until we tried Zeniquin. Marvelous drug

[jasper&scratch]

Our stray we adopted has feline herpes virus & snot sneezing issues. I was wondering if anyones cat with this has had bad AND I MEAN BAD breath too? He is ok somedays bad others. But when he is bad it is tons of sneezing, lots of snot, heavy breathing and snoring. Our vet told us to try L-Lysine treats to see if that helps. We have had several rounds of antibiotics with no changes. I am also trying HomeoPet nose relief that is 100% natural and had great reviews on Amazon. Has been over a week of L-Lysine & Nose Relief with no changes. So, my little Jasper is a hot mess with bad breath. Any in put would be helpful to help with any of his issues.

[Karen]

Our stray we adopted has feline herpes virus & snot sneezing issues. I was wondering if anyones cat with this has had bad AND I MEAN BAD breath too? He is ok somedays bad others. But when he is bad it is tons of sneezing, lots of snot, heavy breathing and snoring. Our vet told us to try L-Lysine treats to see if that helps. We have had several rounds of antibiotics with no changes. I am also trying HomeoPet nose relief that is 100% natural and had great reviews on Amazon. Has been over a week of L-Lysine & Nose Relief with no changes. So, my little Jasper is a hot mess with bad breath. Any in put would be helpful to help with any of his issues.

What are you feeding him? Does he stay in or go in and out? Poor snuffly kitty! Oh, and as for the bad breath, did the vet check his teeth?