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

[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!