virtually all cats have been exposed to the herpes virus, and as stated, the virus will stay dormant until stress or some trigger brings it to the surface. People with cats carry the virus around on their clothes (it lives for roughly a day or so, so when you pick up your babies it's all over you). It's also possible to get it at the vet as you wait in the waiting room with all those other kitties. Since I doubt vets change their clothing after each patient, I suspect it's on them too (they do wash their hands and clean the table after each patient). To avoid contamination of the waiting room and to reduce stress on poor kitty, we wait in the car until the last minute when we go to the vet (one of mine has herpes). Think of it this way: you have a broken finger, go to the doc office, wait in the office, notice that two of the people in the room are also waiting and they have colds. They sneeze, little droplets are flying about the room, and boom, a week later you have a cold. Did it come from the doc office or when you went shopping, or when your family members went to the store, etc.? The virus is virtually everywhere, and in most cats it's just a minor sneezing fit on occasion. I happen to have a cat with herpes whose eye issues are a bit more complicated. His brother was herpes free I thought, but when his immune system crashed, boom, he had herpes too-it could have been dormant, or he could have developed it recently.

anyway, it's not a reason to avoid the vet (not trying to bash vets, they're my cats' best friends), just as you wouldn't avoid the doc just to avoid the office germs. The vet can give you antibiotics to prevent secondary infections, which is important.

And as mentioned he could have an allergy. I have one who has a sneezing allergy, which clears up with doc prescribed antihistamine, showing it's not herpes but allergy. Go figure.

anyway, just my opinion based on my experience. The vet can give you his/her opinion on what to do. And if the kitty's congested, a vaporizer/humidifier can help too.

Take care and please keep us posted,

LisaS.

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