Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello to everyone...

I have an older spayed female cat. She is about 10 years old now, and quite heavy set.

For 2 to 3 days now she has been sneezing. She will have little sneezing fits where she will sneeze 3 or 4 times in a row.

Charlotte does not go outside, and never has been outside in her life.
We have one other cat which we have had for over a year now, and she does not go outside either.

Charlotte tends to be a noisy breather, mostly due to her size I believe, so I have not noticed any changes there. She doesn't snore any more or less than she ever has.
Her third eyelids (sorry, can't remember the technical name for them right now) have been showing quite a bit as well, with her right eye appearing to be watery.

Any idea what could be going on with my big girl? I know cats can catch viruses, but I don't know how she would come in contact with any when she doesn't go outside.

Thanks for any help you can offer,

Kim and Charlotte.

Sounds like she has an upper respitory infection. I would call the vet.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

a trip to the vet is in the plans for tomorrow (wednesday).

How do cats that never go outside get these viruses though? Is there any way to prevent them? Also, is there any way to minimize the risk of my other cat catching this "cold" from Charlotte?

Poor girl is going to be absolutely terrified tomorrow. Everything about the world outside her front door terrifies her.
She's the only cat I've ever had that has NEVER tried to get out and get a nose full of fresh air. She runs from an open door, so going to the vet upsets her SO much.

This is Charlotte:

And this is Becky:

Thanks for your help,
we appreciate it,

Kim, Charlotte and Becky.

Both kitties are as cute as they can be.

It's hard to figure about viruses sometimes. I guess they can lie dormant for quite some time. More than likely it could be a bacterial infection - which could be accidentally carried by you some way or somehow gotten through the environment. Also there is a possibility that this is some kind of allergy or even some sort of foreign object in the nose - which could also explain a bacterial infection. You are very wise to get her to the vet. Let us know what happens - and if it is a virus, ask the vet how she could possibly have gotten it. I'd be interested to hear some reasons.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

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.