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My 4 year old cat Kara started sneezing about 5 days ago. She goes through periods of 3-5 minutes where she just keeps sneezing, then she stops for a while, but she has a dozen or so episodes like this a day. And she paws at her nose while she's sneezing, as though it's itchy or irritated. She is not sneezing any thick or colored mucus, and her nose isn't obviously running, plus her eyes look fine, not watery or with the 3rd lid up or anything like that. Also, she's eating and pottying fine, and she's as active as she's ever been. I have 3 other cats, and none of them is sneezing at all. They are all exclusively indoor cats, and they haven't been out of the house since their last vet checkups over 1 1/2 months ago. Also, they've all been tested (and are negative) for FeLV/HIV, and they are all up-to-date on their vax.

My question is, is it worth taking her to the vet for this? My initial thought is to continue to wait and see, but she's sneezing so much that it wakes her up all the time and I feel badly for her. But Kara doesn't deal well with going to the vet, and she doesn't take medicine well, and my vet is the type who'll stick a cat with a viral infection on antibiotics to prevent any secondary infections, whether or not they really need it. However, I want to get her treated as soon as possible if she does need it. So should I take her, or should I just let it go and see if clears up on its own?

Thanks!

BTW: That was supposed to be FIV, not HIV, in my initial post.

Hi There,

Usually if a cat is sneezing but still eating normally it's safe to wait. Please watch your cat closely for increased nasal discharge or eye problems. If one or both eyes start looking infected, it would be time to head for the vet.

If the sneezing is related to feline herpes, it might respond to L-Lysine, 500 mg tabs, 1/4 tablet twice daily. You can get this in any pharmacy and it is perfectly safe. I usually crush the 1/4 tablet and mix it with food.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Thanks for the advice. It's been a couple days, and Kara seems to be getting better. She's not sneezing nearly as much as she was. I think it must be a virus going around my house. My dog was coughing last week quite a bit, then Kara started sneezing, and now my mom and I both have colds, and just today one of my other kitties started sneezing. At least it doesn't seem to be anything serious. Thanks again!

I know that Chessie will occasionally have sneezing fits. Usually it happens after he's nosed around where I need to dust. Hasn't done it as much since I cleaned a week or so ago.
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Chessie in his favorite spot while I work in the kitchen.