Puzzling - Cat Sneezing While Quarantined in Bathroom??? (eating, smells, sneeze)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Our cat has been in the bathroom for several weeks while undergoing ringworm treatment. She's on daily anti-fungal meds and we give her a sulfur dip once a week. We have to bleach the bathroom twice per week as a part of the treatment plan.
The odd thing is that she started sneezing profusely on Saturday and she hasn't stopped. Her eyes are watery and to me it looks like she is getting a URI (upper respiratory infection) or something.
What I don't get is how the heck could she get sick when she's in such a sterile environment by herself? We feed her great food, she gets plenty of playtime and treats. She does get stressed during the sulfur dips, but other than that she seems pretty comfortable in there. Why now?
Stress can bring on an infection...lower the immune system. Maybe time for a vet visit.
Quoted post = (a).
(b) = I'd be aware of fumes. There will be a cumulative effect of the fumes from both the chlorine and the dip - neither one of which is great breathing material. Have you been using the extractor &/or is there a window you can crack open?
There are "kinder" disinfecting agents out there that will kill ringworm without the chlorine fumes (without fumes at all actually).
She has an appointment this Saturday to get her first ringworm re-check. I will call the vet to find out if they want her in sooner.
We are using that Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface daily sanitizing spray. It's the watered down stuff. When we clean, she goes in her carrier out in the hallway. We use the bathroom fan a lot.
Thing is, we've been doing all of this for about 3 weeks now. Seems odd she would start reacting now.
When we first got her she came from the shelter with a URI, so I'll have to see if that's one of those infections that can come back on its own.
Thanks everyone for your help. I called the vet and we are going to wait until our appointment on Saturday to address this. I've narrowed it down to the the following 3 possibilities:
1 - She is having some kind of stress-induced relapse of the URI she had when we first brought her home back in December. The vet was already talking about antibiotics, but I want to rule out other stuff before we give her more pills!
2 - On Saturday, we noticed the bathroom cupboard was opened--the little rascal got in their somehow. I investigated more yesterday and noticed some lemon essential oil might have been sprayed on her mischievous expedition. She sneezes when she smells oranges, so it's a possibility that she got lemon oil on her nose?
3 - The bleach counter spray caused irritation. This one seems the least plausible because we are very thorough and have been cleaning for 3 weeks now. Just to play it safe, however, we are taking a break on the bleaching. (Going into her carrier stresses her out, so I figure taking a break from the bleaching may help if it's a URI as well.)
My cat sneezes everytime he goes in the bathroom as well but its because he gets in the tub, sticks his head under the half running faucet, then turns it up and tries licking water runoff which runs right down his nose passages.
The shelter crud they get tends to be a combination of things. One or two of the more common viruses will hide in the body until the cat is stressed and then re-emerge. They never do fully go away. When I worked at a shelter, we supplemented the cats with Lysine. It seemed to work very well at helping their immune systems keep those viruses at bay. It might be worth asking the vet.
(b) = I'd be aware of fumes. There will be a cumulative effect of the fumes from both the chlorine and the dip - neither one of which is great breathing material. Have you been using the extractor &/or is there a window you can crack open?
There are "kinder" disinfecting agents out there that will kill ringworm without the chlorine fumes (without fumes at all actually).
My brother had a Pug that he was treating with some kind of spray medicine he got from vet. Afte it was applied he would shake and it would go all over. So next time he put him in small closet till it dried and his Pug got a respiatory (sp) infection and the vet said nothing could be done and he had to be put down. My brother was just sick about this and so mad at himself for worrying about his floor getting dirty and would rather have his Pug back. Just don't take any chances.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Update
