Chronic Sneezing in Cats
Chronic sneezing in cats, not a disease per se, signifies an underlying health condition. Because the underlying cause can be anything from a simple allergy to a serious infection, you should never ignore chronic sneezing.
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The Facts
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Cats sneeze for the same reasons humans do: to clear their respiratory passages. They react involuntarily to some kind of irritant. Sneezing usually signifies an acute condition and does not happen regularly. If your cat has developed chronic sneezing, this may signal a significant health condition. Chronic sneezing in cats can be caused by allergies, infections and foreign bodies in the nasal passages.
Allergies
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As with humans, cats can suffer from allergies. If your cat is allergic to an airborne particle that he is exposed to regularly, then his body might react to it with symptoms including watery eyes, a runny nose and chronic sneezing. Removing the irritant from your cat's environment can help. Doses of antihistamines can also help reduce your cat's chronic sneezing.
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Bacterial Infection
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A bacterial infection in a cat can trigger rhinitis. If this happens to your cat, she'll display symptoms much like those that occur in humans with a head cold: runny nose and sneezing. Rhinitis can become chronic in cats. When this happens, sneezing also becomes chronic. Chronic rhinitis can develop into bronchitis and pneumonia, so it is important to take your cat to a veterinarian who can make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
Virus
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Cats are susceptible to some viruses that can cause chronic sneezing if they are left untreated. These viruses include feline viral rhinotracheitis and feline calici viral disease. Along with sneezing, these virus also cause copious nasal discharge. Both of these viruses are contagious and can easily spread to other cats in the home. A blood test by a veterinarian will determine which virus is causing chronic sneezing in your cat.
Foreign Body
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Sneezing is a body's reflexive action to try to clear out respiratory and nasal passages. If your cat has a foreign body in his nose. then he might develop chronic sneezing as his body tries to expel it. The foreign body could be a piece of food or a small piece of plastic. If your cat has developed a tumor or growth inside his nasal passage, his body could treat it as a foreign body, which will lead to sneezing.
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