My cat is constantly sneezing - Answered by Dr. Van Lienden
 

I've have my cat for about 3 weeks now. When i first got it everything was ok, but after afew days both my cat and I had a cold. I've gotten over mine a couple weeks ago, but my cat is still sneezing and rubbing it's eyes. Is it possible that it is allergic to something in my house and if so how would I be able to figure out what. Is there anything else that it could be??

Cats don't get "colds" in the way we do. They get upper respiratory infections - either mild, severe or in between. They can get allergies of course.

Where did you get this cat? Have you taken him for a checkup? What are you feeding him? Are his eyes and/or nose running?

This sounds like an upper respiratory infection. Most of these are viral, but some are bacterial. Some felines are immune suppressed and can suffer from these for months. It is not something that you gave to your cat, or your cat gave to you. Completely coincidental.

There is a slim chance of allergy, but this would not be the usual presentation. Unfortunately with allergies the only way to find the culprit is via skin testing or selective isolation - a challenge keeping feline in an isolation cell and introducing various common substances that have been implicated as allergins in the past. Not at all practical. Time to visit your veterinarian

Dr. Van Lienden

Dr. Raymond Van Lienden DVM
The Animal Clinic of Clifton
12702 Chapel Road, Clifton
Virginia, U.S.A. 20124
703-802-0490