Rudie's been back from the vet...

To recap - Rudie had been sneezing off and on for quite some time. I tried dusting my room, vaccuuming the carpet, etc., but to no avail. Her occasional sneezing fits finally became so frequent I took her to the vet (something I probably should have done in the first place -_-). They diagnosed seasonal allergies. They said her lungs were fine, and that it was a sort of mild upper respiratory irritation due to allergies, injected her with a steroid that they said should last 2-3 months (by that time seasonal allergies should be out of season), and sent us home.

Four days later...she's back to sneezing again. She was just fine for a few days, then one tiny sneeze, and now it seems like several times a day now she's having a sneezing fit. Her eyes are normal and non-runny, and her nasal discharge is clear. Still allergies? I'm so frustrated because this stuff that they gave her was supposed to last 2-3 months! It hasn't even been a week

I hesitate to take her back to the same vet again, but was curious if anyone else had had this same experience. Roo's just fine otherwise - she eats like a little horse, urinary habits are normal, she wakes me up bright and early worried I'm going to be late, etc. My only theory thus far is that it's environmental, dust in my apartment, an air filter that desperately needs to be changed, or somesuch. Advice?

 

hard to say really.

If she's been given a general clean bill of health and there is no visible discharge or change in her daily habits, other then sneezing, i personally wouldn't worry too much and just try to keep things as clean as possible.

is there a certain place that triggers the sneezing fits maybe?

or you could, for piece of mind get another vet's oppinion...and get that air filter changed

 

I agree, if the Vet said she was okay, she probably is. If you are worried you could call the Vet's office and mention that she is sneezing again and see what they suggest. Or you could go to another Vet to get a second opinion.

My cats sneeze occassionally but not frequently.

 

Does she sneeze more when the windows are open or closed? No new cleaners or rugs in the apartment? If the sneezes are much less in duration than before, it's probably a seasonal allergy.

 

have you tried wiping her down daily with a damp washcloth? The allergens could be on her coat.
My Missy used to sneeze a lot and someone suggested me washing her down daily. It did make the sneezing stop.

 

To keep everybody updated...

I went through my room last night and dusted everything again...even took the curtains down and washed them. Rudie stays mostly in my room and bathroom, so I scrubbed all of that (dusted my walls with a Swiffer! who knew the walls needed to be dusted?!) and vaccuumed and did all my laundry because she likes to sleep in my closet sometimes. I've been so productive to avoid studying for finals

I looked at my air filter late last night while on this cleaning rampage. It was FILTHY!! I bought a new one first thing this morning, and hopefully this was the main reason behind the sneezing -- my poor boyfriend was convinced he'd developed an allergy to my animals, so maybe these two are correlated somehow and he'll be able to come back over again LOL-- I put a new one in and maybe in the next day or so it'll have cycled enough dust out of the air so that the sneezing will be better (or cured!!). I wish I had thought of doing this in the first place

Also, I tried the damp washcloth suggestion. Rudie didn't mind (much, ha ha), so maybe after a few days of doing that it'll get most of what's been irritating her out of her coat. I've been brushing her more frequently, too, in the hopes that that'll help, and keeping the windows shut to make sure it's not pollen in the air that she's been inhaling.

Other than that...my dad's a vet, and he's coming up for graduation on the 13th, so if she's still sneezing he can take a look at her, I guess (again, I probably should have just talked to him in the first place...but he lives four hours away, so I figured I should see somebody local first who could actually get their hands on her). Thanks for the advice, everybody! Now I'm going to pick the dust out of my hair and go study!

 

Let us know if anything changes.

 

Will do!

Her sneezing is a bit better. It's only been twelve hours or so since the filter was changed (I'm giving it 48 hours to see if there's really a difference.) Her nose is a little raw -- she sneezes, she licks her nose, and I don't quite know what to do about that or if there's any sort of ointment I could put on it that would also be safe if digested.

Second night of the damp washcloth treatment. You'd think by the glare on her face that I'd dared to try to give her a bath. Should that be my next course of action? I figured I'd leave the dreaded bath as a last (pre-vet visit) resort because it's so reviled by my animals.

- Julia

 

hmm

pre visit vet bath?

i think you shouldnt do that... as thats not something u are normally doing and may throw the vet off any clues that may be there before the bath.

Don't worry.

Sounds like you've been a cleaning machine and now you just gotta wait to see. Vitamin E oil may be good for her nose, rub alittle on before she eats so that she focuses on her food and not that and it gets a chance to sink in before she licks it off.