My newly adopted cat is sneezing. Why?

Question

Hi there,

I just adopted a little 6 month old baby kitten. She was okay as of yesterday, but today I noticed she started sneezing a lot. She has runny nose and sniffles and sneezes quite often. Her energy level is okay. She eats fine and used the litter box first time this morning. Does anyone know what is the reason for the sneezing? Could it be something from the kennel I adopted her from? Is it the same thing like when a dog comes from a kennel with kennel cough and then it goes away on its own? Do I need to worry about this or just wait to see if it clears up on its own? I read somewhere that it's okay for a cat to sneeze if it came from a animal shelter to a new home. What do you think? Please, advise! Thanks.

Answer 1

It's not uncommon for a cat to come down with a cold after being adopted from the shelter. This is because cats in the shelter are pretty much kept away from each other.

When I adopted my 7-month-old kitten from the shelter last month, he developed a cold about a week later: sneezing, lethargy, bubbles out of his nose. I took him to the vet, where he got a shot of penicillin and some antibiotics. Within a week he was back to his old, mischievous self.

The purpose of the penicillin and antibiotics wasn't to cure the cold -- we can't do that -- it was to ward off a possible upper respiratory infection that might have developed because the immune system was compromised from fighting the cold and because of the kitten's young age.

Answer 2

Shelter Cat Sneezing

Answer 3

It sounds like she is adjusting quickly. Some cats hide for several days. Cats are naturally nocturnal. You can't change that but you can get her to sleep more at night with some very vigorous play before your own bedtime. The meowing might be because she is excited. Moving to a new place is a big thing for a cat. This will probably decrease unless she is a natural "talker" in which case she'll meow a lot day or night, As for her bed, it was very nice for you to buy her one. Cats choose their own favorite spots though. What you can do to make the bed you bought more attractive to her is put it near some other place she seems to like. Cats often like a spot where they can easily see what's going on, who's approaching etc. and sometimes like a high spot like the top of a dresser. Try putting it somewhere where she can have an unobstructed view of the room, like the corner furthest from the door. Cats like warm temperatues up to a point but you didn't say how warm your place is. Its more like they prefer a temp somewhat cooler than we do - like 60 F or lower but love to have a much warmer nest to get cozy in. The sneezing could be just an allergy. They can be allergic to dust and pollen like us. But it could be something much more serious. If you got your cat from a shelter she has had her distemper vaccine ( one symptom of distemper is sneezing ) but if you got her from a previous owner maybe not . Can you find out quickly? It is important. If you find she has not had this vaccine please bring her to the vet ASAP. Really, you should bring a new pet to the vet anyway to have it checked over. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Most kittens from shelters and pet shops acquire viruses. usually the kitty's immune system can handle this but stress suppresses the immune system and then before you know it, kitty is down with a "cold" or upper respiratory infection (involving, eyes, nose and trachea only). Kittens in shelters or pet stores do suffer a certain amount of stess from over-crowding (multiple other cats or kittens in the same place). Add the stress of being brought into a new environment (your home no matter how loving), then voila! new kitty succumbs to the sniffles. In an older cat, we usually wait a day or 2 and watch if the cold worsens; but with a kitten, it is always best to have the vet check it out becuase kittens can go downhill reall quick... so, best not to take any chances.

Answer 5

This is very common for kitten adopted from kennels or shelters. They affectionately refer to it as 'kennel cough'. Both of our kitten had it and it went away after a couple of days. Its soooo cute when they sneaze, take pictures if you can! Personally, I would not worry about it unless the cough persists for more than 2-3 days. You might call a vet and ask them about it, but thats probably what it is.

Answer 6

my cat had the same thing when i brought her home...its not from the kennel. i got mine from a vet and a very good vet at that. she may have an upper respiratory infection...take her to the vet and have her examined. They will give you medicine and it will take about 7-10 days to clear up. i had to use 4 different types of medicine until i found one that worked. When my cat would sneeze it would be in long spurts of about 40 sneezes and her nose would start to bleed. please don't make your cat go through that and take her to the vet as soon as you can. i really hope your cat feels better, poor thing.

Answer 7

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Its completely normal for a cat to chose its own place to sleep so I would suggest putting some old towels or blankets down for her, preferably with an item of your own clothing (such as a jumper) on top so that she starts to associate your smell with comfort. Only 50% of cats react to catnip so that is not unusual either. She will soon settle into a routine - everything is very new for her at the moment but you are doing everything right by giving her a room of her own where she can settle before exploring the rest of the house. Go into the room as often as you can and just sit and talk to her. When you leave her, give her something tasty to eat and you will build up a bond with her. When she settles in more she will adapt to her new routine and should sleep at night. You must ignore her if she calls or she will simply carry on. If she has not been spayed, you need to get this done as she will be calling because she wants to go out and find a mate. There is no point in picking her up and putting her to bed as she will simply jump out when you leave the room. Leave her to find her own favourite spot. You should, however, try to pick her up for small amounts of time when she has begun to get used to you. Just pick her up and hold her for a few seconds, then put her down. She will learn that nothing bad will happen to her and will begin to accept being picked up. There will be times when she has to be picked up - going to a vet for example - so she needs to accept it. Cats are less affected by temperature than humans but they do seem to like a certain amount of warmth. Dont worry. If she is in a room with a bed and some other cosy spots, she will find the right place for her.

Answer 8

She probably has a slight respiratory infection. If she was adopted from an animal shelter, take her back for free treatment. If not, you should be taking her to a Vet for shots and a checkup anyway. These infections are easily treated if caught right away. With a kitten that young, I wouldn't take any chances.

Answer 9

Cat needs vet attention it sound like you baby has the cat flu. Which is very contagious. If you bought kitty from a pet store they should foot the bill for you.
Keep it isolated until you are able to get kitty treated. It can get worse and kill kitty if you do not get it whilst it is in its infant stage.

Answer 10

i recently got a kitten too and it had cat flu which made it sneeze and eyes water maybe yours does too