What Makes Cats Sneeze?

Just like humans, sometimes cats sneeze--although a sneezing cat never wipes its nose with a tissue afterward. An occasional sneeze is normal for cats. Repeated sneezes can indicate a health issue that could require treatment.

  1. Cat Sneezes

    • A cat sneeze in itself is not a disease. It is an involuntary reflex that a cat cannot control. The reflex begins in the mucus membranes that line a cat's nasal passages and ends with a forceful expulsion of air, moving at a high rate of speed through the cat's nose. Sneezes are often accompanied by some form of nasal discharge, according to "Feline Internal Medicine Secrets."

    Causes

    • A cat sneezes when something irritates the tissue within its nasal passages. This can be an allergen that causes an allergic reaction, complete with sneezing. Some viruses, like the feline herpes virus or the calicivirus, will cause the nasal tissues to swell, resulting in sneezing. If a cat has a foreign object like a blade of grass lodged up its nose, it could sneeze. Nasal tumors often make cats sneeze.

    Diagnosis

    • A veterinarian can diagnose the cause of a particular cat's sneezing. Allergies and viruses can be identified by looking at the type of nasal discharge that accompanies a sneeze, along with any other symptoms a cat is experiencing. Foreign objects or tumors within a cat's nose can be seen using an otoscope to look inside a cat's nose, or through imaging tests like X rays or CT scans, according to "What Your Cat Is Trying To Tell You."

    Treatment

    • A cat with a virus will sneeze until the viral infection runs its course. Cat allergies can be treated by removing the allergen from a cat's environment so it no longer irritates the cat's nasal tissues. Foreign objects can be removed with tweezers or through surgery. For a cat with nasal tumors, the growths can be removed surgically. Once the object or tumor is gone, the cat's sneezing will stop.

    Considerations

    • If a virus is making a cat sneeze, there is a chance it could develop into something more serious, like pneumonia or bronchitis. If a cat is sneezing violently and often, and if the sneezes are accompanied by bloody nasal discharge, then the cat is at risk for developing a bacterial infection in the damaged nasal tissues that are bleeding, which will need to be dealt with along with the virus.