# sneezing cat brought home from shelter (and diarrhea)



## sweetpea (Aug 8, 2004)

Hi everyone

I just adopted a 3 year old cat, 5 days ago. I took her for the legally required vet check(minimal), and plan to have her checked out more extensively next week.

In the 72 hours I've had her, I have counted her sneezing 15 times(more than my other cats have sneezed their whole lives). She might be sneezing a bit more when I'm not around, but I don't know. 

Does anyone know what this could be? Also, since she came home, she has had a bad case of diarrhea. I know for a fact that she did not have diarrhea at the shelter. It's possible she is just reacting to a change in her food, but I thought I'd mention it. Should I be worried?

Thanks!


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## Gudewife (Jun 27, 2004)

Definitely have a full vet checkup as soon as you can, just because it's a good thing to do for the general health of your cat.

A lot of shelter cats go home with respiratory infections. They're prevalent in shelters because of the overcrowding, but if you have other cats, you may want to limit their exposure to new kitty until she seems better or the vet clears her (some shelters recommend antibiotics for resident and new cats during the initial adjustment in case of a cold getting passed around, but that's something to discuss with your vet). Diarrhea could well be from a big change in lifestyle and food, but should also be checked by the vet, especially if it lasts longer than a day or two.

I'd say have her in for a full checkup as soon as possible, and make sure that she's getting rest, love, good food and adequate water in the meantime (the shelter may be able to tell you what she was eating there). Also, take a sample of her stool to the vet so that they can check for parasites.


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## sweetpea (Aug 8, 2004)

Hi Gudewife. Thanks for the quick reply. She was just at the vet on Friday, and she had a fecal exam, so there are no parasites.


Is it possible she's just chilly? The house is a bit cold(we have the air conditioning on).  <achooo> I just heard the cat sneeze again.


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## Gudewife (Jun 27, 2004)

I'd vote more for a respiratory infection. The shelter cats pass them back and forth all the time in too-close quarters. It's a vet call, he'll be able to check her eyes, nose, and throat, take a temperature, and listen to her lungs.

Though I'll admit that *I* sneeze when I'm in an air-conditioned room  I think it has to do with the dryness of the artificial air.


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## KittyEnvy (Aug 7, 2004)

When we brought our adopted dog home from the shelter, he had major diarrhia and kennel cough - so he was sneezing and coughing a lot. I guess it's pretty common. We had the vet check him over and she suggested we just let the "cold" run it's course, and sure enough it was gone in a week or two.  The diarrhia is due to stress... unfortunately he's a very sensitive dog so EVERYTHING causes him to get diarrhia.

I wouldn't worry too much since the vet did check her out. Hopefully it clears up soon.


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## sweetpea (Aug 8, 2004)

Thanks Kittyenvy

That's basically what I'm leaning towards, expecially since she seems fine in everyother way. But I did want to make sure I wasn't missing anything obvious.
Plus, I haven't heard her sneeze since I turned off the air conditioning. Maybe she was just cold!


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## RarePuss (Jun 16, 2004)

i wouldn't worry about it too much, just make sure you take the cat to the vet. It seems a lot of cats come from the shelter with some kind of upper-respiratory infection. 

And congrats on adopting an adult cat


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