is your cat sneezing?

Marnie was, a lot. Although it was kind of cute, I thought – why is my cat sneezing? She’d sneeze four or five consecutive times, every few hours. She could have allergies, but this was sudden. Maybe she’s sick, maybe she has a cold. I did some research and most sites said cats can get colds, and like humans, colds will go away on their own. There’s not much you can do to make your cat feel better and get better faster. But then, she had clear discharge from her eye, although I only saw it twice. I wiped her eye with a cotton ball dampened with warm water to clean the discharge. However, we were going out of town, and that’s why, as a precaution, we decided to bring Marnie to the vet to make sure it was only a cold and nothing worse. By then, we discovered she was doing turkey body, something cats may do if they aren’t feeling well. Turkey body is when their tail and all their paws are tucked under them, as if conserving warmth and possibly energy.

Marnie turkey body
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016

Our vet, Dr. Katz, from The Veterinary Clinic of East Hampton said that actually Marnie had a respiratory infection and required antibiotics. This is what she prescribed for Marnie:

antibiotic liquid 
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016

antibiotic in fridge
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016

antibiotic drops must be kept in the refrigerator.

She got 1 ml by mouth, twice a day.

antibiotic dose liquid form
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016

The easiest way to administer the liquid is from the side of her mouth.

Colds in cats are highly infectious – so Toby got it within days.

Toby not feeling well
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016

Toby has a cold
photo by Monika Klein © 2016

The first symptom Toby displayed was sneezing; then he too had a clear discharge from his eye.

According to Monika (our trusty cat sitter) and Bridget (our cat medical caregiver) he wasn’t eating or drinking water, plus his eye became very irritated from him scratching it, so they wisely decided to bring him to Dr. Katz. Good thing, because turns out Toby also required medication for his eye, appetite and respiratory infection.

Thanks to our caring cat sitter Monika, and Bridget (she took care of our sweet Bear) who works at our vet’s, and Dr. Katz, from The Veterinary Clinic of East Hampton.