Could my kitten be allergic to her litter?

Question

I know this sounds really silly, but my cat sneezes when she uses the litter box a lot. She also sneezes when she drinks her water but I have watched her stick her whole nose in! I have recently taken her to the Vet for a check-up so I know she's not sick. I know I can call and ask the Vet, but I was curious if anyone else has experienced this. Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes, I am studying to become a vet and I have heard of this happening to cats before. I would advise that you change to a different type of litter. If this doesn't work, try using sawdust in the litter tray, or you could also try using newspaper. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Does her litter make a lot of dust when she scratches? A couple of my cats sometimes scratch a lot in the litter box, moving it around and pushing some over the side. If your kitty does that it may push more dust in the air than her little nose can handle!

Answer 3

It might depend on the litter.  Our kitten would sneeze a lot when we would use a certain type of clay litter that would leave a huge cloud when we would change out the litter.

She is of the cat school that in order to have a good 'time' in the litter box you need to kick at least half of the litter onto the floor no matter how much is in there before you can use the box.  Because of that she would stir up the cloud again and would start to sneeze.  The sneezing has decreased a lot now that we switched to a clumping litter but she still needs to throw the litter around.

Answer 4

It's possible, my dog has major allergies, yet to be seen exactly what, just had the test done. You can try the hypoallergenic wood chip litter stuff. It's organic and healthy. They usually give it to cats right after they have been declawed because the wood chips are so big and won't infect the surgery marks. They sell it at walmart or any of the pet places.

Answer 5

She may be sensitive to dust etc...but

It sounds like she has an upper respritory infection, which usually starts with a lot of sneezing.   This can be very serious and it is highly contagious.  Cats will not eat what they can't smell.  The bigger risk here is her kittens getting it which is highly possibly.  I would call the vet and have her looked at right away.  He might put her on an antibiotic.  You have to watch the kittens VERY closely they have a very limited immune system and will have a very hard time fighting this off.  This situation is serious.  I once lost a litter of 6 rescue kittens, the mom started off with it and gave it to the kittens, she survived but they didn't.