Cat Keeps Sneezing and Coughing: Causes and When to Worry

Sneezing and coughing in cats most often trace back to an upper respiratory infection, the feline equivalent of a common cold, caused by one of two viruses that circulate widely in the cat population. A single sneeze now and then is normal, but when the sneezing becomes frequent or a cough joins in, something is irritating or inflaming the airways. The range of possible causes runs from mild and self-limiting to serious and even life-threatening, and the distinction between sneezing and coughing itself tells you something about where the problem sits in your cat’s respiratory tract.

Why Sneezing and Coughing Mean Different Things

Sneezing originates in the nose and upper airways. It is a forceful expulsion of air through the nasal passages, usually triggered by irritation or inflammation somewhere between the nostrils and the back of the throat. Coughing, by contrast, comes from the lower airways and lungs. When a cat crouches low, extends its neck, and produces a harsh hacking sound, the source of irritation is farther down in the bronchial tubes or lung tissue. A study of dogs and cats presenting in respiratory distress found that the type of breathing difficulty maps reliably to the location of disease: in cats, expiratory effort (trouble breathing out) pointed to lower airway problems, while respiratory noises were strongly tied to upper airway disease.¹ Cats that sneeze a lot but breathe normally between episodes usually have something going on in the nose. Cats that cough, wheeze, or struggle to exhale usually have a problem deeper in the chest.

Some cats do both, and that can mean the disease started in one place and spread, or that two things are happening at once. Keeping track of which symptom came first, whether it has changed over time, and what your cat looks like during an episode gives your vet genuinely useful information for narrowing down the cause.

Upper Respiratory Infections

The single most common reason a cat starts sneezing repeatedly is a viral upper respiratory infection, often called “cat flu.” Two viruses account for the vast majority of cases: feline calicivirus (FCV) and feline herpesvirus (FHV). In a cross-sectional survey of over 600 cats, FCV was found in about a quarter of all cats sampled and in a third of cats showing respiratory signs, while FHV was present in roughly 5% of all cats but in 11% of those with respiratory disease.² Younger cats between four and eleven months of age and cats in multi-cat households were at higher risk.

The symptoms look a lot like a human cold: sneezing, runny nose, watery or goopy eyes, and sometimes a mild fever or reduced appetite. FCV can also cause mouth ulcers, which may make a cat drool or refuse food. FHV tends to cause more severe nasal congestion and eye inflammation. Most healthy adult cats recover within one to three weeks with supportive care, meaning keeping them hydrated, clearing nasal discharge, and encouraging eating. Antibiotics do not fight viruses, but a vet may prescribe them if a secondary bacterial infection develops on top of the viral one.

One important wrinkle: feline herpesvirus is lifelong. After the initial infection clears, the virus hides in nerve tissue and can reactivate during periods of stress, illness, or immune suppression. This means some cats go through recurring bouts of sneezing and nasal congestion for the rest of their lives. If your cat seems to catch “colds” every few months, especially after a stressful event like boarding or a new pet in the household, herpesvirus reactivation is a likely explanation.

Feline Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis

When the dominant symptom is coughing rather than sneezing, feline asthma and chronic bronchitis are among the leading suspects. These are considered the most common chronic lower respiratory diseases in cats.³ Asthma in cats works a lot like it does in people: the airways overreact to an allergen or irritant, constrict, and produce excess mucus. The result is coughing, wheezing, and in more severe episodes, visible difficulty breathing.

Chronic bronchitis, meanwhile, involves persistent inflammation of the airways without a clear allergic trigger. Distinguishing between the two usually requires washing fluid through the airways (a bronchoalveolar lavage) and looking at which immune cells show up: eosinophils suggest asthma, while neutrophils point toward chronic bronchitis.⁴ This distinction matters because asthma responds well to inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators, while chronic bronchitis may need a different approach.

Cats with asthma often have episodes triggered by specific things: cigarette smoke, dust from certain litters, aerosol sprays, scented candles, or seasonal pollen. If you notice your cat’s coughing flares up after you clean the house or switch litter brands, that pattern is worth reporting to your vet. Inhalational therapy using a specially designed feline inhaler and spacer device has shown promise for managing feline inflammatory airway disease, drawing from successful protocols in experimental asthma models and some naturally occurring cases.⁵

Lungworm Infections

Parasites are an underappreciated cause of coughing in cats, particularly in outdoor cats or those that hunt. The most common culprit is a lungworm called Aelurostrongylus abstrusus. Cats pick it up by eating infected snails, slugs, or prey animals (like birds or rodents) that have themselves eaten an infected snail. The larvae migrate to the lungs, where they set up shop and trigger inflammation.

Affected cats develop a productive cough, nasal discharge, rapid breathing, and in severe cases, serious respiratory failure.⁶ In a case series of 26 cats with lungworm infections, coughing was the most commonly reported respiratory sign, followed by increased breathing sounds and labored breathing.⁷ Weight loss is another common symptom, particularly in cats carrying a heavy worm burden.⁸

Lungworm can mimic asthma on chest X-rays, which means it sometimes gets misdiagnosed. If your cat goes outdoors and develops a persistent cough that does not respond to asthma treatment, it is worth asking your vet to check for lungworm. Diagnosis usually involves examining a fecal sample with a specialized technique that floats the larvae out of the stool. Treatment with appropriate anti-parasitic medications is generally effective, and most cats recover fully once the worms are cleared.

Heartworm-Associated Respiratory Disease

Heartworm does not just affect dogs. Cats can be infected by Dirofilaria immitis too, though the disease looks very different in cats. Even immature heartworm larvae that never reach adulthood can cause significant lung inflammation, a condition known as heartworm-associated respiratory disease (HARD). This condition is often underdiagnosed because the signs, primarily coughing, wheezing, and intermittent breathing difficulty, look almost identical to feline asthma.⁹

The tricky part is that standard heartworm tests used for dogs do not reliably detect infection in cats, especially during the early larval stage. Cats in mosquito-prone areas are at risk even if they live entirely indoors, since mosquitoes get inside. There is no approved treatment for heartworm in cats the way there is for dogs, so prevention with a monthly preventive is the main strategy. If your indoor-outdoor cat lives in a region where heartworm is endemic and has developed a chronic cough that has not responded to asthma therapy, HARD is worth investigating.

Nasopharyngeal Disease

Sometimes the problem is a physical obstruction rather than an infection or inflammatory disease. The nasopharynx, the area where the back of the nasal passages meets the throat, can develop polyps, masses, or foreign bodies that cause chronic sneezing, noisy breathing, and nasal discharge. Nasopharyngeal polyps are particularly common in younger cats and are benign growths that usually originate from the middle ear or Eustachian tube and extend into the airway. Affected cats may sneeze frequently, breathe with an audible snoring sound, and sometimes have trouble swallowing.

Chronic rhinosinusitis, a persistent inflammation of the nasal and sinus passages, is another condition grouped under nasopharyngeal disease. It can follow a severe upper respiratory infection, particularly when the initial viral damage to the nasal lining allows chronic bacterial colonization. These cats often have thick, discolored nasal discharge that responds temporarily to antibiotics but returns once the medication stops.¹⁰ Diagnosis typically requires advanced imaging like CT scan and rhinoscopy to visualize what is happening inside the nasal passages.

Foreign bodies are rarer but do occur. A blade of grass inhaled while sniffing or a small piece of plant material can lodge in the nasal passage and cause sudden, violent sneezing, often with blood-tinged discharge from one nostril. The one-sided nature is a useful clue: bilateral discharge (from both nostrils) points toward infection or inflammation, while unilateral discharge raises suspicion for a foreign body, polyp, or tumor on that side.

Fungal Infections

Fungal infections of the respiratory tract are less common than viral or bacterial causes but tend to be more serious when they do occur. Cryptococcosis is the fungal disease most frequently seen in cats and is caused by Cryptococcus neoformans or Cryptococcus gattii, organisms found in soil and bird droppings. The nasal form is the most common presentation, causing chronic sneezing, thick nasal discharge, and sometimes a visible swelling or mass over the bridge of the nose. The disease can also affect the central nervous system, skin, or spread throughout the body.¹¹

Cats with outdoor access in certain geographic regions, particularly parts of Australia, the Pacific Northwest of North America, and tropical climates, face higher risk. Unlike bacterial or viral infections, fungal respiratory disease tends to progress slowly over weeks to months. A cat with gradually worsening nasal discharge that does not respond to antibiotics should be evaluated for a fungal cause. Treatment involves long courses of antifungal medication, sometimes lasting several months, but the prognosis is reasonable when the disease is caught before it spreads beyond the nose.

Nasal Tumors

Tumors of the nasal cavity are an uncommon but serious cause of chronic sneezing and nasal discharge in older cats, typically those over ten years of age. The most frequent type is carcinoma, though lymphoma also occurs in this location. Early signs can look deceptively similar to a chronic upper respiratory infection: sneezing, nasal discharge (sometimes bloody), and noisy breathing. As the tumor grows, it can distort the shape of the face, causing visible swelling.

In a study of cats with nasal carcinoma treated with palliative radiation therapy, improvement in symptoms was reported in the majority of cases, and the median survival time was about 342 days. Cats with more advanced disease or visible facial deformity had significantly shorter survival times.¹² The key takeaway for cat owners is that chronic, worsening nasal symptoms in an older cat, especially one-sided discharge or any facial swelling, warrant prompt veterinary investigation. Earlier diagnosis generally means more treatment options and better outcomes.

When Sneezing and Coughing Become an Emergency

Most sneezing and coughing in cats does not require a trip to the emergency vet, but certain warning signs change the equation. You should seek urgent care if you notice any of the following:

Open-mouth breathing: Cats are obligate nasal breathers. A cat breathing through its mouth is a cat in significant respiratory distress.
Blue or purple gums: This indicates the blood is not getting enough oxygen and is always an emergency.
Labored breathing with visible effort: If your cat’s belly is pumping in and out with each breath, or if the chest and abdomen seem to be moving in opposite directions, this suggests serious lung or pleural space disease.¹
Collapse or extreme lethargy: A cat too weak to stand or one that has stopped responding normally needs immediate evaluation.
Heavy bleeding from the nose: Brief blood-tinged discharge can happen with vigorous sneezing, but active bleeding that does not stop within a few minutes needs veterinary attention.
Complete refusal to eat or drink for more than 24 hours: Cats that cannot smell their food because of nasal congestion may stop eating. Prolonged fasting in cats can trigger a dangerous liver condition called hepatic lipidosis.

Outside of emergencies, it is still a good idea to see your vet if sneezing or coughing persists beyond a week or two, if there is colored (yellow, green, or bloody) nasal discharge, if your cat’s breathing pattern has changed, or if your cat seems to be losing weight. Chronic symptoms that wax and wane over months deserve investigation even if no single episode looks alarming.

The Difference Between a Hairball Cough and a Real Cough

Many cat owners mistake retching for coughing, and vice versa. When a cat is about to bring up a hairball, it typically hunches forward, stretches its neck, and produces a gagging or retching sound followed by the hairball itself (or sometimes just a small amount of fluid). A true cough sounds different: the cat crouches low with its elbows out, extends its neck toward the ground, and produces a dry hacking or wheezing sound. Nothing comes up afterward. The posture is the biggest clue. A coughing cat looks like it is trying to push air out, while a retching cat looks like it is trying to bring something up.

If your cat makes these sounds infrequently and produces an actual hairball, it is probably just dealing with ingested fur. But if the gagging and hacking episodes happen regularly and nothing comes up, you are likely watching your cat cough, and that is worth mentioning to your vet. Recording a short video of an episode on your phone is one of the most helpful things you can bring to a veterinary appointment. Describing a sound in words is surprisingly difficult, and what you call a “cough” may be what your vet calls a “retch,” or the other way around.

Environmental Triggers and Simple Fixes

Before assuming the worst, it is worth checking whether something in your cat’s environment could be causing irritation. Common culprits include dusty clay litter (especially scented varieties), air fresheners or plug-in diffusers, cigarette or cannabis smoke, wood-burning fireplaces, construction dust, and strong cleaning products. Cats are sensitive to airborne irritants, and some cats are more sensitive than others.

Switching to a low-dust or dust-free litter, avoiding aerosol sprays in rooms your cat uses, running an air purifier, and keeping your cat away from active smoking areas can reduce or eliminate irritant-triggered sneezing. If the sneezing stops after an environmental change, you have your answer. If it does not, the cause is more likely medical.

Seasonal patterns can also be informative. A cat that sneezes more in spring and fall may be reacting to pollen, and cats with asthma may have seasonal flares. Cats that sneeze year-round regardless of environmental changes are more likely dealing with a chronic infection, structural problem, or ongoing disease.

Can Your Sick Cat Make You Sick?

The vast majority of feline respiratory infections pose no risk to healthy humans. FCV and FHV are species-specific and cannot infect people. However, one bacterium that can cause respiratory disease in cats, Bordetella bronchiseptica, is technically capable of infecting humans, though this is rare and almost exclusively a concern for immunocompromised individuals.¹³ Fungal infections like cryptococcosis are acquired from the environment, not from cat-to-cat or cat-to-human transmission.

If you have a healthy immune system, caring for a sneezing cat poses essentially no respiratory risk to you. Practice basic hygiene, wash your hands after handling a sick cat, clean food and water bowls regularly, and isolate the sick cat from other cats in the household if possible. The bigger concern with a sneezing cat in a multi-cat home is transmission to the other cats, not to the humans.