Kitten sneezes.

Question
A very sweet stray cat had kittens in my yard a week and a half ago.  There are two kittens, and one of them has developed short bursts of sneezing.  6-8 sneezes, very dry sounding, and then stops.  She doesn't appear to have any discharge around her eyes or nose, and she is eating well.  The momma and the other kitten are not sneezing at all.  Is it possible that she is having an allergic reaction, or is just sensitive to dust?

Answer
Ida,

Congratulations on your new arrivals. I'm not sure what the climate is like where you live, but my recommendation would be to bring mom and her newborn offspring inside since the world is a pretty dangerous place for newborn kittens for a variety of reasons including predation (dogs, intact male cats, wildlife, etc), their inability to maintain their own body temperature (particularly important in such a small litter, hypothermia doesn't take long to set in with such tiny bodies) and the fact that kittens are born with a very immature immune system so they should be kept isolated from cats other than their mother (I also recommend isolating mom since she's consistently in close contact with the kittens) and kept in a clean environment to minimize their risk of developing any kind of viral or bacterial infection which would simply be devastating at such an early age.

As far as the health of this tiny family goes I'd like to start off by saying that I'm not a veterinarian, therefore I can't provide a diagnosis or recommend treatments, however I do have 25+ years of experience with cats of all ages (plenty of strays have called my home theirs temporarily or permanently depending on their situation). I'm a bit worried that this kitten could have something more serious than a slight irritation to her nose caused by a bit of dust, pollen or other environmental irritants, that being said again I'm not sure what your climate is like so if you've only seen the sneezing episodes once maybe dust is playing a part. I believe that it would be in the best interests of mom and her entire family to be seen by a vet to determine what's likely going on here since the sneezing is more likely to be an indicator that the kitten is sick if you've seen it happen several times.

If the cost of vet care is a barrier to having these kittens and their mother seen by a vet please contact me again with a general area that you're writing from (Canadian province or US state is fine) and I will send information about organizations that might be willing to cover some or all of the medical costs for these kitties. Normally cats don't sneeze as a way of showing allergies or sensitivities, and the fact that this baby is sneezing several times in succession leaves me wondering if there's something more going on here. The sneezing may indicate the beginning of a common upper respiratory infection (there are a few such as calicivirus, feline chlamydia, herpes virus, etc) or this baby could have something a little less common like feline bordatella (kitty kennel cough). I really wouldn't feel comfortable recommending a wait and see approach in this instance, the kitten is very young, there's a sibling that may become infected if the problem is contagious, if the problem is congenital you'll want a diagnosis quickly so that you can decide whether you're prepared to take on the responsibility of raising a kitty with medical bills above and beyond routine stuff or opt to humanely euthanize to end the kitten's suffering rather than allowing the little guy to die by inches.

You could turn the mom and her babies in to a shelter, but the reality is that if the kitten has something contagious to other cats there's a good chance of euthanasia for the entire family to prevent an outbreak of a contagious infection in the cattery of your local shelter. If you do decide to bring mom and her kittens into it's best for everyone involved if you keep the new family isolated from any other pets in your household to minimize the chance that an infection will spread from the stray family to your own cats or kittens. Mom should be kept with her babies at all times (including vet visits if you don't want to end up risking having kittens to hand rear - very time and labor intensive) and I would strongly suggest washing your hands thoroughly with hot, soapy water before and after handling mom and her babies to help minimize the chance of spreading viral or bacterial infections to the newborn kittens or to other pets in your home. If you brought mom and her kittens inside and watched the little family very closely for a few days you would likely find out whether or not the sneezing is a result of an infection. If you opt to wait and see what happens over the course of a day or two (after bringing the mom and kittens inside) then I'd suggest keeping a close eye out for the following symptoms:

- Anorexia ~ In the first week or two of a kitten's life their job is to eat, sleep and grow. At this early stage the kittens should be starting to become more active and alert (ie attempting to stand and becoming more interested in their environment as their eyes open which should normally happen shortly if the kittens' eyes aren't already open at this point). The kittens should be fairly rolly polly and if you feel their belly it should be distended with milk and the kittens' bodies should be warm to the touch. Weighing the kittens daily using an everyday kitchen scale and recording their weights will provide vital information for the vet if medical intervention is required. Kittens nursing from mom should be putting on weight quite steadily, bottle babies take a bit longer.

* HINT: If the kittens have very similar markings you can identify them with temporary collars made from yarn or ribbon, but be sure that you check these collars daily, if they're getting snug cut them off and replace them to avoid embedded collars which are excruciatingly painful and can do extensive damage to the animal's tissues, muscles and other structures depending on how long they're present before the cat/kitten receives medical intervention. If you do decide to identify the kittens this way it's best to bring them inside so that you have control over their environment because if mom moves them and isn't able to remove their temporary collars there could be fatal consequences.

- Body temperature ~ Newborn kittens are not able to maintain their own body temperature so they can become hypothermic very quickly at any time of year, but if you live in a temperate climate it's crucial that these kittens have a warm, safe place to be since temperatures are beginning to drop substantially. A kitten that's not receiving adequate nutrition for one reason or another may become cool to the touch OR their environment may be cold enough to cause a kitten's body temperature to drop. A cold kitten is considered a medical emergency and should be addressed by a veterinarian ASAP. If one or both kittens is cool to the touch it's important not to warm them too quickly, I recommend putting the kittens skin to skin against your body inside of a sweater as this allows their tiny bodies to warm up gradually and minimizes the shock to their system (rapid warming with heating pads, hot water bottles, microwave hot packs, etc can cause the kittens can die). NEVER feed a cold kitten, their body's resources can't cope with trying to warm up and digest food - it's best to wait until the kitten's body temperature is normal before offering food of any description.

At roughly 1 1/2 weeks of age I would expect the kittens to be fairly close to having their eyes completely opena newborn kitten that doesn't eat is seriously ill and should be seen immediately by a vet. (loss of appetite), fever (normal body temperature for cats is between 100.5-102.5 degrees Farenheit) if you use a digital infant thermometer be sure to lubricate it with vaseline or KY Jelly and only insert the tip to avoid damaging any internal structures), lagging behind sibling in growth or development (in a litter of kittens the babies should pretty much start doing similar things around the same time, sometimes within a few hours or days of each other) If you have any further questions, concerns or you'd like me to clarify anything in this answer, please feel free to contact me again and I will do my best to help you out to the best of my ability.