Feline antibiotics for a sick cat

by Shahla Jalali
(Ontario Canada)

For a few days my cat was sneezing. I let time pass, but on the 3rd day her sneezing got worse and she started growling. I took her to the vet and the veterinarian gave me antibiotics for her, not diagnosing her with any particular problem.

When we got home, without giving her the cat medication, she was sneezing, growling and vomiting a lot. The vomit was food at first, and then light yellow-ish white foam. She will not eat or drink. My cat has stopped sneezing but still growls, and is just sleeping. I ended up giving her the antibiotics (the first dose) and she has just been sleeping.

What could be wrong with her? Do I still give her antibiotics until the vet opens again tomorrow? She is 8 years old, always been healthy, and has recently become an outdoor cat for the past 4 months.


Dear Shahla,

Sorry we couldn’t answer your question more quickly, but we are constantly overwhelmed with questions and emails from all over the world. As a reminder to all readers, we have posted in numerous places throughout the site that this is not a place to send in emergency questions. We are not always available to answer your questions right away, so time-sensitive issues, unfortunately, cannot always be addressed in time.

In general, feline antibiotics can upset a cat’s stomach, but if you hadn’t given any at all, that is not likely the source of the cat vomiting you described. The car ride and stress of going to and from the veterinarian can also cause vomiting in cats, which is not to say that your cat should not be brought to a vet, but if the vomiting was immediately after the trip to the vet, this might have been the cause. Cats can get upset stomachs just as we can as well, especially when they are otherwise not feeling well.

A less common cause of sneezing in cats, besides a “cold” or feline upper respiratory infection in cats, is a foreign object creating an obstruction. An obstruction in your cat’s nose or throat could cause sneezing and vomiting, but this is something that your veterinarian would not likely have missed when your cat was examined.

I sincerely hope things worked out and that your cat is on the road to feeling much better. If you would like to write back and let us know how she is, we would be happy to hear from you again.

All the best,
Dr. Neely