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My cat is sneezing blood. Could it be from old kitten flu or serious?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 2 years and 5 months old

My cat is sneezing blood. He had kitten flu when he was a kitten and is now three years old.

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 24th, 2016

Poor cat. Over 90% of cats with acute sneezing discharge are infected with herpesvirus and calicivirus. These viruses are usually exposed to cats when they are young and cats seems to recover from them but they continuously cause irritation, erosions, and inflammation of the upper respiratory tract (nasal passages) over time which can lead to mild nose bleeds.

However there is also a possibility that your kitty could have a coagulation problems that is causing the bleeding as well. Therefore it is best to get kitty seen by your veterinarian for a coagulation profile in case kitty needs more extensive treatment to resolve this.

If kitty is negative for any bleeding disorders or any other potential causes of nose bleeding (i.e. fungal, allergic, etc), then the extent of treatment will most likely be 1) Anti-viral medication (Lysine-availlabe over the counter at your local pet store or at your vet clinic), 2)Antibiotics- to treat any secondary infections present, 3)Steroid or NSAID therapy to help ease inflammation of the nasal turbinates. I would recommend scheduling an appointment with your cat's veterinarian soon to get the proper testing and treatment your cat needs for his care.
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Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 25th, 2018

    Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is common to see a small amount of blood in cats that have been sneezing a lot. There is likely some inflammation in her nose (rhinitis) secondary to the infection she had. If there is a large amount of blood or it is dripping out of the nose, then I would recommend having her seen by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Answered By Ana M, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 26th, 2020

    Thank you for submitting your question regarding your cat. I recommend that you see a veterinarian. Your cat may have an upper respiratory tract infection. Blood is not commonly seen though. There may be a more serious issue such as a bleeding disorder, fungal infection or nasal tumor. I hope this information helps.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 18th, 2021

    It sounds as though you and Wilbur have been through quite a bit since you brought him home! I agree that the discharge pictured looks like there is a bit of tissue attached rather than pure discharge. It's possible that his chronic congestion and discharge could be due to an upper respiratory infection that is either viral in nature or is bacterial but resistant to the Clavamox and doxycycline. Other possible causes include immunosuppression from viruses like feline leukemia virus (FeLV) or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), nasopharyngeal polyps, or foreign material in the nasal passages. At this point, it's worth another visit to your vet for a follow up exam. If you haven't already done the blood tests for FIV/FeLV, that's a good starting point. Your vet may also want to perform a sedated nasal, oral, and ear exam, and take some skull x-rays to see if there are any obvious changes that could be causing this problem. I hope that Wilbur is on the mend soon!

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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My cat's sneezing for weeks, nose bleeding. When to see a vet?
Since this has bene going on for a while, I would get it checked by your vet as soon as possible. It could be a cold, he could have sneezed some particle of foreign material up into his nasal cavity, he could have a polyp in his nose, there's no way to know for sure without an exam with your vet. The greenish tinge to the discharge may mean he already has an infection going on. Your vet will do an exam, possibly lab work and/or x-rays to determine what's going on and based on these results will be better able to tell you what's wrong and give you treatment options.
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My feral cat has a URI and is sneezing blood. How can I help him?
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My cat has nosebleeds and sneezes. Can antibiotics still help?
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