Cat sneezing
A cat that sneezes is usually reacting to dust, pollen or a strong scent, so the sneeze can be honest feedback about what you add to the air you share. To Turks Islanders, a sneezing cat foretold rain.
What it may mean
A cat knows its home mostly by smell. It reads who has been in the room, what is safe to eat and which corner is its own through a nose far more sensitive than yours, and it marks its people by rubbing its cheeks on them. So when the cat sneezes after you light a scented candle, spray a cleaner or come home wearing new perfume, it is telling you, in its way, that the air has changed. That can lead to a broader question: what do you add to the shared air of your home or office (the music, the strong opinions, the sharp tone at the end of a long day) that others simply have to breathe? Some of it is welcome. Some of it is a little much. A sneeze is honest feedback.
Depending on how you saw it
Sneezing near a scented candle or cleaner
Strong fragrances, sprays and dusty litter often set off a sneeze or two. The smell you barely notice can be overwhelming at nose level for a cat. Whose comfort in your home might depend on you toning something down a little?
A sneeze after sniffing your hand
A cat that sniffs your fingers carefully and then sneezes may simply have caught a strong scent from soap, food or another animal. It was gathering news about where you have been. What do you bring home from your day without realizing it?
Sneezing in a sunbeam
A cat waking from a nap in a dusty sunbeam may sneeze as the light and the dust hit its nose. Even pleasant places carry some irritation. Which of your favorite spots, or people, comes with a small cost you have decided to accept?
Why it happens in nature
Cats sneeze for many of the same everyday reasons people do: dust, pollen, strong smells or a whisker or blade of grass tickling the nose. An occasional sneeze is normal. A cat that sneezes often, or seems unwell, is worth showing to a vet.
What folk beliefs say
Turks Islands (Caribbean)
In the Turks Islands, a sneezing cat was a forecast of rain.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 596. View the page
To reflect on
What do you add to the air you share with others that they simply have to breathe?