cat wheezing?

[april31]

my 2 year old cat has this thing every once in a while aboutonce or twice a day. it seems when he starts to purr he makes this wheezing sound kind of like trying to hack up a hairball but nothing comes out. it seems to happen when hes purring and it lasts about a min. it scares me each time cause it seems he cant catch his breath but then when its over hes just fine again. i have asked the vet but he dont really know says it could be asthma or maybe just saliva that when he purrs he cant control. any of u ever hear of this. i guess it dont seem to be a big prob with him i just pet him and be there during it.

[Pat]

If you want to know if it's asthma or not, your vet can do some testing - x-ray for one to take a look at the lungs.

Here is my favorite site on the web for information on feline asthma (it should describe what you'd see, tests that can be done, as well as treatment)
http://www.fritzthebrave.com/

[jennyranson]

My Wellington has asthma; after several months of dry wheezing and coughing and treatment for URI, we did Xrays which confirmed asthma. Now he is on Prednisone every two days, which does not stop symptoms but has considerably lessened them. As soon as we move to France in the summer I shall try him on inhaled meds which are not available here. It is a frightening thing to see - the cat fighting for breath and coughing, its head stretched out, but it can be controlled. At all other times Wellington acts perfectly normally and seems to be in no distress. Even his often loud breathing at night does not worry him or wake him up.

[april31]

the vidio of the cat looks just like baby when he does it. if its asthma would there be other syptoms he seems perfectly healthy otherwise just had his yearly check up the vet didnt seemed too concerned said he seems healthy. lol i have to laugh because my son and i both have asthma so it would be just fitting lol. so should i ask the vet to check for it or wait and see he has done it since he was born.l

[Pat]

Check over more of the site, it may discuss other symptoms, plus you may see this getting worse...hard to tell you not to ask your vet about it, I'd always rather ask and find out it's nothing

[jennyranson]

Wellington had always done it since I got him but for ages I put it down to yet another infection to be cleared up. It needed an Xray for both me and hte vet to be sure.

[kittycorner]

Hi!
It sounds to me like asthma. I have a 1 1/2 yr. old kitty named Uno who has asthma. I started noticing a coughing type sound just like you described, and so I took him to work with me ( I am a veteriany technician) and took some x-rays to confirm my suspiscions. He had asthma, it has been about 8 mos. since we diagnosed him and although I am still trying to get it under control a few things have been helpful.

I started Uno on a steriod injection to start out with, it works quick and lasts about 4-6 wks. But at the time I was getting married and going out of town so it was a perfect solution. The only thing with the injection is that overtime some kitties tend to become diabetic, so I steared away from that. Once I was back from my honeymoon I switched him to an inhaler which I have 2 different kinds of: the Albuterol is a non steroid inhaler that I use to help keep his attacks from getting worse, but when he is really bad I use a steroid inhaler (Very Expensive!!) but it works great. I recently tried him on Prednisolone but he seems to have a reaction to that. It seems that the least expensive and easiest way to administer medication to your kitty. My vet has also told me that there is a new type of nebulizer specially made for cats and dogs that is supposed to work pretty good but I have yet to try it. Once I do I will let you know. Good Luck!!!!

[Nikonos]

Cali ust got back form the vet with the same symptoms you speak of. He injected her with a conticosteroid, which one he did not specify, and I can already tell a difference 5 hours later. No hacking thus far. My fingers are crossed.

[TankandDozer]

I have a cat that does this, too, but only rarely. It happens when he gets to really purring after I've pet him for a prolonged period of time. Like, perhaps his purr gets ahead of him, and he sort of chokes on it. He never wheezes on any other occasion. I've never asked the vet, because I sort of forget about it until he does it again (it has been months, and then he just did it last night).

[herzberg]

I just adopted a new cat, around two years old. He also chokes and wheezes every time he purrs...and ONLY when he is purring. Did you ever find out what was causing your cat's similar symptoms? I would be very grateful for a reply either way.

Thank you,
Amy

[auchick]

Well not to panic everybody but last Dec. our cat had these same symptoms. He looked just like these videos of cats having an asthma attack. Vet took an xray and thought it was asthma and gave him a steroid shot. She also thought she saw a plueral effusion so he got some diurectics. By a week later, it hadn't helped so we took him in to evalutate for HCM (which was neg) and the echo randomly picked up a mass on his liver...Took him in to a specialist to have the plueral effusion fluid tested and it was + for cancerous cells. He passed 2 mo later. Anyway not trying to worry anybody...just saying other options..

[mews2much]

My Cat has Asthma and does that. Be Careful with the Shots. Coco is now on a nhler because the shots give her bladder problems. My Vet also said never give a steroid before 6 months if they had one. They cn cause Diabetes also.