what would you do?

catnapt

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my 19+ yr old girl has been doing something that sounds like a cross between a sneeze and a cough, more on the cough side, really

have only heard her do this a few times a day.....

but then she looks like she is swallowing afterward, like she brought something up....can cats hack up phlegm? (sp) you know, like if you have a cough and you hack up whatever that crap is...

she is in renal failure, & has IBD but otherwise is in pretty good shape for a girl her age

however she can no longer Go to the vets office, (explanation is long so will skip that)
and a home visit costs $150 EXTRA on top of the regular fees ($38 for sick visit, plus whatever tests may be needed)


so obviously i can't afford to have the vet come out if all she has is a hairball (she very seldom gets hairballs, but i wouldn't rule it out)

i have given her the only hairball remedy that is safe for her to have, with her allergies.


still it does not really sound like what my hairball prone cat sounds like just before she hacks up a hairball.


OH she does have seasonal allergies and very mild asthma- the asthma has never needed regular treatment, when its allergy season for her, she gets prednisolone.

HOWEVER she definately does not seem to be having any trouble breathing, and is not doing what the vet told me she'd do if she were having an asthma attack


any idea what else i should check or look for to see if this may be something more than a hair ball?

take her temp, maybe? (that won't be easy by myself but can be done)

i can always call the vet and see what they say, but often you get the "the cat needs to be seen" because they want to get pd for their advice (i have no problem with that)
even if they have a pretty good idea if its likely to be serious or not

what would you do?
 

miss mew

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That is a problem for sure

It could be a hairball and then again with her advanced age and health issues it could be something much worse.

I don't see the harm in calling the vet to get an opinion.
 

pat

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The swallowing you describe, given her crf, makes me wonder about nausea...is she on pepcid or anything similar? Is she having any constipation issues? I believe that slippery elm bark syrup is good both for constipation *and* stomach acid/nausea. Recipe and dose is on the www.felinecrf.org site that I mention so often
What can I say, love that site.

If you haven't addressed any potential nausea issues, I'd try addressing that (conferring over the phone with your vet first), and see how it goes.

Skritches to your grand dame
 
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catnapt

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THANKS! i will call anyway just to be on the safe side

Pat & Alex-
GMTA??

i gave her a shot of pepcid ac (she gets subQ injectible) thinking maybe that could be it, esp since she did recently start needing more fluids

will watch and see if that helps

thanks so much for the link to the slippery elm bark syrup....i'd heard about that some time ago but had forgotten all about it

maybe it'll help her IBD too?

the grand dame thanks you for the skritches
 
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