My Cat Coughs Constantly...help!

Ok, I got my cat from the pound when she was 8wks old. Her name is Kitty. I had every necessary shot and procedure (spaying) done on time. She has moved with me approx. 17-18 times in her mere 7 years. She has become so adaptable that it takes about 1 min for her to feel comfortable in new surroundings! I am 27 and she is the first pet I have ever had on my own. She has been my constant companion through all of my life's tribulations and she means more to me than probably any cat should to anyone.
When she was about 5yrs old she started coughing occasionally but I thought it was just allergies of some sort. Then it began to worsen till she was having fits about once overy 2 hrs. I took her the vet and he suggested switching around her food and litter. I did this, but also around that time I moved (once again) and her cough got better. So I'm still not sure whether it was the changes I made or the move. Anyways, I lived in this new place(still in the same town) only about 2 months when I moved again. After about 3 months in the new place she began coughing again but not as made and it seemed to clear up on its own. From that town we moved to Vegas where her cough got SO bad I took her in and had X-rays and blood work done. Wouldn't you know it? The Vet says she's as healthy as can be but told me to give her a combination of antibiotics and prednisone. This helped dramatically!
Recently I have moved to Colorado. Kitty's bouts of coughing have gotten so bad that I have stayed up all night with her preparing to take her to the emergency Vet. Her coughs are as follows: very dry to begin with but become incredibly mucously, sometimes she crouches down and sticks out her neck but often she has the fit laying down, occurs when she is laying down or after playing, she is healthy and vibrant in every other way and it doesn't seem to affect her at all after the fit is over. The Vet has no idea what is going on and says the only way to know for sure is to do a variety of invasive procedures.
So, my post is two fold. My first objective is to find out of anyone else has gone through something like this and perhaps they could help me out and the second is find out opinions on invasive procedures. Money is not an issue as far as this is concerned. I would sleep on the street if I had to. But I'm not sure if I should go through with the procedures at the suffering of my cat or if I should just try to medicate her for the rest of her life never knowing if I'm actually medicating her correcting or merely puting a band-aid on a much larger problem.
Sorry for the long post but I find that I am in tears with frustration on an almost daily basis and any help or advice would be so much appreciated. You can also e-mail me at [email protected]

i'm sorry to hear that poor kitty has this problem. one of my cats coughed quite frequently but not to the extent you describe. before putting her through any kind of invasive procedures, i would do some homework on the vets in your area. try and get advice from a rescue centre on them too.

our local rescue centre uses the leading vet in the town who get many referrals from other practices.

that way you will have sought out the best possible advice which should help with your decision.

good luck.

My Cat with Asthma does that.

That is a strange one!

It does sound as if it could be an environmentally triggered thing, but something that is building up within your home after you move in, as she's ok when you first move. Do you smoke? I daresay if you do, you'll already have considered that as a possible cause. So I would look at things that you use that build up in the environment, that previous occupants may not have used. Air fresheners, cleaning products, perfumes or deodorants, pot pourri, scented candles, fabric freshening sprays, hairspray, or the laundry detergent/fabric softener you use for your clothes, that sort of thing.

It's not the easiest thing in the world to do, but it may be worth trying to give up the use of chemicals/scents for say 3 months to see if that helps - you can use a water/vinegar mix as an effective anti-bacterial natural alternative to bleach and cleaning fluids for example. It might be worth a shot.

Another possibility is to ask your vet for a referral to an allergy specialist, if it is an allergy they could help find the trigger, or rule out allergies if it isn't that. Good luck

This may be a long shot, although someone mentioned chemicals and cleaners and based on the fact the prednisone helped so here goes.

I am currently dealing with an emergency situation where my cat ingested and inhaled fumes from some very potent cheap laundry soap, he is in ICU and I daresay recovering HOWEVER he has the exact fits you describe (along with laboured breathing)

It could be that something you are using to clean or do the laundry is toxic to her and causing swelling in her throat and lungs (my guys is as bad as chemical burns)

I have to switch to organic laundry soap and cleaners (I reccomend tea-tree/orange mix from home hardware stores)

OR she has mild asthma that you are unaware of and again something you are using in your home is causing a reaction, as the fits (as my guys do) fit asthma, but they can have asthma without having fits all the time, just if they are triggered.

Although if it was asthma your vet would probably have some indication in the X-rays.

Just some thoughts,
good luck, there is NOTHING worse then a sick kitty that means the world to you........my heart goes out.
xo

The symptoms sound very like asthma, possibly triggered by something you are using in the house, or by the weather or dust. My Wellington has fits like you describe, and it is controlled by prednisone. He started with one tablet a day and as the fits became less, the vet and I decreased the dose till now he takes a quarter every other day, and he has not had a fit for some months. Did no asthmatically inflamed tubes show up on the bronchial xray?