Kitten coughing after drinking

My aby kitten was diagnosed with a URI last Wednesday and has been on an antibiotic since then. She will continue the antibiotic for another week and a half. While she is no longer coughing while playing or just walking around, she is coughing every time she gets a drink of water and for a full minute or two. I feel bad for her because it looks a bit painful the way she lays her head down and pumps her chest trying to get something out (water, phlem?).

I'm starting to wonder if she actually has an URI or if she has just been aspirating little drops of water when she drinks since it's now only when she drinks. This only started up after her spay surgery last Monday (3/24) so it's possible she picked up a URI at the clinic, but she has never had any other symptoms besides the cough. Has anyone else noticed your cat coughing after getting a drink of water? She goes back to the vet on Saturday for a coccidia re-check and I plan to ask the vet then, but I thought I'd get everyone's opinion here as well. Thanks!

Try listening to her to check if you hear any congestion. I know when I'm sick and trying to drink I'll cough if my nose is stuffy or my throat is itchy, surely it wouldn't be unheard of for a cat to do the same.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Try listening to her to check if you hear any congestion. I know when I'm sick and trying to drink I'll cough if my nose is stuffy or my throat is itchy, surely it wouldn't be unheard of for a cat to do the same.

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She has no other symptoms of a URI at all. She has no discharge from her eyes or nose, she doesn't sneeze and she's playing hard just fine with no breathing problems. This is why I can't help but think it has something to do with her inhaling the water she's drinking.

Does she have any Persian in her? My parent's cat, Samson, was a Persian, and he would try to breathe while drinking out of a bowl. He eventually learned to drink by dipping his paw into the water, and licking the water off his paw. I think the flat face of the Persian makes it difficult to prevent aspirating water into their nose while drinking. If your kitten is fairly young, perhaps she is doing it too, just because she hasn't quite gotten the hang of it! Good luck. You might be right that she doesn't have a URI, she may just be an inexperienced or clumsy drinker!

Originally Posted by Pookie-poo

Does she have any Persian in her? My parent's cat, Samson, was a Persian, and he would try to breathe while drinking out of a bowl. He eventually learned to drink by dipping his paw into the water, and licking the water off his paw. I think the flat face of the Persian makes it difficult to prevent aspirating water into their nose while drinking. If your kitten is fairly young, perhaps she is doing it too, just because she hasn't quite gotten the hang of it! Good luck. You might be right that she doesn't have a URI, she may just be an inexperienced or clumsy drinker!

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She's a pure-bred abyssinian so it wouldn't be from a flat face issue, but that's an excellent guess! I can't wait to take her back to the vet so she can recheck her lungs and make sure there isn't any fluid remaining in them. Hopefully she'll have some insight on this. Poor thing looks so miserable when she goes through a coughing fit that I hope she figures out how to drink normally soon!

Update: As I suspected the vet checked her lungs and they are all clear. He said it's just something she's doing when she drinks so hopefully she'll learn to drink properly soon. Silly kitty.

Tamgirl99

Did you ever get the whole "cat coughing" after drinking water resolved?

I just got my second Devon Rex that has been doing the same thing.
I am so nervous because I had to put my last Rex down due to Asthma and pneumonia.

It freaks me out...every time Sofie drinks water fast, it is like she is choking.
The vet said her lungs "sound" fine, but I am still worried.

Thanks
K

Vinnie one of my new Bengal kittens coughs after he's been drinking water. He brings up a wee bit of water or phlegm. The cough sounds very much like an asthma cough - my 14 year old Abyssinian Taavi has suffered from asthma since he was around 1 year old. A friend suggested giving him Cat Lax for a couple of days to see if there's an improvement, as it might be a fur ball. If he's no better in a week I'll have him checked out by the vet.

Any suggestions are most welcome!!

Hi,
We have a 19 month old female Bengal, and she is also coughing after drinking water. We saw the vet a few days ago, and he checked her lungs, as well as took blood to make sure that there are no infections. The lungs were clear, and blood work came back good.
He told us to keep her without the collar for a week and observe her after she drinks water. Vet said that if the cough continues we will do x-rays next. He also suggested scoping (inserting tube with camera) to see if there is anything blocking her ways.
We'll report back to you.

BENGAL2009 --- Did you figure out what was the cause of your Bengal's cough? Thanks in advance.

Our Stinkpot coughs after drinking water too! Not always, but sometimes. I've mentioned it to the Vet, and she's checked him out thoroughly, and can't find any reason for it. He only does it when drinking from the fountain, never from the water bowls scattered around the house, so I think he must just get some water in his nose or something, silly guy!

Originally Posted by tamgirl99

Update: As I suspected the vet checked her lungs and they are all clear. He said it's just something she's doing when she drinks so hopefully she'll learn to drink properly soon. Silly kitty.

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Did he say why that happens when she drinks?

Originally Posted by My4LLMA

Did he say why that happens when she drinks?

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Nope. I do have an update to post, as this thread is now three years old. My cat's coughing has progressively gotten worse over the last 9 months or so and back in the summer, she also started losing her voice off and on. At that time, she was also sneezing so the vet figured she just had allergy problems and we treated her for that. It did seem to help a little, but has continued over the months. I haven't worried too much about this as I keep hearing of numerous cats with the same problem, but their vets haven't found anything wrong either and the cats are otherwise normal and healthy. Well, I've become more concerned in the last month because her coughing has become progressively worse, more often and deeper. I also hear fluid at times when she's purring.

I took her back to the vet yesterday because I wanted to get x-rays to see if there was any physical obstruction or growing tumor that could be causing the progression. The vet said there was no visible mass, but her lungs were pretty "patchy" which appears to be asthma related. She is sending the x-rays to a certified radiologist for a more detailed analysis, so I will post back when I get the results.

I'm still not sure what to think on all of this. I asked the vet if her inhaling water constantly could induce asthma and she said that isn't typical, but possible. I just can't help but believe that if she didn't inhale while drinking, her lungs would be fine. I've been searching other potential causes and one that came up in my search for "cough caused by drinking water" was tracheal collapse, which is apparently extremely rare in cats, but it is considered progressive which is what is happing to my cat. Hopefully that's something the radiologist will be able to rule out from the x-rays.

Anyways, I'll post when I get the results, but please if anyone else has updates, post here. I'm also including a link to a site where numerous cat owners have posted on this very topic. It's one of the reasons I haven't been too concerned over the years, but I would suggest if you find that your cat's coughing or other symptoms start getting progressively worse, to please see your vet. Hugs and headbutts to all!

http://www.askthecatdoctor.com/cat-c...-comments.html

I got the results from the radiologists late yesterday and he confirmed it is asthma. I'm off to research treatment options. I'm not a fan of long-term steroid use!

Hi

I know its been a while since you posted about your kitten.  I hope he/she's sorted now.

My kitten (he's now 8 months old) was coughing/choking after drinking water and after several visits to the vets, he had to have a minor operation.  Apparently, the flap that covers the epiglottis (sp?) when they are eating or drinking was stuck, so the water was going down the wrong way.  He had a bit snipped off it and is now drinking with no problems.

x

tamgirl99 said:

I got the results from the radiologists late yesterday and he confirmed it is asthma. I'm off to research treatment options. I'm not a fan of long-term steroid use!

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sand said:

Hi

I know its been a while since you posted about your kitten. I hope he/she's sorted now.

My kitten (he's now 8 months old) was coughing/choking after drinking water and after several visits to the vets, he had to have a minor operation. Apparently, the flap that covers the epiglottis (sp?) when they are eating or drinking was stuck, so the water was going down the wrong way. He had a bit snipped off it and is now drinking with no problems.

x

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Hi guys! It’s been awhile since you posted but hoping you guys see this. Currently having this situation and it worries me so much, sometimes hear the fluid also. My little guy is 6 months old and has been doing it ever since I got him, humane society never noticed nor told me anything about it. I will be getting him checked for asthma and also his epiglottis. Both of these caused the coughing right after drinking water??

Hi! Both of the other posters haven't been seen on the site since at least 2015. You will want to post your own thread here;
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