Strange swallowing thing

One of my cats has, in the last couple of months, started this thing where once in a while she will kind of gulp like sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s having trouble swallowing when sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s purring. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve only noticed it recently, as I said, and it seem *only* to happen when sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s purring. It has not increased in frequency since I noticed it. She doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem to have difficulty eating or drinking. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s active and in good spirits. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve thought maybe it is related to a hairball in the throat that is in the process of working its way through her system. I also contemplated tumor, though that seems less likely to me since the gulping thing is sporadic, even when purring. Any thoughts or experiences? Would you take her to the vet?

Thanks in advance for any input!

Single drop of saliva trying to go down the wrong tube?

my cat does that when she is puring very hard. I just attributed it to over doing the purr and maybe swallowing a build up of saliva. I didn't think it was a problem. Never the less, all cats are different. If it concerns you, get a vets opinion.

Take your cat to the vet. This could be a respiratory infection or asthma. My cat did this and it turned out to be such. They "gulp" the stuff that comes up from it. Good luck!

Thanks for the input!

My cat does the gulping thing too, but only when he purrs. I thought I had mentioned it to the vet, but maybe I forgot. Anyway, my cat has food allergies and if I think about it, the gulping thing started sometime after all the itching started. So I guess it must be part of the food allergy. I guess this is also why he's been snoring so loud too.

You might also check her teeth. One of my cats will end up drooling more while purring when his teeth are getting a lot of build up on them.

There are some thought-provoking ideas here. Thanks!!

My little gulper doesn't drool when purring, but she does have a touch of gingivitis that the vet noticed in her wellness check in the spring. She's been getting some Hills Tooth Diet (T/D) as treats (so nice when they think their "medicine" is a treat!) daily ever since, so we're looking at the tooth angle, though the vet didn't say anything about big build up last spring - just the gum irritation. Hmmm....

No known food allergies, though she does have mild irritable bowel -- controlled, thankfully, with diet & not a bunch of meds.

The respiratory infection thing is more worrying, but the gulping thing isn't that frequent and certainly not constant. Wouldn't it be more regular if it were due to a bunch of crud due to infection or asthma?

I'll give the vet a call. We have days of social unrest in the house if just one goes to the vet, so if possible I like to wait until both need to go -- if not urgent, of course. But I'll call.

Thanks again for the input!! Good to know that there seems to be some benign gulping out there, too!