Dry cough

I have read the other threads but want specific advice. Rocko started with the dry cough occasionally, flash forward a couple of weeks and now ReeRee is dry coughing.

A couple of things I am thinking:
1: Allergies...something in the air being the house is closed up? something in the food as i recently changed dry food?

2: Could they BOTH have heartworm or bronchitis? Are either of these contagious?

3: Hairballs...I haven't seen one thrown up lately. Could they be having probelms shifting it?

So, my thoughts are to change food to a hairball formula and go back to the other manufacturer I had been using? I also have a really smelly type of bath salt I recently brought into the house, when you walk in the front door you can smell it! Get rid of it?

Any thoughts, comments, advice would be most welcome!

Heartworm is not contagious, but it is dangerous. It is a parasite that requires treatment.
Bronchitis is contagious but is usually a wet cough.
Flowerbelle constantly has a dry cough from hair balls. She has a very hard time getting them up and we are constantly trying new things to help her.

I'd call your vet to ask. I don't know how to tell the difference between a hairball cough and a heartworm cough. I'd call the vet and chat with them to decide how to proceed.

Originally Posted by LDG

I'd call your vet to ask. I don't know how to tell the difference between a hairball cough and a heartworm cough. I'd call the vet and chat with them to decide how to proceed.

Click to expand...

Since Riley has both, I can tell you that for him there is a big difference but that may not be true for all cats.

When he is having heartworm issues he has a lot of wheezing followed by a few loud coughs at the end. It is pretty much the exact same as the cat asthma videos on youtube. He will lay down flat on his stomach with his neck stretched out flat on the floor.

When he's coughing up a hairball he is generally sitting up and starts coughing/gagging until he throws up. It is more of a full body cough.

Any cough is worth having checked out by the vet though, especially since they are both doing it.

I agree that any cough should be seen by a vet - it is just not normal, unless you know it is a hairball.
Lucky was coughing last month, it sounded just like a human cough - not dramatic like asthma, or hairballs.
It turned out being just an irritation on her throat -it could been caused by chemicals in the air, allergens, sprays, etc.
Dr. gave her a, injection of short term steroids with antibiotics, and put her on anti-histamine pills for 4-5 days. She stopped coughing, her throat healed, and she is as good as new.
So, don't think of the worst - there are soo many possibilities... Allergies, irritation, hairball...
for not to be anything serious!!

Thanks folks! the thing that is giving me pause is that BOTH of them started within a few weeks of each other. I thought that was a weird coincidence.