Kitty coughing

I did just go on utube and watched the poor kitty's with asthma. The cough some had are similar to my cat. The vet said he was not ruling out asthma but since he had a shot of long lasting steroids and did not improve he was not leaning towards it. I am definitely getting him the xray so we can get to the bottom of this.

I have no insight to add but I wanted to send some get well vibes for Max!! Hope you get it figured out and cured real soon!

Still thinking of you and Max. Hope he does okay until you can get him in for the x ray.

If the x rays don't show any thing to go on, by all means don't hesitate to seek a second opinion.

Thank you so much for the kind thoughts. He still is coughing but came running for dinner tonight and is cuddling with my daughter now in bed. It started to snow here in Jersey and from the forecast I don't think I am going to be able to get out tomorrow. Hopefully Thur. I can get him back to the vet. I think I might ask some of my kitty freinds which vets they use, I am a little upset over the snap test they used for the heartworms. Thanks again for thinking of Max and I'll post an update as soon as I have one.

The x-ray is very important for Max. Wet coughing can be Upper respiratory infection, pnemonia, or fluid in the lungs associated with heart issues.

Vet is right if cortecosteroids are not effective it is unlikey to be asthma as asthma will respond to a depo-medrol shot.

Unfortunately coughing can be caused by a number of conditions and the vet needs to test and rule them all out.

If this vet can't diagnosis then Max is best served if you find another vet that can diagnose the problem.

Coughing either way is bad for the lungs as it causes scaring and damage to the lungs and if fluid from heart disease it needs to be treated sooner then later..

Not to scare you but just some things that need to be checked and ruled out.

I have an asthma kitty and how we got blood from him as he too is a fighter as well, was to gas him for a few minutes and get the blood and urine samples. He was asleep and awake again in 10 minutes.

Cats with respiratory problems gasing is fast. As they can be woken up quickly as opposed to using other methods where they will be out for a long time. A puff of Albuterol relaxes the airway and allows them to breathe easier.

I know how worried you are about having him put out for the procedure. We had a big debate the vet and vet tech and I before we used the gas and everything worked out but I gave a puff of Albuterol before hand.

Personally hoping it is just an Upper respiratory infection and some antibiotics will solve the problem.

Thanks bushbunny for your advice. I am glad to hear it is not as bad as it sounds putting a cat under for these tests. I too am still hoping it's a cold but the vet says if it was a cold he should have a runny nose and eyes. The only symptom he has is the cough which came on last week, one day he was fine the next he started with this cough. Thursday I will bring him back to the vet I would tomorrow but we are going to have blizzard conditions.

I wanted to give an update on Max. I brought him to another vet today and they were able to get good xrays without putting him under, also they took blood to send out to check for heartworms plus other things. His xrays showed his lungs to be clear the vet said no signs of fluid or asthma. she said his stomach looked very full so it could be a large hairball he is trying to pass. The vet was able to hear the rattle noise and she thought it sounded like it was coming more from his sinuses. She also said she did not hear a murmur.

The plan is to give him hairball treatment and to wait to see what the bloodwork says when it comes back. The vet said if nothing still shows up the next step is to see a specialist that would sedate him and check in his upper palate to see what is causing the rattle also we could also see a cardioligist just to make sure it is not his heart, but she did not think it was heart related. So still not sure what the problem is but hopefully we will soon get to the bottom of it!

Originally Posted by MaxMommy

His cough is a very wet sounding cough he extends his neck and head out low to the ground when he starts coughing. I have not seen him cough anything up but he does seem to swallow when he is done. I wish they had done the xray before the blood work now I am afraid he is going to go nuts at the vet when I bring him back.

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What you've been describing sounds very much like the coughing spells that my Geronimo & Winchester used to have before they were put on Interferon for the dry form of FIP. I'm certainly no expert and can only offer advice based upon my experience, but it's worth considering and asking your vet about. If it is the dry form of FIP, please don't panic! The dry form is treatable - unlike the wet form. My two have been doing really well on the Interferon treatment: they still have occasional coughing attacks, but they're much less frequent and not anywhere near as severe as they used to be.

Just an FYI. I hope whatever is wrong with your Max can be treated.

I got back the results of Max's blood work and it confirmed that he does not have heartworm. His coughing seems to be less although last night I did hear a little bit of the rattling sound but no cough. I did up his hairball treatment not sure if its helping but he has not vomited any. He still is fine in every other way. The vet says give it till next week and if he does not improve then to call her to see what we should do next. I will have to ask her about fip next time I talk to her. Thanks to everyone who helped, this has been a wonderful website with such helpful people!

Thank you for keeping us updated on your Max. I hope he continues to improve and never looks back.

After a visit to the vet our 7 year old cat is now coughing. He's lived here with us for two years and I've never heard him do this.

It's not constant but I heard him do it for the first time a few days ago, then again today.

Did he pick up something at the vets? I'm going to call now.

He had no problems, and got a rabies shot. I hope the shot didn't do this to him.

Well that was easily solved. Stopped using baking soda in the litter box.. Apparently that's too dusty for him and he had a reaction to it. Has not coughed once since we started fresh.