Unproductive cough?

kara_leigh

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Does anyone have any idea what could be wrong with Nora? For a while now (a month or so? not sure exactly) she has been doing this thing where it's like she is trying to cough up a hairball but nothing ever comes up. She'll cough for about 2 min, then she acts really tired for a few minutes, then she is back to normal. Last night I noticed it was starting to sound a bit "rattly/loose" and she spit some liquid out of her nose. She usually only does it about once a day, but can go periods where she won't do it at all for a few days.

At first we thought it was just stress from our upcoming move, but she is still doing it afterwards. We are trying to find an affordable vet to take her to but we don't know anyone to give us a recommendation. We **are** taking her in asap, though. (We need a vet soon anyway b/c we are getting two puppies that need shots and spayed/nuetered.) I just thought i'd get some ideas on what it could be from anyone here, before hand. Even DH is worried about her (she is his baby), and I'm worried that it is something serious. I don't want anything to happen to our princess.
 

kittica

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I really don't know much about cats as of yet, but I've already mentioned somewhere on the forum that, what to us looked like a milk to moderate respiratory infection, the vet treated as tapeworm infection.

And once the tapeworm came out, all the coughing, sneezing and spitting/puking stopped immediately We were more than convinced she had some respiratory infection, or even pneumonia. But nope... just some worms.
 

def kitty

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My cat didn't have worms, but he started doing exactly the same thing a few weeks ago. I was worried about the salivation too, it looked like something really serious was wrong with him, but it turned out to be just a hairball stuck somewhere in his digestive tract. I gave him half a teaspoon of pure vaseline daily three days in a row and that got rid of it. Just make sure you give it between meals (though it's ok to mix it with a small quantity of his favorite food if that's the only way to get him to eat it up). Daily brushing/combing is a must, March seems to be the shedding season for my cat so maybe that's your cat's problem too.

Btw, about the liquid coming out of her nose, was she spayed? I noticed that two of my female cats had really runny noses when they were in heat, and it stopped after they were spayed.
 

auntie crazy

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Hi, Kara!

Does it look/sound like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuNy_...layer_embedded?

If so, there's a possibility your kitty may have either feline asthma or heartworms - the two have nearly identical symptoms. The Feline Nutrition Education Society has an article on feline asthma in their Health section that might provide you with some info. It's titled, "Another Furball? It Might Be Feline Asthma"

I think you're going to need a vet visit, though, and likely some blood work to narrow down the diagnosis. Both feline asthma and heartwarms run the gamut from mildly irritating to deadly; hopefully for you, it'll be the very mild version of whatever it is!

Good luck!

AC
 

lenny & squiggy

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Dealing with a kitten who has pneumonia I have learned, any coughing in cats requires vet care. Best advice, video the episode and make a vet appt. Seeing which stage the coughing is in is valuable info for the vet to determine which tests are needed. Could be a simple hairball, but should get it checked out. Good Luck and I hope the kitty feels better soon.
 

kittkatt

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That's how my FIP cats react when they're having one of their "attacks". It comes & goes like that, too. I'm not saying that your cat is necessarily FIP/FIV positive, but I think a vet trip is in order to have some blood work done.

I hope it's nothing serious.
 

catmom2wires

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I went through this two years ago with my bridge cat Sheba. We ruled out many things, and did many treatments until we finally had to make the hardest decision. Some possibilities (from mildest to worst):
1. Allergies
2. Infection
3. Pneumonia
4. Asthma
5. Heartworms
6. Cancer
7. Lung Abscess
8. FIP

I am sure there are many other things, but these were just the things we tested for, etc. Six, 7 and 8 are all pretty bad, and my darling Sheba had #6.

If there is any "pondering" going on, I would advance right to the ultrasound or fine needle aspiration. I kept trying to treat the "pneumonia" relying on x-rays and the vet's exam, but it wasn't pneumonia at all.


Good luck with little Nora, and try not to worry in the meantime.

C
 

feralvr

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Poor Nora. I don't want to scare you.... but I would get her to a vet immediately. It is possible it is something with her heart. This is a typical sign, coughing, of heart probs. But a vet needs to address this issue with Nora.. I sure hope is is not anything serious though
 
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