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Coughing - Hairballs?

post #1 of 7
10/4/11 at 11:47am
Thread Starter 
Both Joni and Simon have had coughing episodes recently, one each within the last two weeks. I couldn't get any on camera, but it was a deep cough, more like a "hock" (if you know what I mean, sorry for the visual, lol!) that lasted about 5-7 minutes before normal play and activity resumed.

Does this mean hairballs are in my future? What else could be the cause for the "cough"? If it's hairballs, what can I do to alleviate/prevent further hocking/coughing?
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post #2 of 7
10/4/11 at 2:11pm
It could be hairballs, yes. Genever hates to be brushed so I just don't bother, but she grooms a lot, and grooms Dorothy too, who does shed a lot. Every now and then Genever hacks up a hairball, so I give her Laxatone for a few days to get things moving again. Luckily she loves the original malt flavor, so it's easy to get her to lick a glob off my finger. You can get it at Petco or Petsmart or online. Other than that, I would say brush them often to prevent them swallowing so much fur while grooming themselves. Good luck!!!
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post #3 of 7
10/4/11 at 5:57pm
I'm by no means an expert, but coughing for 5-7 minutes doesn't sound good. It COULD be a hairball, but if a hairball never appears and the coughing continues, I'd be more inclined to guess that it can be asthma. In my experience hairballs seem to follow a gagging type noise, not a coughing sound, though I know that they CAN cough before a hairball. I have one with asthma, who had long coughing fits. They didn't happen every day, but they happened frequently enough that I got him to the vet, he got checked out and diagnosed with asthma. He gets an inhaler twice a day now and I think I've only heard him cough once since he started the inhaler almost a year ago, but he's still gagged and hacked up a hairball here and there occasionally. So while a 5-7 minute coughing fit isn't good, if its asthma it can be treated. If it happens again, I'd definitely have a vet check them out. If they are siblings, it could be likely that they both have the same condition.
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post #4 of 7
10/5/11 at 11:03am
I agree about feline asthma. If they're not bringing up a hairball, it could be asthma. If the coughing continues, I'd make a vet appt.

As Erica said, Laxatone is really good for hairballs, so if it turns out that they are trying to bring up hairballs and if they don't want to take the Laxatone from your finger, smear a bit on their muzzles and let them lick it off.
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post #5 of 7
10/8/11 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 
Oops, sorry - forgot about this!

I'm terrible at estimating time, so I can't say for sure if it was 5-7 full minutes. I wanted to convey that it wasn't just a couple coughs but something that lasted for a bit. Simon's was shorter than Joni's and essentially stopped once I went into where he was sitting and picked him up to see what was going on. Joni's went on a bit longer and she was getting under the dining table like she wanted to hide. It was like a hacking sound kind of, agh, hard to explain. Still wish I had caught it on video.

Simon had one like three or four weeks ago and Joni's was last week when I posted this. They are not littermates (Simon & Garfunkel are) but I guess I can't rule out asthma. I'm not that familiar with asthma in cats so I'm not sure what to watch for. Both of them started playing immediately after they finished coughing and haven't been weird or coughed since. Of course I'm not home all the time... now I'm a little nervous! If it happens again I'll call the vet and make an appointment if he thinks I should.
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post #6 of 7
10/8/11 at 7:58pm
Hi Anna . I would definitely have vet check. Do you see puked up hairballs anywhere in the house? If they did in fact have hairballs, you would see some vomit with hair or foamy vomit spots. I would want to get your vets opinion on this. Don't worry too much . Just get them checked out
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post #7 of 7
10/8/11 at 9:41pm
Yea, lots of coughing + no hairballs certainly sounds like asthma. Does it sound like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuNy_WubRrI or this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjyF_5Uc158
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