Kramer lost his voice!

speakhandsforme

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On Tuesday, we noticed that Kramer's meow had gone raspy, like a human who had lost their voice. We also noticed that he wasn't meowing as much as he normally does, leading us to think that meowing, or trying to meow, hurts him. (Normally he's as noisy as a meezer :lol3: )

We decided to give it a day or so to see if it would clear up. It's still raspy today, so he's got a vet appointment tomorrow at 10am to get checked out.

Input from anyone with relevant experience would be greatly appreciated. :) We're hoping it's something simple like laryngitis, but you can never know enough about cat illnesses before a vet appointment (right?) :lol3:
 

emilymaywilcha

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I guess it is possible for a cat to get laryngitis. Has Kramer been coughing or sneezing lately? That problem often follows URIs in people.

Another possiblity (although I never heard of meezers having this problem) is vocal abuse. That happened to me years ago during football season and I know other fans get it too. Maybe a lot of loud meowing increases a cat's risk of voice problems.
 
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speakhandsforme

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He sneezes a lot anyway, but I suppose it could be a URI.

His breathing and purring is also kinda wheezy, like he has some mucus in his throat. He doesn't seem to have any actual trouble breathing, thankfully.

I thought of vocal abuse too, but he wasn't meowing any more than he normally does before this happened. And usually my voice would come back after a night of hard screaming at a football game in less than a day (I was in marching band in high school :D )
 

emilymaywilcha

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He sneezes a lot anyway, but I suppose it could be a URI.
His breathing and purring is also kinda wheezy, like he has some mucus in his throat. He doesn't seem to have any actual trouble breathing, thankfully.
I thought of vocal abuse too, but he wasn't meowing any more than he normally does before this happened. And usually my voice would come back after a night of hard screaming at a football game in less than a day (I was in marching band in high school).
My guess would be it is related to the respiratory issue. You can have a cold and not have a hard time breathing.

One night of high school football won't do it. I'm talking about screaming all day Saturday and all day Sunday all season long.
 

bigperm20

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I had a cat who lost her meow. She was the best cat I ever owned, a calico moggie named Chancy. She had a meow when we got her. She was about a year old then. I don't remember when, but at some point she lost it (She may have been about 2 or 3). She lived to be 17 so it didn't affect her health.

The vet could never determine what caused it.
 

sk_pacer

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FWIW, Da Lip loses his voice every year around harvest time depending on what is grown beside the house. Wheat is the worst, lentils not so bad, but his is related to grain dust of any kind; this lasts as long as we are combining close to the house. Could be your cat has a minor allergy as well..........just guessing.
 
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speakhandsforme

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An allergy is my second guess after laryngitis. Kramer also gets an occasional weepy/itchy eye (fixed with neopolydex drops) and like I said before, he does sneeze in general a lot more than Boots. But the local pollen calendar says nothing new has been released in the last few days... so I'm not sure what he would be allergic to. He also hasn't sneezed the past couple of days.

We have a new kitten in the house (temporarily), but he's been here for more than a week, and Kramer just now started getting sick. Kitten and Boots show no signs of illness, either.

So, my guess is still laryngitis. But thanks everyone for your help so far, and keep it coming :)
 
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emilymaywilcha

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I would ask your vet about the sneezing and wheezing if you have not done so already. If it is a URI, you don't want that new kitten near Kramer.
 
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speakhandsforme

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The vet diagnosed him with allergic rhinitis, and a secondary URI.

We have Clavamox liquid and instructions to continue with his neopolydex drops for his weepy eyes. The doctor said to come back if he's still wheezy sounding after the antibiotics are done.

I asked if my other cats would get the URI, and the vet said probably, but that if they started showing symptoms to call and he'd instruct us on antibiotics for them so as to try to avoid another appointment. So far Boots (who is an adult and never been sick in his life) and the kitten (12 weeks or so) aren't showing any symptoms at all. we'll keep an eye on it.

We would take the kitten to DB's house, but he has his own cat there. And as much as I want to prevent the baby from getting it, I feel like he's already been exposed to Kramer enough that if he's going to get it, he has it already. So taking him to DB's house would be exposing his cat too, and that's not okay either. :sigh:

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
 
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