Cat with Allergies?

My 10 yr old male cat Pocus was retching/hacking like he had a hairball but never produced one. It went on for several weeks (I was trying to treat with hairball treatment in case that's all it was plus I was recovering from a car accident so I really couldn't take him when it first started). He is still eating, playing, sleeping,being his usual self otherwise. Took him to the vet and they said he may have allergies. He has inflamed tonsils, but his lungs sounded clear, no wheezing and his heart sounded really good. He is sneezing but no gunky eyes and whatever comes out of his nose is clear and watery, nothing gooey or discolored.

He's on Zithromax for the next 10 days.

They also found some FORL teeth that need to come out but the vet wants to wait and see if the breathing thing is allergies or if in fact Asthma.

Can anyone here enlighten me on this topic? Does anyone else's cat have allergies and do they go away? If it is asthma does it go from bad to worse because since being on the antibiotics for 3 days he hasn't retched but once or twice, where before he was doing it daily once or twice a day. 

Thanks and I appreciate any feedback. Never heard of cats having allergies :0)

Yes, cats can have allergies just like humans. Sometimes they are environmental, sometimes food-related, sometimes very specific things like flea bites. I am a little confused though. What are the antibiotics supposed to treat, since as far as I know, they are not really helpful for either allergies or asthma? Did the vet think the inflamed tonsils were caused by a bacterial infection?

In my experience, hacking up a hairball sounds very different than coughing. There are some youtube videos with cats coughing from asthma, so it may be helpful to view those to see if they are similar to your cat. Both allergies and asthma are very treatable diseases.

Oh, and it sounds like the vet did check, but coughing may also be a sign of heart issues.

Thank you for the reply. The antibiotics were for the tonsils and anything else he may have causing this. Ive done research on feline asthma and saw the youtube videos. He did sound like that but since hes been on the meds and a steady regimen of vaseline for hairballs, his hacking has gone down significantly. After the meds are gone she will reevaluate the situation. They may do xrays but im crossing fingers its not going to get that far.
What does the treatment of allergies consist of? The vet tech said this year has been the worst ever and theyve seen a lot more dogs and cats with allergies.

My cats are inside kitties so not sure what he has become allergic to unless the food hes been on for 10 yrs has changed but didnt say it did.

The treatment for allergies depends on the type of allergies. Human allergy meds (in kitty size doses - talk to your vet) are often given for environmental allergies. Food related allergies involve a diet change, usually to a novel protein which no grains or fish (common allergens). Oh, and food allergies are more likely if he's been on the same food for a long time. Food allergies take time to develop, same as for humans. No one has an allergic reaction the FIRST time they eat something.

The vet called and said his blood work was fine, nothing abnormal there. She said if after the antibiotics, if he wasn't feeling better, then its xrays!

He IS feeling, sounding better in my opinion. The third day of antibiotics and I hadn't heard one cough, sneeze and he was being his silly self (getting into mischief but acting cute afterwards so I wouldn't scold him LOL).

He still has 5 days of antibiotics and hair ball treat to go before we decide anything. If everything is okay, then its on to getting those FORL teeth out and his recovery and hopefully that's it for this year <crossing fingers>. I've had way too much bad luck this year to keep having it!!! 

His sister had breast cancer which we were able to hopefully get rid of....6 months post op and no lumps so crossing fingers and toes on her!!!

Thanks for all the great advice...will come back if anything changes.