Ever heard of this?? Help!!!

Have had our Ragdoll for a month, now. At first he was very scared, so didn't purr. Now, he is getting used to all the new surroundings, and plays nicely, and really loves to purr when we talk to him or pet him. He rolls around and loves for us to tickle his tummy. Whenever he is happy & contented, and purring quite nicely and loudly.....sometimes he coughs. That was scary...I was thinking serious things!! Took him to our Vet, and she did X-rays, blood work, etc. All blood tests were normal, but he did have an elevated WBC, but NO fever. NO eye or nose problems....she thought he felt like he had a sore throat. Have been giving him antibiotics 2x daily since--tomorrow will be a week. He does NOT cough any other times, he plays nicely, he eats well, no elimination problems!! This has been quite the puzzle for me. Have any of you ever heard of this? The white count, being elevated, would be during an infection...and the X-ray did show a bit of congestion in lung or bronchial areas. I think, though, if he were ill, he would cough all the time, not just when he purrs. He didn't do it for 2 days, then last night he coughed again. I am sure hoping it isn't anything too serious. What are allergies like? Our previous Persian had allergies, he just itched a lot--no coughing or anything else. Maybe I will have to have him checked again....but with no other symptoms or fever, what would you do?? Thanks!!!

Saki coughs every now and then.. maybe once a week or once every two weeks.. he'll cough a couple times and then he's fine.. its really strange but otherwise he's just fine.. everything's normal behaviour wise so I was thinking maybe he gets some hair caught in his throat or hairballs so I have been giving him petromalt and canned pumpkin in his food. Could it be hairballs?

BooBoo only coughs when we pet him, or esp. when he is purring....no other time, so if it were hairball, he would be hacking more, and I do know that sound!!!! This is just so different!! (We have had many cats in the past, so this is new to me).

Mynx coughs when he purrs too much... it's sort of a raspy cough, like someone who's got a cold but has that dry throaty cough that sounds like it hurts.. . I was worried at first, and had blood tests.. etc done but they didn't find anything. He's done this for 7 years so I guess for him it's normal...

wow woody! That's interesting. Sounds kinda like how Saki coughs. They couldnt tell you why or what its from?

No, they really couldn't say it was from anything. He sometimes drools when he purrs so I think he sort of chokes on his saliva.

I would keep a close watch on this so it doesn't turn into a URI. Our Aurora did the same thing when we first got her from the breeder. I thought it was strange that she only coughed when she would purr and it also seemed like she swallowed a little funny. I didn't do anything at first, but as it continued she went to the vet. Well, she ended up having a very prolonged URI that lasted for many months. It's good that you took him to the vet right away.

John (hello to a neighbor in Ohio) Please explain about the URI....what is that exactly? I should know, but I want to be sure...because Peek-a-Boo is still doing the coughing thing when he purrs loudly, and he also swallows funny sometimes....how would this be something connected to something else? Would you please take time to explain? I have given him this for a week today, so am going to quit. He never coughs other times, never! He plays crazily, runs around, is in every way quite normal...except when he purrs very loudly--sometimes, not every time, he coughs. It scares me....and I want to have an "educated idea" when I talk to our Vet next time.THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

WHAT i MEANT IS THAT I HAVE GIVEN HIM THE PENICILLIN FOR A WEEK, NOW, AND AM GOING TO STOP IT--BECAUSE LAST NIGHT, HE STILL COUGHED WHEN HE WAS PURRING LOUDLY.

OK, THE LIGHT IS FINALLY COMING ON.....Upper Respiratory Infection!!
Now, he did NOT have a fever, Dr. Madge says we caught it early. She thought he did have a sore throat, by the way she felt it...and the X-rays did show a little congestion in the bronchial-lung area. I don't think the penicillin did much this week, so what meds did your cat get that worked? At least, I feel like I am a bit closer to finding out what diagnosis is correct (Dr. Madge is onto it, I guess...I was afraid of HCM, as this is a Ragdoll cat--but there was no murmur and nothing on the X-ray showed anything) Her thought on the cough-when-purring is that he jars some mucus loose or something like that when he purrs so loudly. I don't want to let it go, so guess I will call her office, again. Thanks, and keep the comments coming on it.

Hello neighbor. I was in southern Indiana in the spring of 2002. Went to an amusement park called Holiday World in Santa Clause Indiana. Ever heard of it? It is a great park, of course I am a roller coaster nut too. Ok, back to the cats
I would keep your kitty on the penicillin. Some of these antibiotics take about 10 days to work. But, if your cat has a viral infection, antibiotics will not work. Your cat sounds just like my Aurora did. She never acted sick, only did the strange things, the coughing and strange swallowing, when she purred. It did get worse, to where her nose was all blocked and runny. The poor thing, I would have to use a tissue to whipe her nose and she had to sit with her mouth open to breathe, she was so blocked up. I do not want to worry you, but Aurora had this for 3 months and was on antibiotics for the same length of time. Every case is different though. I eventually went a different route. We, the breeder and I, took her off the antibiotics. She was on them for 3 months and that was not good. We decided to treat her with homeopathic remedies. Believe it or not, in little over a week, she was cured. I am not telling you to stop the antibiotics, please keep up with your vets advice. But, since the antibiotics were not working for Aurora and the vet even confirmed that she may have had a viral infection, which was also causing secondary bacterial infections in her lungs, I decided to use the homeopathic treatments. Some people do not believe these things work, but IMO, they do. I have seen it work more than once and I use them on myself all the time. So, stick with it, some of these things do take a while to go away. Let your vet know how your cat is doing. If it is a bacterial infection, they may need to change antibiotics. My vet even had to wash out Auroras lungs to get a sample of the fluid build up, so they could see what type of bacteria was there. But today, she is a healthy beautiful girl. Please keep us updated. Auroa is sending you and your kitty good vibes

Thanks for your good answer....our vet is a wonderful one, she loves her small animals--her hubby is Dr. to the larger animals--horses, etc. in our area. Dr. Madge (I sent an e-mail and incl. your response about your baby--) and Dr. Madge says she gave the penicillin to help prevent a bacterial infection....if it is viral it does eventually take care of itself. However, she says to keep a watch on BooBoo, in the meanwhile. OKAY, my hubby & I take heaps of vitamins and minerals each day....I do the Enchinacea thing + Vit. C when I feel like a cold is coming----we are huge believers in this stuff...so what did you give your baby, and where can I get it? I am very interested!!! THANKS!!! Where in OHIO are you? Sis-in-law & hubby are in Cuyahoga Falls....friends in Aberdeen along the OH. River....I grew up in Ohio--Van Wert Co....was born a Hoosier, then parents moved over across the line...then I moved back here 40 yrs. ago when I got married.

How is your baby doing? Does he still have that cough? I live on the east side of Cleveland. Been dealing with a lot of snow and ice the past few days. Wow, I see you lived in Van Wert Co. That is where they had that big tornado in November 2002. The homeopathic remedies I gave Aurora were as follows. Nux vomica 30c, Sulphur 30c and Belladonna 30c. I gave her I dose of the Nux in the morning, 1 dose of Sulphur in the afternoon and 1 dose of the Belladonna in the evening. About 5 days later, I repeated the same thing. That was it. Now, this may not work for your cat, because every case is different. But your kitty sounds exactly like Aurora did. The breeder and I worked this out together. The thing with homeopathic medicine is this. Unlike antibiotics which kill bacteria, even good bacteria that your body needs, homeopathic remedies help stimulate the immune system to make it fight off the illness. There are no side effects and if you take the wrong one, it just will not work. If you have a good health food store near you, you should be able to find these, if not, they can be ordered through the mail. I would still go to your vet and listen to everything they tell you. If they keep your cat on antibiotics, please do so, but you can give your kitty the homeopathic remedies along with the antibiotics. I chose to take Aurora off the antibiotics on my owne, because she was on them for 3 months. I knew that was no good and they were not working anyway. Aurora also came down with a Pyometra (a serious infection of the uterus) I treated her with homeopathics as well, no antibiotics. Well, I will get off this soap box now Please keep us informed on your baby.

Hello, John....thank you for your informative reply. Peek-a-Boo, my Raggie, is doing pretty well. The Vet says she gave the CLAVAMOX (penicillin) to prevent a bacterial infection---that these things are almost always viral....and will go away. It is funny, when BooBoo purrs VERY loudly, he sort will still cough (but not harsh) and I can usually get him to quit by holding him and talking to him. It is the oddest thing....like he is choking on his purr. I just wondered what you had used....is there a formula on how much a dose of those things should be? He weighed 8#11 oz, but he is growing all the time....so I think he is probably near 9# by now. I have about two more doses of the med....then that will be it. He is not as scared as he was (we have had him just over a month now) and he is playing a lot, jumping around, chasing things, and in general--a very lovable beautiful little guy, with the most gorgeous blue eyes!! I am keeping a watch on him. Do you give your cats any vitamins in addition to their food? (I have ordered some "natural" foods that have been recommended by some other Raggie owners). Are extra suppliments a good thing, or unneccessary? I never gave my Persian any vitamins, and he lived a good long 15 yrs. Thanks. BTW, I checked out your bobcat's site...he is quite the cat!! :-) My hubby's sister lives in Cuyahoga Falls, near Akron. You are in that Snow Belt up there....so you get more of the nasty stuff. I am ready for Spring!! Adams Co, IN is just across the line from Van Wert Co, and you are right--the Thanksgiving Tornado did lots of damage in Van Wert. We live in the "Palm Sunday 1965" area here!!!

It's good to hear that Peek-a-Boo is doing good. Sounds like he has exactly the same thing my Aurora had. When she would purr, she would swallow funny, only when she purred, Then, she started to cough. When the cough came, I knew it was time for the vet. With the swallowing, I just thought it was becuase of her very loud purr. That was the only time it acted up. They gave Aurora Clavamox too, but then it went to more powerful antibiotics, when the condition got really bad. Part had to do with the stress. She was flown to Ohio from the state of Washington, from the breeder. As for the dosage, you give just 1 pill. Some of the homeopathics come in pellet form, about the size of a beebee, others are in tablet form about 1/4 the size of an aspirin tablet. They are very small. As for vitamin supplements, I do not give my cats any, except if they are ill and not eating properly.
Amber and I thank you, she loves the compliments She is only 7 months old and weighs 16 pounds. She is going to be a big girl. Yes, the snow belt. Crazy thing if you are not used to it. You can be on the west side of Cleveland where it will be sunny. Drive to the east side and you have snow so heavey, you can not see 30 feet in front of you. Thats when we get that lake effect stuff. Oh, BTW, in addition to loving all my cats, I chase storms! I would get into more of that, but this isn't the weather site

My cat Callie coughs whenever she is in a purring frenzy. She never ever coughs otherwise and it doesn't happen with small purring. But, when she is really really happy she purrs so hard she coughs!

That is EXACTLY how Peek-a-Boo is!! He is active, eats a lot, is gaining weight, plays a lot, and just seems so very healthy in every
way....except when he purrs loudly and hard.....and then, not every time. It is a puzzle. Just on the safe side, I had the X-rays and check-up and blood tests. Got the Clavamox (just to prevent a bacterial infection) and it's about gone...then I will let it go, unless he gets worse. I thank you, for sharing, because this is the
only cat we have had through the years to do this. It is almost like
he chokes on his purr! Whoever heard of that?? <^..^>
these critters are wonderful, but they are our babies and we have to
watch and listen and be aware when something could be wrong.

It's good that you took your cat to the vet early. Like you, I never saw anything like that. Aurora would purr so loud, she would just swallow funny. I thought it was from the purr that made her do that. But, then she started to cough and sneeze. I knew then that something else was wrong. Aurora's case was an extreme, the virus/infection just hung on for months. She may have had it while she was at the breeder's home as well. All I know is, I am glad she got better! She still purrs loud, but no more strange swallowing or coughing.

Hi John! wow!! You are a Weather/tornado?? chaser?? EEEKKKKK!! I chase my shadow to the basement when it gets nasty out!! :-) Good for you, someone needs to watch out for us 'fraidycats!!! :-)
Well, BooBoo is doing well, sometimes, he still snorts funny when purring loudly....If it gets sharp again, I will contact the vet....or try to find what you gave your baby.....is there an addy where I can order those 3 things? and you only gave 2 doses, 5 days apart...and that did the trick???? thanks for all your good info,
Neighbor across the line....vicki

Yes, I love those bad severe thunder storms. Although, I have never seen a tornado yet. I have seen water spouts on Lake Erie however.
Yes, believe it or not, that was all that we gave her. I am lucky that I have a store close by that sells most of this stuff. However, I have ordered from this company called:Homeopathy Overnight. Their web site is: www.homeopathyovernight.com
You can order a catalog from them as well. Good to hear your baby is getting better