9 mo old kitten sneezing & wheezing fits

jpeasy

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I work from home currently and spend a good deal of time around my 9 month old kitten Samantha ("Sam"). I've noticed every 3-4 weeks (maybe even less frequently), she gets into some wheezing/sneezing fits, maybe with a small amount of coughing thrown in. 

I finally caught a video of it: 


I've never seen them last more than 2-3 minutes. After that she goes on acting like a normal (crazy) kitten: running around, playing, being affectionate. Normal kitten stuff. No other symptoms of anything I can tell.

Is something to be concerned about? My vet who said the coughing was more of a concern to her, and Sam should be seen. Reviewing the video, it looks and sounds like she's just sneezing/wheezing - like something got into her nose/throat? Maybe she gets into something (dust etc) that sets off an brief allergic attack?

I have an appointment scheduled with vet tomorrow. I don't want to be overly concerned and spend money/time on trivial things, but I also don't want to ignore something that could be major.

Any help and/or experience with this appreciated!

Thanks!

John
 
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kkoerner

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That's a cough. Glad you are going to the vet.

It could be allergies....
It could also be asthma, lung or heartworms, heart issues, pneumonia/URI....only way to find out is glong to the vet.

It IS scary, and if it is something simple that can be treated, it's good to go early. You are not being overly concerned! Even so, it's much better to go in and find out than to take chances and it be something serious!

Hope your baby is ok. :-) I'm actually going in for pretty much the same thing....only mine is 5 months old. :-\ They sure like to scare us!
 

foxxycat

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Hi there,

Almost looks like sneezing then coughing. Is the kitty sneezing all the time or just occasionally?

My cat has asthma and that coughing is what she used to do.

What time of the day is this typically occuring?
 

The most important thing to get done are xrays. That will show inflammation if it is infact asthma related. Wouldnt be a bad idea to do bloodwork as a baseline-sometimes asthma kitties have high esphophils which are a type of white blood cell. these cells get elevated when there is inflammation present.

You can try running the shower hot as it goes and make a steam room. Bring kitty in there and have him breathe it for 15 minutes. It just helps moisten everything up. Its not unusal for the steam to make them cough or at least when I take a steam bath and its the first time in a long time I cough at first but it feels good if the sinuses are full of junk and may make the nose run. Not a bad thing. I totally understand your fears.

If you are in an area where heartworm is an issue they may want to test for this but there are two seperate tests and its complicated for me to explain-its actually pretty complicated how heartworm is passed from mosquitoes and you need a certain amount of days over 70 degrees in order for the larve to grow.

They may ask different questions about diet/energy/home set up etc. They will ask you for details of when you see this happening and how often. Then whether exercise makes it worse or not. I am glad you are taking him in to be seen.
 
 
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jpeasy

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Thank you all for the responses so far.

I'm going to take her in tomorrow and see what the vet says. I will report back with the results.

Thanks again!

John
 
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jpeasy

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I've only noticed. this combo of sneezing/slight coughing only happens once every 4-5 weeks, max. I've only seen her do it maybe 4-5 times total. Other than those times I've never seen her sneeze and/or cough.

It's happened at various times during the day/night. This video was taken around 9pm at night; the last time I noticed her doing it was late morning I believe. 

I will ask vet about x-rays.

Sam has been de-wormed several times; other than that, she lives in a 2 bedroom apartment in NYC so I'm not too worried about heartworms (but will definitely ask).

Exercise doesn't make this worse for her. It seems to happen randomly once every month or so, and not in response to any particular activity level.

Will report back after the vet visit tomorrow.
 
Hi there,

Almost looks like sneezing then coughing. Is the kitty sneezing all the time or just occasionally?

My cat has asthma and that coughing is what she used to do.

What time of the day is this typically occuring? 

The most important thing to get done are xrays. That will show inflammation if it is infact asthma related. Wouldnt be a bad idea to do bloodwork as a baseline-sometimes asthma kitties have high esphophils which are a type of white blood cell. these cells get elevated when there is inflammation present.

You can try running the shower hot as it goes and make a steam room. Bring kitty in there and have him breathe it for 15 minutes. It just helps moisten everything up. Its not unusal for the steam to make them cough or at least when I take a steam bath and its the first time in a long time I cough at first but it feels good if the sinuses are full of junk and may make the nose run. Not a bad thing. I totally understand your fears.

If you are in an area where heartworm is an issue they may want to test for this but there are two seperate tests and its complicated for me to explain-its actually pretty complicated how heartworm is passed from mosquitoes and you need a certain amount of days over 70 degrees in order for the larve to grow.

They may ask different questions about diet/energy/home set up etc. They will ask you for details of when you see this happening and how often. Then whether exercise makes it worse or not. I am glad you are taking him in to be seen.
 
 

stephanietx

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I have an asthmatic kitty and she would have attacks very intermittently.  If you're living in a place where the seasons are changing, that could trigger it.  Keep us posted on what the vet says.
 
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