coughing cat

Hi there, my nine month old kitty has been coughing on occasion, and i was wondering if i should be concerned. I heard her once not long after we got her at 4 months, and maybe 5 times since. It only lasts a few seconds, and she swallows afterwards. Besides that, she seems very healthy. Should i take her to the vet? I can't afford to have lots of tests done. Having two cats has been quite expensive. Any advice please.

It could be just a hairball that just won't come out or it could be asthma. I'd have a vet check it out either way. Can you take a video of your cat coughing? You can email the video to the vet and possibly avoid a trip there, although if the vet feels that the coughing is concerning he / she may want you to bring the cat in for testing.

A video is what I brought in to my vet, and an x-ray confirmed an enlarged heart. Coughing can be a hairball or asthma or a heart condition. I agree with bringing in a video, sometimes the way the cat is positioned when coughing will provide a diagnosis. I wouldn't panic, your cat seems awfully young to have heart problems, but I would definitely bring it up at the next vet visit for vaccinations. Good luck!

Thankyou, she seldom does it, so it might be hard to catch her in the act. She squats and stretches her neck out. Think she would do it more often if she had asthma though.

that does sound like asthma.

I have an asthma kitty.

Some things you can do at home:

If people smoke in the house-make them stop and go outside. make sure they stand at least 15 feet away from the doorway=the smoke still goes in through open windows/doors.

Don't use plug in air fresheners or oils.

Try to cut back on perfumy things. Their sense of smell is 6 times as strong as ours. they don't need smelly things to feel good like we do.

try to use unscented litter. any odors can be controlled by scooping 3 times a day and using baking soda sprinkled in after scooping the smellies out. I dump some right in the plastic bag of poop because my old girl STINKS To high heck when she poops.

Basicly if it smells strong to you-its VERY strong to them. They are low to the ground so any cleaners/plug ins etc are much stronger to their lung and nasal tissues.

Use bakingsoda to clean instead of bleach or 409 type of cleaners. don't use Lysol around animals or babies. the things in it to kill bacteria and yuckies don't jive well with animals and for babies-we have to allow them exposure to some dirt to get their immune system to work otherwise they will develop issues later in childhood and be plagues by allergies/asthma.

Asthma is allergies. Something is causing inflammation inside the lung tissues and nasal passages and the cat coughing is trying to expel the moisture that inflammation causes.

yes take a video of it.

the only tests they really do is bloodwork and maybe ultrasound on heart=I always recommend this either way=the cat is young-we always want a baseline to compare incase they have issues years later. you can ask for a printout of the reports and keep a copy in a folder in the bottom of the cat carrier for emergencies. I still need to do this=I wanted to put it all in one place=someone on here recommended  a waterproof ziplock bag with a simple workup of their health issues and tests incase you have to get her/him to an ER in the middle of the night.

Asthma is diagnosed via xrays and exam and symptoms. so that should be all they need. They can do other test but I don't feel its necessary unless the symptoms are not being controlled by inhaled steroids or oral steroids and bronchiodiators. (flovent and albuterol).

and humid air makes us feel pukey too so try to keep the cat out of the heat for now.

by the way most cats have asthma coughs in the middle of the night around 2-3 am.. its because they were laying down and they wake up to move around and now have to cough to get a breathe.

fritzthebrave.com is a wonderful website with videos of asthma coughing=maybe you can see similarities?

Also is there sneezing or runny eyes or nose going along with this? sometimes kittens can pick up an upper respiratory illness but most of the time they recover from it. these are things the vet will ask you.

they will want to know:

when does it happen

what time

what is the cat doing before they cough?

they will want to know what are you feeding and is poo and pee normal? they will want to know if any vomiting or diarrhea.

so you can write down some of the answers and bring it with you. it shouldn't take more than acouple of vet visits to confirm.

also is heartworm prevelant where you are? they will also want a fecal to test for lungworms but it has to be fresh=this is less common but they want to make sure no parasites are causing trouble.

you can upload the video on youtube and embed it here in this thread. Some of us know what asthma looks like.

Thanks. we don't smoke, and i hardly use any chemicals, and don't burn oils because i read it's bad for kitties. We have a fire, but she has never coughed when it has been in use. Will watch her to see how she goes.

Sorry for the novel and SO glad you don't smoke around your animals. you would be surprised how many people smoke and don't make the connection.

It also could be allergies. The vet can help you figure out over the counter treatment if the coughing is persistent. The goal is less than 1 or 2 episodes a week if that. If the cat is coughing 4 or 5 times a week then something will need to be done. the information and reading is overwhelming=but once you get xrays done=it will show inflammation--its pretty black and white. plus there are options of meds to treat but for now just monitor and make sure to video it if it happens again.

Thanks again. I took her to the vet. She said she seemed ok, and not to worry too much. Also to write down when it happens again, and try to film it. Never heard her cough early morning. Besides that, she is a ball of energy, no runny eyes or nose, and she is always hungry! Hope it is just an allergy. Thanks again for your help.