chronic phlegm/throat clearing

My orange tabby, Buho (18 months), seems to have a chronic phlegm problem. Sometimes he'll make gurlgy sounds just like a person when they try to clear their throats, and then he'll swallow a few times and be back to normal. He also often has a very loud, phlegmy/gurgly-sounding purr. (The purr is actually quite cute.)

Now, I'm not terribly worried since he's always done this and is otherwise healthy (if a bit on the chubby side), and the throat clearing doesn't seem to cause him any distress. In fact, he sounds remarkably like my mother when he clears his throat!

Has anyone else ever seen this in a cat? Do you think it has something to do with the terrible URI he had as a kitten? (It took two weeks of administering antibiotics and sub-cutaneous fluids and $500 in vet bills to get him healthy back then!)

Thanks for your thoughts!

might be a uri coming back but more mild.

This is probably URI related. He might have a URI now or there might be residual swelling or polyps in his nose/throat. It's probably not a very big deal if he seems fine otherwise, but it's something to bring up with the vet during his next routine visit.

Another thing to try is giving him some catnip. This will encourage him to sniff deeply and if there's a glob of mucus deep in his nasal passages, he might sneeze it out. This is far from guaranteed to work but it might and your cat will enjoy it regardless.