19yo cat coughing while purring

[Cat Guy 614]

I'm concerned about my cat Mr. Bear, he will be 20 in 2 months and he's pretty well all things considered. He had a pretty bad stroke the day before thanksgiving and has made a miraculous recovery. Recently, when I pet him and he starts to purr too loudly, he coughs, seemingly from his stomach. Once he starts purring he will keep going even after I stop petting him, so when he starts to cough I leave the room until he stops purring (I stay right outside the door and peek at him, but he doesn't know, he's deaf). He always recovers pretty quickly and seems totally fine afterwards, but it is quite concerning as it looks very unpleasant for him.

He is otherwise quite healthy, he still hops on the counter (not allowed) and chases/plays with my other much younger cat occasionally.

How serious is this?

 

[Blahblahblah]

I'm currently dealing with a coughing cat. There are a million reasons he could be coughing. I would say take him to the vet just in case. It could be something small or something big, there's no way to tell unless he gets checked out. Warning though, I've been to the vet about 12 times in the past few months for coughing and it's still occurring. Best of luck!

 

[neely]

Welcome to TCS! I'm glad you joined the site and came here for advice. Just out of curiosity, since you mentioned your cat is close to 20 yrs. old, when was the last time he had a senior exam? The reason I asked is because it's customary to run specific bloodwork and check for some of the more common ailments that occur in the senior years. It would be beneficial to call your vet and ask if they feel he needs to be seen especially if he has not had an exam in the past year.

TCS has an Article that discusses what to look for as a cat ages that might have some helpful information for you:
What To Expect As Your Cat Ages – TheCatSite Articles

Good luck, we'll keep our fingers crossed for Mr. Bear.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! I agree about the geriatric exam, especially if he hasn't had one within the past 6 months. And, while it is true that there could be any number of causes, it seems a bit unusual that he doesn't 'cough' at other times (thinking of upper respiratory issues, or asthma, for example which would likely elicit coughing more than just when he is purring).

Since you mention the coughing seems to come from his belly, could it actually be a bit of heaving possibly resulting from hairballs, rather than actual coughing? I have seen cats that will heave coincident with purring and it sometimes seems to be related to trying to dislodge a hairball stuck somewhere in the digestive tract - how exactly they are connected is a mystery to me. And, not all heaving associated with hairballs results in actually throwing up the hairball - Feeby (16+ yo) does this and rarely ever throws up the hair. It would seem she 'dislodges' it with the heaving/coughing - and then it passes on through her system. Does Mr. Bear get hairballs and/or do you give him anything to help with prevention? Just one idea to consider.

I would take a video of when this happens and share it with your vet. It might help in making a determination of what might be behind it and what would be the most appropriate tests to run.