Kitten gags and coughs when purring

[sdjkitty]

Hi there, my kitten Sansa has just passed the 6 month mark and just recently got spayed (about 2 weeks ago) since then most times when she purrs she begins to jerk her head forward like she is about to gag, and lets out a cough looking like she is going to throw up a hairball or something.

She had coughing issues a couple months back, sometimes when she would eat too fast, but we had brought her to the vet then and they didn't find anything.

But recently the coughing/gag has been very frequent as she is a kitten that purrs even when you look in her general direction (she purrs and meows a lot!) and it seems that the purring is a trigger for the cough.

Even sometimes when she is I the middle of her coughing spell when she tries to meow it sounds like something is blocking the way and only part of her meow can come out.

We will be taking her to the vet soon (within the next couple days, it's just work is killer and there hasn't been time) but I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas or something similar with their cat.

Thanks!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Bumping this up for you.  This is certainly an odd one.  Hope you get your answer. 

Does it only happen when she's purring?

 

[sdjkitty]

Bumping this up for you.  This is certainly an odd one.  Hope you get your answer. 

Does it only happen when she's purring?

Thank you. I will probably be going to the vet tomorrow, it's mainly only when she purrs and last night she coughed up this long- what looked to be like- a hairball (though it looked long enough to be poop... Is that what hairballs look like?) We thought that may be the end of her cough and maybe that was causing it but nope, half hour later she did a series of coughs.

I'm not sure if something is bothering her in her throat, because after she eats (raw food rehydrated with water) and then when she purrs she won't cough. But we will see what the vet says, hopefully they can find the issue.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

What you're describing that she threw up sounds exactly like a hairball.  Sometimes they can be huge, like a cigar, and sometimes they can be so big that they get stuck and have to be removed surgically

Is she long haired?  If so, you need to try to brush her at least a couple of times a week, if not daily to try to cut down on any hair build up in her. 

Also, you could try adding Egg Yolk Lecithin to her food.  I give my guys 1/2 capsule per day, but have given as much as a full capsule per day during shedding season.  I just open up the capsule and dissolve it in the water that I add to their food, however, depending on the brand you buy, some cats like to eat it "straight".  The brand i buy, Swanson, is a powdered form, so it's better if mixed into their food.  Don't know why, but EYL help the fur go thru their digestive tracts out out the back end versus coming back out their front end. 

There are also some hairball remedies out there on the market.  I used to like Vet's Best Hairball Relief, but now my cats won't touch it.  It's a tablet that they used to get daily like a treat.  There are petroleum based "gels" in tubes that are supposed to work pretty quickly  too. 

 

[sdjkitty]

What you're describing that she threw up sounds exactly like a hairball.  Sometimes they can be huge, like a cigar, and sometimes they can be so big that they get stuck and have to be removed surgically

Is she long haired?  If so, you need to try to brush her at least a couple of times a week, if not daily to try to cut down on any hair build up in her. 

Also, you could try adding Egg Yolk Lecithin to her food.  I give my guys 1/2 capsule per day, but have given as much as a full capsule per day during shedding season.  I just open up the capsule and dissolve it in the water that I add to their food, however, depending on the brand you buy, some cats like to eat it "straight".  The brand i buy, Swanson, is a powdered form, so it's better if mixed into their food.  Don't know why, but EYL help the fur go thru their digestive tracts out out the back end versus coming back out their front end. 

There are also some hairball remedies out there on the market.  I used to like Vet's Best Hairball Relief, but now my cats won't touch it.  It's a tablet that they used to get daily like a treat.  There are petroleum based "gels" in tubes that are supposed to work pretty quickly  too. 

Hi there, yes she is long haired, (well they call it "medium haired") and her fur is just starting to grow in. I have noticed that since her surgery (for spay) she has a bigger fascination with licking herself, though the incision should be healed by now, she still licks quite a bit not just in the incision area, but her whole body. So I wonder if that would be the cause of it.

I am definitely going to buy that capsule you recommended, and I will reply on this thread when (or if) I find out any information from the vet.
Thanks for your help!

 

[maggie bancroft]

Hi, purring can also indicate an illness. I had a cat that had asthma and needed a pill every day. I would have the vet check for this and other respiratory illnesses. Heart worm and asthma present similar on x-rays so watch for this also. Good Luck

 

[sdjkitty]

Thanks for everyone's replies!

We went to the vet the other day and they are suspecting that it is most likely due to hairballs. The vet is calling her an "obsessive licker" since her surgery (spay). If this is the case then I will be purchasing the Egg Yolk Lecithin to help with the hairballs.

If anything else does happen, or the issue worsens I will let this thread know just so people who can relate can hopefully find some answers as well. But for now it seems like a hairball issue.

 

[maggie bancroft]

Good news indeed! Poor baby is probably stressed after her operation. Hope she does better. Thanks for posting.