My 11 month old cat is dry coughing/heaving and licking his lips. He seems to be eating fine. Do you have any idea what this could be?

[Tatum]

I’ve got a Link here of a video of him doing this. I took him to the vet a few months ago for the same issue. The vet mentioned something about changing his food and he gave him a shot of something that helped. The coughing has been gone since then until this week. I haven’t changed his food because I didn’t think it was necessary. I thought the issue had gone away. He eats Tiki dry cat food and Friskies wet food in the evening. Neither of my cats have ever had hairballs, so I don’t know if that’s the issue. He is definitely not lethargic.

As a bonus problem: the last two days he’ll drop one of his ears back and scratch at it. I’ve had him checked for ear mites before and he didn’t have them. I have no money right now, so I’m hoping someone here can point me in the right direction until I can get him to a vet.

Thank you very much!

 

[iPappy]

He's very handsome, I really like his color!
It could be anything from a hairball, to a URI, or chronic bronchitis (asthma). Is he still eating/pooping? For now, could you keep track of how often he has these episodes and how long they last, with the date so the vet can see what kind of frequency you're seeing, and if it's same/better/worse over time? Also, once the coughing episode is done and time has passed, how does his breathing look to you?

 

[Tatum]

He's very handsome, I really like his color!
It could be anything from a hairball, to a URI, or chronic bronchitis (asthma). Is he still eating/pooping? For now, could you keep track of how often he has these episodes and how long they last, with the date so the vet can see what kind of frequency you're seeing, and if it's same/better/worse over time? Also, once the coughing episode is done and time has passed, how does his breathing look to you?

He seems to be eating normally. As far as pooping, it’s difficult for me to tell. I’m gone most of the day and have two cats who use the same litter box. But he goes to the litter box often. I think he does his business normally though. I’ll try to keep track of how often this is happening. I will say I tried to pick him up earlier, which he hates, and when I lifted him up with my hand on his ribcage I heard a sort of regurgitating/gurgling noise and then he started the coughing episode I recorded and linked to, but other times I can’t tell what’s causing it. He does sneeze too sometimes but that may be my paranoia noticing that. Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s a contagious thing since my other cat doesn’t have this.

 

[iPappy]

He seems to be eating normally. As far as pooping, it’s difficult for me to tell. I’m gone most of the day and have two cats who use the same litter box. But he goes to the litter box often. I think he does his business normally though. I’ll try to keep track of how often this is happening. I will say I tried to pick him up earlier, which he hates, and when I lifted him up with my hand on his ribcage I heard a sort of regurgitating/gurgling noise and then he started the coughing episode I recorded and linked to, but other times I can’t tell what’s causing it. He does sneeze too sometimes but that may be my paranoia noticing that. Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s a contagious thing since my other cat doesn’t have this.

Do you remember what the vet gave him in the shot that helped?
Have you changed anything since you've noticed this starting, such as litter, laundry detergent, etc.? Any new carpet powders or cleaners?
I don't know where you're located or what your weather is like, but it's going from cold to warm here and my cats are shedding horribly! I got a huge pile of hair out of my male cat today, and he didn't even look like he needed it (he's short haired and sheds more than any of my long haired cats do). If he accepts being brushed and combed, could you do so and see if he's shedding bad enough that it could possibly be a hairball?

 

[Tatum]

Do you remember what the vet gave him in the shot that helped?
Have you changed anything since you've noticed this starting, such as litter, laundry detergent, etc.? Any new carpet powders or cleaners?
I don't know where you're located or what your weather is like, but it's going from cold to warm here and my cats are shedding horribly! I got a huge pile of hair out of my male cat today, and he didn't even look like he needed it (he's short haired and sheds more than any of my long haired cats do). If he accepts being brushed and combed, could you do so and see if he's shedding bad enough that it could possibly be a hairball?

I’m not sure what the vet gave him. He called it a “cocktail” so I’m assuming it was a mixture of things. I probably have the invoice he gave me around here somewhere. It may say what was in it. I’m in the Midwest, so the weather has been pretty crazy lately, but this was occurring months ago when it was pretty steadily cold. The vet did ask me if I’d changed anything recently (at the time) and all that I could think of was a change in litter, but I’ve since switched back to what I originally had when I got him and he had no problems with it for all those months until he randomly starting coughing the first time, so I’m not sure if the litter has anything to do with it. My roommate does wear cologne, so I suppose that could be an issue. We do also have scented candles but they’re rarely used.

I’ll try to comb him. I’ve got a brush meant to get extra fur off. I’ll see what that does. My biggest concern is whether or not this is life-threatening and is he in any pain. Too bad they can’t talk.