My Cat Coughs...

[Tokey]

Ok, so this is for all the almost vets out there...
I have a Russian Blue female cat (that I absolutely adore ) that coughs. She is turning 7 in June. For about the last 5 years, she has had these coughing and hacking fits on and off, usually once every 2 to 3 days. I've taken her to the vet and expressed my concerns, but they never take me seriously. My current vet said that it was very uncommon for cats to cough, and so my cat certainly couldn't be doing it. My question for you guys is what could be causing it? I'm taking my cat in for her yearly shots tommorrow morning (as well as my dog!), and any insight that I could take to the vet would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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[KyGrlDr2B]

I can't help you out much, BUT my cat has been sick lately (vomiting blood, it's a long story) and the vet asked if she has been coughing lately. She hasn"t so we didn"t get into it but i"m using that as an example to show you that obviously cats do cough and you should find a different vet

 

[Wednesday]

It might be asthma. My cat was taking potassium bromide and it gave him asthma. The wheezing sounded horrible, we thought he was trying to cough up hairballs, but we never saw one. The vet can see asthma changes on x-ray if you want to find out if that's the cause.

I agree that you need a new vet! They should believe you when you tell them what's going on with your cat! It's not like the cat can tell them.
Good luck.

 

[cudvm2005]

It could be asthma, although radiographs may or may not reveal this as the diagnosis. Usually asthma is a diagnosis of exclusion. Could be hairballs. Could be a nasopharyngeal polyp. Radiographs would be the next step, bloodwork, U/A, then maybe sedation +/- transtracheal wash and a thorough oropharyngeal exam (also under sedation) Cats with asthma often cough in a crouched over position with their head and neck extended and all four feet on the ground and kind of splayed. This distinguishes asthma from vomiting or regurgitation.

 

[Wednesday]

Cats with asthma often cough in a crouched over position with their head and neck extended and all four feet on the ground and kind of splayed.

Yep, that's what my cat looked like. Luckily he's better now (discontinued the meds) AND no more seizures (which is what he was taking the meds for to begin with).