4yr old cat gagging, but not vomiting or producing hairball. New kitty 2 weeks ago.. Feliway?

[sheila33]

My cat (4yrs old Baby), can't meow, he gags and makes a loud screech (normally would do this when he smelled something he didn't like or saw a spider) and now he won't eat anything. . It's been 3 days like this. He .
We have a new 3mth old kitty George, that I got on Aug 21. Kept them separated for 2 days, then George ran out of the bathroom and I just let them be together, a half day of hissing/growling from Baby, but then he got along with him fine. they were playing, running around, eating/sleeping together..then this happened.
Took him to vets yest.. $500 later, no answers. No respiratory issues, they did bloodwork, fluids and anti nausea meds but still no results. Doc checked his mouth, but couldn't see down throat (said couldn't do unless he was put under). I feel he has something stuck in his throat. He drools a little bit, or when he gags, there'll be a string of what looks like pfleghm and will keep his mouth open a tiny crack at times. He did manage to have some tuna juice this morn, but no water. he normally is vocal. Maybe with all the hissing/growling last week, he got laryngitis? I tried hairball remedy on his paws figuring it could be hairball stuck.. he doesn't do many hairballs and when he does, he hates it.. Stress could def do this, I know. I used the Feliway diffuser (recommended by the breeder), which I feel worked - but it may have caused some of this so I tossed it out, opened all the windows, but today he's still acting the same. hiding, not eating or drinking, came out earlier and acted like himself but gagged a few times. He used the litter box once..I don't know what to do..if I should go somewhere to get him scanned to see if there's anything stuck. the doc said he couldn't feel any blockages though.. I hate seeing him like this and I feel like I'm failing him because I can't help in any way. When new kitty came, I used a diff litter for him (Fresh step with Febreze) as that's what he used at breeders...so I had 2 litter boxes.. of course he jumped in Baby's and Baby used his too..maybe it was the litter, too strong of a smell? I switched them both out, cleaned out and put the unscented litter in both (that's what I always used before the kitty)..I had this issue before w/Baby when I got him another litter box, he did the gagging thing, threw up a few times, but it didn't last for days.. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Alldara]

Cats need to be put under to check for a blockage. Vets can't always feel if it's something small like a blade of grass caught between the nasal passage and throat. It sounds scary but isn't so bad. Nobel was checked for one for constipation. They sedate them and then do an x-ray or ultrasound.

The vet won't be able to feel something small like a blade of grass or single string. He will need to be sedated for that. I would recommend it, as I have heard of cats having ongoing issues and then it being something very small that's been stuck for a long time.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You can't keep letting this go on. You could try an x-ray, which should be able to be done without anesthesia, although some cats do require a small sedative - or an ultrasound or CT scan, which would require some form of sedation. The x-ray could show up some forms of obstruction and may preclude the need for something that requires anesthesia like an endoscopy.

If Baby goes outside at all, he could have ingested something - and, this might have nothing to do with your new kitten.

 

[sheila33]

You can't keep letting this go on. You could try an x-ray, which should be able to be done without anesthesia, although some cats do require a small sedative - or an ultrasound or CT scan, which would require some form of sedation. The x-ray could show up some forms of obstruction and may preclude the need for something that requires anesthesia like an endoscopy.

If Baby goes outside at all, he could have ingested something - and, this might have nothing to do with your new kitten.

my cat is indoor, does not go outside at all...the vet recommended appetite stimulant so he will eat. His bloodwork all came back perfect, no issues. I don't know what the heck it could be..but I guess yes, the next step would be X-ray or scan. If he was doing a lot of hissing/growling for 1.5days towards new kitty, perhaps he could've developed a sore throat or laryngitis..I'll give it another day to see if he eats..and drinks.

 

[sheila33]

The vet won't be able to feel something small like a blade of grass or single string. He will need to be sedated for that. I would recommend it, as I have heard of cats having ongoing issues and then it being something very small that's been stuck for a long time.

it came on real quick, he doesn't go out so it wouldn't be grass. He's a very finicky eater and does not random items..I did have them try different foods to see if there was a better one for them. There was one (WERUVA) I believe, or TIKI, that had shredded chicken in..anyone experience issues with that type of food & their cat developing gagging?? so they'd have to go down his throat with endoscopy to see this, that definitely would require to be sedated, knocked out.

 

[fionasmom]

You are moving into four days of not eating or drinking which itself could become serious. Given we are heading into a holiday weekend, try to contact your vet or consider an ER as opposed to letting this go 6 days by Monday. If there is some obstruction, the diagnostics performed by you vet are not going to remedy it.

 

[Furballsmom]

I was just thinking the same thing.

 

[Alldara]

it came on real quick, he doesn't go out so it wouldn't be grass. He's a very finicky eater and does not random items..I did have them try different foods to see if there was a better one for them. There was one (WERUVA) I believe, or TIKI, that had shredded chicken in..anyone experience issues with that type of food & their cat developing gagging?? so they'd have to go down his throat with endoscopy to see this, that definitely would require to be sedated, knocked out.

Grass was just an example. It could be anything small yes. A string for another example. Cats get in to a lot of things and they have many unsupervised hours in a day.

Magnus had to yell for 5 hours for many days(to go outside, former feral) before getting hoarse. I don't think it's likely to be that or the recovery would be quick.

You could try type of food to see if it's that. Both Wureva and tiki have different textured ones. But I'm doubtful as well unless perhaps a little bone from Tiki is trapped. Those bones are soft but they wouldn't disintegrate on their own.

 

[sheila33]

Grass was just an example. It could be anything small yes. A string for another example. Cats get in to a lot of things and they have many unsupervised hours in a day.

Magnus had to yell for 5 hours for many days(to go outside, former feral) before getting hoarse. I don't think it's likely to be that or the recovery would be quick.

You could try type of food to see if it's that. Both Wureva and tiki have different textured ones. But I'm doubtful as well unless perhaps a little bone from Tiki is trapped. Those bones are soft but they wouldn't disintegrate on their own.

right, well he was hissing, growling at the kitten for a good 2 days...I'm sure the vet trip the other day didn't help his throat either (straight crying all the way there & back)..He could have a sore throat or laryngitis...I picked up the appetite stimulant last nite and gave it to him. He ate a bite of food, a good sign...and earlier this morning (430am), same.. I haven't seen him drinking any water though. We may have to give him fluids again. I'll talk to the vet today and see if we should do a scan/xray..of course this falls on a holiday weekend!

 

[sheila33]

You are moving into four days of not eating or drinking which itself could become serious. Given we are heading into a holiday weekend, try to contact your vet or consider an ER as opposed to letting this go 6 days by Monday. If there is some obstruction, the diagnostics performed by you vet are not going to remedy it.

he has eaten a little bit since I posted..I picked up an appetite stimulant at vets so maybe that has worked.. he ate some dry food last nite and a little wet, so that was progress to me. I haven't seen him at the water fountain though. I can see when he swallows it's hurting him so it could possibly be a sore throat. I am not sure if I should have an X-ray done...or a scan.

 

[Alldara]

If it was a sore throat from vocalizations, he would have bounced back pretty quickly.

I would expect if it was from a viral infection you could have other signs like coughing if his throat was too sore that he couldn't even eat. Discharge perhaps. Lily used to sneeze green discharge when sick.

The gagging also indicates a sign of something stuck. I'm surprised the vet didn't give you a timeline to return if the meds didn't work.

In any case, the not eating is of concern. After 3 days, you're at risk of organ damage for your cat.

Very much sucks that it's a holiday weekend which is why I'm equally surprised that the first vet didn't have you call back in 24 hours if meds didn't work. Ours has us bring Cal in due to the impending weekend to avoid the pricey emergency.

 

[sheila33]

Update on Baby...I took him to the animal hospital on Sunday because he wasn't getting any better..he was not eating/drinking, still gagging and just looking ill. They did a full check, doc said it was a URI and would have to run it's course. They gave him some fluids and that was it.. The vet before that (on Thur) said it wasn't a URI, the bloodwork all came back fine, gave us appetite stimulant which I think helped him get back to eating.. Happy to report he's almost back 100%. It's been about a week since this came on. he's eating/ drinking from his fountain, happy to play with his new brother, loves hearing "do you want a treat" and seeing his catnip and head nudging things.. WHEW.. that was very stressful to me..I was concerned he had a blockage somewhere but they ruled that out because of his symptoms...Doc just said the stress of a new kitten in a home could be the culprit (either that, or kitten had something, gave it to my Baby), he had/has no symptoms but I am having him checked out this week just to be safe.. I appreciate all your concern and feedback. Happy to have my boy back to (almost) 100% healthy!

 

[fionasmom]

This is great news and we appreciate you letting us know!