Hi guys. My 9-year-old cat Simon has some weird breathing in his sleep that is confusing all of us, vet included. The wheezing is in his sleep, but once a week or so he coughs like he has a hairball that can't come up. An x-ray has ruled out asthma.
It all started a little over 2 months ago when he coughed -- it sounds like a dry hairball cough but nothing comes up. In fact, I thought it was a hairball, but a week later it happened again. About this time I noticed that when he slept he wheezed, almost like a snore, and sometimes breathed really heavy. It only happens in his sleep, never when he's awake.
The vet said it was just allergies and suggested Benadryl, but he won't take it. A week later I asked for antibiotics because he had nasal running and green goo in his eyes. The antibiotics cleared up the nasal drip and eye goo, but he was still having rough breathing in his sleep and every 5-7 days he would cough again.
I took him back to the vet. We were thinking asthma, but the x-rays came back showing no asthma. However, she did think he had a slightly enlarged heart, but we sent the x-rays to the local university vet med center and the radiologists there said they didn't think the heart was enlarged enough to be considered abnormal. (Apparently they didn't notice asthma, either.) In the meantime he felt better and hadn't coughed much, so the vet suggested it was either allergies or possibly a nasal polyp.
I question both of these things, because if it was either then he would have weird breathing even when awake, right? And he doesn't sneeze at all. We've gotten him to take 2 mg of chlorpheniramine (generic Chlor-Trimeton) a day, but I don't think it's made any difference.
In the last week he has had 2 very brief coughing spells when awake and continues to wheeze/snore/breathe heavy in his sleep. His appetite is fine, his catpan habits are fine, he doesn't seem lethargic.
I am seriously confused. Does anyone have any thoughts? Could it be asthma despite the x-ray? Any suggestions would be very welcome!
It all started a little over 2 months ago when he coughed -- it sounds like a dry hairball cough but nothing comes up. In fact, I thought it was a hairball, but a week later it happened again. About this time I noticed that when he slept he wheezed, almost like a snore, and sometimes breathed really heavy. It only happens in his sleep, never when he's awake.
The vet said it was just allergies and suggested Benadryl, but he won't take it. A week later I asked for antibiotics because he had nasal running and green goo in his eyes. The antibiotics cleared up the nasal drip and eye goo, but he was still having rough breathing in his sleep and every 5-7 days he would cough again.
I took him back to the vet. We were thinking asthma, but the x-rays came back showing no asthma. However, she did think he had a slightly enlarged heart, but we sent the x-rays to the local university vet med center and the radiologists there said they didn't think the heart was enlarged enough to be considered abnormal. (Apparently they didn't notice asthma, either.) In the meantime he felt better and hadn't coughed much, so the vet suggested it was either allergies or possibly a nasal polyp.
I question both of these things, because if it was either then he would have weird breathing even when awake, right? And he doesn't sneeze at all. We've gotten him to take 2 mg of chlorpheniramine (generic Chlor-Trimeton) a day, but I don't think it's made any difference.
In the last week he has had 2 very brief coughing spells when awake and continues to wheeze/snore/breathe heavy in his sleep. His appetite is fine, his catpan habits are fine, he doesn't seem lethargic.
I am seriously confused. Does anyone have any thoughts? Could it be asthma despite the x-ray? Any suggestions would be very welcome!
