Cat Coughing...

[pinkdaisy226]

Hi all. I’m needing advice again, because I’m feeling lost. My cat Bay is 14, almost 15. She’s been healthy until the summer when she started throwing up regularly - took her to the vet, everything came back clean, changed her diet - she was fine. Until the last month.

She started making a noise that I thought was like she was trying to blow her nose repeatedly but now I realize sounds more like coughing. Took her back to the vet, they said everything looked fine... maybe cancer? Bloodwork was done 5 months ago so I doubted that... took her to a different vet. X rays were done, said her heart looked slightly enlarged, first thought was sinusitis and bronchitis, maybe heart related. Had antibiotics. Twice. Then they thought maybe it was a hairball. Then they decided probably heart related, and asked me to increase the Lasix I’d been giving her from twice a week to daily.

It feels like she’s the same. She “coughs” every 2-3 hours, sometimes when she’s worked up about something, sometimes when she’s just sleeping. She refuses to eat dry food now but she’s happily eating wet food and even gained almost half a pound from 1 week to the next. Other than the coughing, she seems totally herself.

The vet made it sound like the coughing episodes would lesson or even go away but I’m concerned that they’re not. I’ve taken her to the vet 4 times in as many weeks and I feel like either they’re missing something or I’m missing something. Help? I’ve (hopefully) attached a video of what her coughing sounds like.

 

[LTS3]

Sounds like asthma. Did the vets ever rule that out?

 

[Furballsmom]

Oohhhhh poor Sweetheart--super glad to hear she's gaining weight!

 

[pinkdaisy226]

Sounds like asthma. Did the vets ever rule that out?

The vet said it wasn’t asthma, didn’t really explain why. My concern is that it’s happening when she’s sleeping (and so often during the day), I don’t know if that fits with asthma?

 

[1 bruce 1]

I can't see the video. We have a cat with asthma and his coughing sounds kind of dry and forced. Heart disease (from what I remember) can sound like this, too, or it can be a different type of cough that all depends on what side of the heart is affected.
I hope you find some answers

 

[haiitsvi]

Went on here to search up coughing again and saw this post. My cat Moody had his bouts of coughing fits. Went to the vet and nothing was wrong - they said asthma is something they diagnose by exclusion and I couldn't pay to get additional tests after bloodwork. His coughing subsided after I removed gluten from his food. We've been on Friskies pate (only grain is rice) for a while and a grain free dry and an occasional raw meal. So now I rotated a new food in. American Journey grain free was on sale on Chewy so I stocked up and now he's started coughing again. Just did it 5 minutes ago. So back to square one? He also seems fine after he coughs so I don't worry as much as I did.

Anyway, my suggestion is maybe look at what you're feeding him? Sticking to a certain brand seemed to work for Moody but I'm still monitoring... I wish I could afford to visit different vets but that is not a luxury I have...

 

[Furballsmom]

How are things today? Did you have a chance to show the video to the vets?

 

[sidneykitty]

Hi! Sorry your cat is coughing... I'm hoping the vet can help you figure out what's going on.

Do you know if she had a cardiopet proBNP test done as part of her bloodwork previously? This blood test can look for evidence of heart disease. If her heart looked enlarged on the x-ray, maybe it is heart failure causing her to cough like this. Has she ever had a heart murmur mentioned? Has she had her blood pressure checked?

I'd ask about all of those things in case it is something to do with her heart. It might be worth doing another round of bloodwork if its been 5 months. Cats her age generally benefit from twice yearly checkups including blood work if you're able to do so. A lot can change in 6 months at this age. Its like 2 years of time to them.

My first cat coughed like this, too, but she had lung cancer. It was very obvious on x-ray and she was extremely ill (lost over 1lb in a month, vomiting every day, total loss of appetite, etc.) so I'd be surprised if that were the case for your cat. I'd ask about the heart first and go from there.

 

[pinkdaisy226]

Hey just an update - I took my cat to a 3rd vet and yup, this one said it sounded like asthma. Not sure why the first 2 vets said it wasn’t. We started her on prednisone and liquid albuterol and she’s been doing great ever since. Now we’re slowly decreasing the dose of prednisone and the albuterol is to be given as needed. We have another appointment in a week but she seems much better. She rarely coughs now and when she does it isn’t as loud and doesn’t last as long.

I have to admit, I don’t understand much about feline asthma. I don’t get why she was coughing so frequently (sometimes 9 times in a day), and even when she was at rest. I worry that when we wean her off the prednisone, the coughing will come back. Plus when I give her the albuterol, I’m basically waiting for the coughing to stop before I give it to her. I guess I have more to ask the vet...

 

[She's a witch]

Hey just an update - I took my cat to a 3rd vet and yup, this one said it sounded like asthma. Not sure why the first 2 vets said it wasn’t. We started her on prednisone and liquid albuterol and she’s been doing great ever since. Now we’re slowly decreasing the dose of prednisone and the albuterol is to be given as needed. We have another appointment in a week but she seems much better. She rarely coughs now and when she does it isn’t as loud and doesn’t last as long.

I have to admit, I don’t understand much about feline asthma. I don’t get why she was coughing so frequently (sometimes 9 times in a day), and even when she was at rest. I worry that when we wean her off the prednisone, the coughing will come back. Plus when I give her the albuterol, I’m basically waiting for the coughing to stop before I give it to her. I guess I have more to ask the vet...

But has she had x-ray taken to confirm diagnosis? It could be something else and steroids can only mask the symptoms, so imo at least x-ray is a must..

 

[pinkdaisy226]

But has she had x-ray taken to confirm diagnosis? It could be something else and steroids can only mask the symptoms, so imo at least x-ray is a must..

Well, we had had x-rays done a month ago at the 2nd vet and all that was noted was a slightly enlarged heart. The 3rd vet got the notes from all the vets and said that since we just had had x-rays done, it wasn’t as necessary so we just had blood work done, and everything looked fine. And since the heart meds weren’t doing anything, she ruled out it being heart related.

I can ask about it again tho when I go next week. Unfortunately money is getting tight, which is why I declined another set of x-rays when she said they weren’t necessary. Asthma seems to fit more than a heart problem, from what I can tell (not that I know anything).

 

[She's a witch]

Well, we had had x-rays done a month ago at the 2nd vet and all that was noted was a slightly enlarged heart. The 3rd vet got the notes from all the vets and said that since we just had had x-rays done, it wasn’t as necessary so we just had blood work done, and everything looked fine. And since the heart meds weren’t doing anything, she ruled out it being heart related.

I can ask about it again tho when I go next week. Unfortunately money is getting tight, which is why I declined another set of x-rays when she said they weren’t necessary. Asthma seems to fit more than a heart problem, from what I can tell (not that I know anything).

It could be some other disease of lower airways (eg. bronchitis, pneumonia) and of different causes (viral, bacterial, allergic). Sometimes even parasites can cause the cough. Asthma is usually visible on the x-ray so if I were you, I'd get a copy of the x-ray already done and show it to the vet experienced in reading cat x-rays. If they didn't see the asthmatic pattern on the X-ray I would be very cautious of treating it as asthma.

If it's indeed asthma, get rid of all sources of smoke (cigarettes, incense sticks, candles), of dust, aerosols, strong fragrances and chemicals. Air cannot be too humid nor too dry. Minimizing the irritant will minimize coughing attacks.

Prendisolone can have serious side effects so I would be reluctant to give it regularly and long time to kitty of yours age since you have alternative: inhaler steroids (fluticasone). It's super expensive in the US but there are ways to buy it 10times cheaper from the overseas pharmacies.
Good luck!

EDITED to add: I would actually consider echocardiogram if her heart was enlarged.

 

[pinkdaisy226]

They tried to say they saw sinusitis and bronchitis on the x rays at the 2nd vet but 2 rounds of antibiotics didn’t help, and in fact she got worse. They won’t share the x rays with me or the other vet, not sure why. They would only fax written records, not send pics. As for if it is asthma - we don’t really use fragrance in our house at all already.

I know the idea is to get her on the lowest dose of prendisolone so we’re basically slowly weaning her off it.

Echocardiogram- the 2nd vet wanted us to see a pet cardiologist but they’re an hour away from us and honestly, with the current medical bills I’m personally racking up, it’s out of our budget for something I wonder is even necessary. Will talk to the vet about this all though, thanks.

 

[Furballsmom]