Coughing after leaning neck on cat tower?

[Moonlight_wolf]

Should I be concerned, or is she just stupid? Lexa sometimes does this thing where she leans her neck on the side of the cat tower and then coughs. This one went on longer than usual which is why I thought she was going to throw up. But she did not and instead just recovered and tried biting the paper towel I had put under her face. Is this something I should be concerned about or is she just causing herself to cough by leaning her neck on the edge of the cat tower? It has only happened after leaning her neck on the cat tower like that.

 

[Moonlight_wolf]

Lexa being a weirdo

youtube.com

This is her coughing. At least I think it’s coughing

 

[TheBlackCatKeeper]

It's incredibly common for cats who have pressure or damage to their windpipe to cough. I'm not a vet, but I have seen it before in collars/injuries. Is this neck leaning thing something she's done regularly her whole life or is this a new behavior?

 

[Moonlight_wolf]

I mean when she was younger she was too small to get up that cat tower, but she’s done it pretty much since she’s been able to go up that cat tower. I don’t think her whole life though? Usually the coughing doesn’t go on that long. That’s why this time I was more concerned.

 

[laurrowind]

My little guy, Boo, also does this sometimes, and in the exact same way Lexa does. I was looking to see if anyone would know why a cat would do this, but haven't found anything concrete. Some people were talking about this potentially being a way to get attention, or attempting to clear their throat, but I'm not sure... either way, your cat is definitely not the only one.

 

[CatladyJan]

Hmmmmm has she been coughing all of her life and is it directly related to being in this position? Does she get into that position because she is having difficulty breathing? My vet told me cats don't cough much so if you can I would discuss this with your vet

 

[Gizmobius]

You're not alone! One of mine does this, too, and I had a cat before him that also did the exact same thing and I was always so baffled because it's so strange. It's been brought up to my vet before and she gave him a full examination and didn't feel anything wrong around his throat/neck. But he's a high stress/high anxiety kitty and I just assume it's something that makes him feel better for some reason so I fondly call it his "choking himself out" kink. He does it over anything; the cat tree, a cardboard scratcher, etc.

I would suggest you definitely bring it up to your vet but don't worry yourself too much. Oliver's been doing it for over a year and he's a physically (maybe not mentally!) healthy boy at every vet visit.

 

[Moonlight_wolf]

Yeah I showed my vet a video of it and he was not concerned. He said that “Maybe she likes the feeling,” and also said it was far from the weirdest thing he’s seen with cats. She only does it on when she’s resting her neck on the floor edge of the one cat tower with hard edges so I know it’s just her choking herself. But whether it’s because she likes it or she’s just not that bright (she’s an orange cat known to be derpy) is yet to be seen.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ Our crazy cats ...