Coughing

PowderCat212

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Hey!

My flamepoint is almost 4. He’s ridiculously sweet, energetic, curious and hungry.

That being said, every 6 weeks-2 months, he’ll have a coughing episode where he elongates his neck… almost like a hairball.

Ive taken him to the vet TWICE for this and she has said he’s perfectly healthy but probably just had a sensitive respertory system. She said he doesn’t seem to have asthma and I should just switch cat litter—which I did. And that helped for a while.

Im just unclear as to whether or not I should just accept this or continue to get other opinions until the problem is identified in a better way. Already we’ve gotten rid of candles, scented cleaning products, and a very expensive cologne that aggravated him once… maybe it’s the apartment? It was built in 1901–but he was found on the streets of NY when he was a kitten… ugh. Just trying to figure this out. He’s my baby.
 

mewlittle

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Maybe try getting it on video to show the vet, I know that can be a impossible task to get it on video

Does he do it during or shortly after he eats?

Besides that I have no advice
 
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PowderCat212

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I did get a video and played it for her. She wasn’t alarmed. She listened to his heart and lungs and was like “you have a very healthy cat”.

Mostly after he eats.
 

Stargirl0623

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Not a medical expert, only speaking from my own experiences and what I was told by my vet!

My cat has a mild case of asthma that causes light coughing every few weeks during his allergy seasons, in the characteristic elongated neck posture, and my vet needed a very careful look at an x-ray to diagnose it (said that it was mild enough that, if he weren't actively searching for asthma after seeing a video I sent of a coughing fit, he'd have missed it).

If it's any reassurance, too, at that stage they're typically reluctant to treat it and will often advise you wait and see as the only long term medication options will usually have more serious effects than the occasional cough. I was reassured that the cats who are in serious danger from untreated asthma are typically the ones who display daily symptoms and have already accumulated a lot of respiratory damage; an animal who coughs once every few weeks but is otherwise fine isn't generally considered to be in danger, especially if their lungs and heart sound good.

In my cat's case it was borderline whether we treat it or not. Currently he goes on a very low dose of short-acting prednisolone for 2-3 days when he flares up, to help bring inflammation back down a bit more quickly, and we don't worry about it the rest of the time. The goal is to minimize the risk of those flares causing that future lung damage, while doing the least amount of treatment possible. If his coughing were to become more severe, we'd reevaluate our approach, but at this point it's just something we're aware of.

Given that your cat's lungs sound fine, I'd imagine the next step from here would be those more expensive and involved diagnostics (which, given that they typically require sedation, are not risk-free). I opted to follow that route but, if I'd known then what I know now about the lack of effective long-term control options and how low-risk he currently is, I'd likely have decided against putting him through the stress of the diagnostic process at this stage.

All that said, please DO speak with your vet if you're worried! There's something to be said for the peace of mind from knowing what's going on. Just be aware that, if they're not concerned at this point, it may be an issue you can monitor at home and it's always an option to bring it back up if things change!
 
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catxlady

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If you get other opinions, don't let them diagnose her with asthma unless they do an x-ray or some other conclusive test.
My cat started with coughing episodes at 10 y/o and the vet said it was asthma, and started giving her monthly corticosteroid shots for nearly three years. It wasn't until the pandemic started and I had to look for another specialist that everyone was horrified that she diagnosed her without performing proper tests. The new vet ended up tapering off the steroids, recommended an inhaler for her episodes, and suggested avoiding potential triggers in the house (sprays, perfumes, smoke). Her tests showed nothing wrong with her lungs so we'll never know what caused it, several vets believe it was some kind of allergy or upper respiratory tract sensitivity. They should also be tested for heart worms in these cases, I've been told.
Sadly after the steroids were removed, she started with GI symptoms and we found out that she had an aggressive lymphoma. I'll never know if the excessive use of steroids caused her disease, but they surely masked the symptoms until it was too late. Also, since corticoids are used to treat lymphoma, they were less effective when she had to start them again.
I heard of a lot of people with cats that end up receiving corticoids with no good reason, the vets should try to investigate the root of the problem and treat it, not simply mask the symptoms.
Hope you soon get an answer and your baby gets better ❤
 
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