"Honking" cough.

[myrnafaye]

Please, I know you folks here are not vets, I would just like some hypotheses. My cat Binx has an infrequent "honking cough". About once a month. I do not believe it is asthma, and neither do several vets who have examined him. I would like to say that I had a cat with really bad asthma many years ago, and currently have one with mild asthma, so I know what that sounds like and looks like; an asthmatic cough generally starts out with "whooshing", and can accelerate into something like a bark. The cat goes into a crouch, the typical "meatloaf", and there is generally a "recovery". This is not like that at all; Binx does not appear to be in any discomfort (but I think the cough surprises him), and he recovers immediately. He has had radiographs and an ultrasound; he was treated initially in October, when it first started, with antibiotics and a short course of predisolone. My current vet put him on Panacure - on the off chance of lungworm - and I could not get him to eat his food with the panacure for the second round. He was a rescue cat, but I have had him now since 2020, and whild I am not ruling out lungworm, I think it is not very likely.

Binx just had a dental procedure, and while he was under, the vet took some samples for a PCR test. We are waiting for results - I hope to have them Monday.

I will greatly appreciate any thoughts about what this could be. As I said, we do not think this is asthma, he has no clinical signs of it and the cough does not sound or behave like asthma.

 

[iPappy]

Do you think it's possible he could have a hair ball? That can create a cough in some cats that's very infrequent. If it's dry where you live, do you think a humidifier would help?
I have heard the asthmatic cough you describe, and you're right. It's unmistakable and that whooshing sound that precedes a coughing attack is very unique. You described it well.
Are you able to get one of these episodes on video to show your vet? It's very improbable, but is it possible he's reverse sneezing?
Search Results for Query: reverse sneezing

 

[IndyJones]

Do you think it's possible he could have a hair ball? That can create a cough in some cats that's very infrequent. If it's dry where you live, do you think a humidifier would help?
I have heard the asthmatic cough you describe, and you're right. It's unmistakable and that whooshing sound that precedes a coughing attack is very unique. You described it well.
Are you able to get one of these episodes on video to show your vet? It's very improbable, but is it possible he's reverse sneezing?
Search Results for Query: reverse sneezing

 

[myrnafaye]

IndyJones, I read about reverse sneezing on line but no, Binx does not sound like that, and in the video, I noticed the cat's sides were heaving. Binx does not do that. I have had him 3 years now and have never seen him throw up a hairball...He is very short haired and very sleek, and loves to be combed, so I dont think it is hairball related. Its pretty impossible to get a video - my vet asked about this also - because episodes are pretty infrequent, and to be honest, when he starts, I become anxious, follow him around to be sure he is OK and dont think of recording him, but maybe my husband will be able to. He has been to 2 vets, and I had a consult with the Cornell Feline Medical Center, and we still do not know what it is. I am waiting for PCR test results....

 

[iPappy]

Maybe not as "honking" as I had thought originally.

 

[iPappy]

IndyJones, I read about reverse sneezing on line but no, Binx does not sound like that, and in the video, I noticed the cat's sides were heaving. Binx does not do that. I have had him 3 years now and have never seen him throw up a hairball...He is very short haired and very sleek, and loves to be combed, so I dont think it is hairball related. Its pretty impossible to get a video - my vet asked about this also - because episodes are pretty infrequent, and to be honest, when he starts, I become anxious, follow him around to be sure he is OK and dont think of recording him, but maybe my husband will be able to. He has been to 2 vets, and I had a consult with the Cornell Feline Medical Center, and we still do not know what it is. I am waiting for PCR test results....

Please let us know what the PCR results say.

 

[myrnafaye]

I will, thank you.

 

[myrnafaye]

IndyJones , I went on youtube and typed in Cat with honking cough. Here is what Binx sounds like - and its a cat with pneumonia. When he first coughed, he was treated for pneumonia. I just wonder why it seems to be either persistant or recurring...

Cat pneumonia.