My Bengal/siamese Kitten With Persistent Coughing/wheezing After Eating

[Richard2121]

Hello everyone!

So I am back with another post because my poor Richard is still dealing with some minor coughing fits after he eats. His diet consists of 100% wet food (mostly Fancy Feast Classic Pates including Kitten Formula). He is about 6 months old now. His weight gain has been steady and normal and his fur coat is very healthy, soft and shiny. He eats three or four meals a day and has a regular appetite. His URI symptoms had all gone away after a course of antibiotics, but he still had lingering diarrhea. This has since resolved because I started him on a more bacteria dense probiotic called TummyWorks. His stool is normal now for about 4 days in a row. His eyes are clear and healthy, no nasal discharge that I can see, and he plays like normal. If he wasn't coughing after he eats, I would think he is 100% healthy. It does not seem to be asthma. I am wondering if this could be a food allergy or some lingering respiratory symptoms or some kind of bronchial infection. I seriously don't know whether he should really go into the vet or if his mild cough will resolve on its own if I try changing his diet to LID (possibly Merrick). Or is time going to be the best medicine since he is otherwise completely healthy? Ever since the last distemper vaccine and his rabies vaccine was administered, he has also lost his voice to a certain extent. It has slowly gotten better over the last week but I am wondering if this is all connected? I would like to avoid antibiotics for a THIRD time in 2 months if at all possible. I know it is not wise to overuse antibiotics. Any advice or previous experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Is it at all possible that he just eats too fast and chokes a bit? IF that is the issue, there are several puzzle feeders on the market that will make him slow down a bit.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm wondering the same thing. One of my guys used to cough every time he drank until he finally figured out HOW to do it

 

[Richard2121]

I am starting to narrow down and diagnose the problem that Richard may have relating to his coughing. It seems to happen most often right after eating and he has always been extremely enthusiastic about feeding time. So I have paid attention to the speed at which he eats compared to his 3 brothers. It turns out I have to replenish his food bowl 3 times as fast as the next kitten in the house! This morning he actually vomited for the first time in a month and it looked identical to his canned food he had eaten. At first I panicked because this problem has been going on so long and he had a good weekend without much coughing. Then I put two and two together and realized he MUST be eating too fast. He doesn't have any other health issues and he plays and eats normally. So I waited an hour and then fed him a very small amount of food. Waited 5 minutes and then gave him a little more. I repeated this process over 20 minutes and eventually he had eaten a full 3 oz can of wet food. He did not cough, did not vomit and went along playing as usual. So I think if I can replicate the success from today for a week I can be confident that this is indeed the problem.

 

[Furballsmom]

There is a section for gobblers in this;

18 Awesome Cat Feeding Tips By Thecatsite Staff Members

 

[Richard2121]

Okay okay so I thought I had everything figured out but it seems like a case I cannot quite crack. I have been attempting to feed him more slowly and that seems to have helped reduce and almost eradicate his cough symptoms after he eats and throughout the day. But of course, the evening before his precautionary vet appointment he coughs after eating....again. And I thought I had fed him more slowly but perhaps I fed him too much in one sitting? He also threw up a little bit this morning but not nearly all his food just a small puddle. So his appointment is scheduled for 4 hours from now and I don't know if I should take him or not.

He is SO dramatic and he gets stressed out just being placed in a cat carrier. Then we have to get him in the car, drive to the vet, and he has to be examined which all stresses him out more. Stress is enemy number one for cats so I avoid it if at all possible. So I know I should probably take him to the vet but has anyone experienced these symptoms and found a solution?

 

[Furballsmom]

Do you have any calming products you could try to ease the vet visit stress? I have several in my pantry for regular, and the unscheduled type of, visits...

 

[epona]

When you say coughing, are you sure it is coughing and not that sort of pre-vomiting noise?

I would get a "slow bowl" and try that - I am familiar with cats guzzling down all their food in a few seconds and then bringing it all back up.

Something like this:

Top 5 slow-feed bowls for cats in 2018 | Reviews & Comparative Analysis

I also want to add that active/predatory and intelligent breeds such as Bengal or Siamese will enjoy this more than food in a bowl, as they want to work a bit for their food to replicate the energy spent hunting.

Please seek veterinary attention if it persists, and go to an emergency vet right away if there is ever any indication of breathing problems.

 

[Richard2121]

When you say coughing, are you sure it is coughing and not that sort of pre-vomiting noise?

I would get a "slow bowl" and try that - I am familiar with cats guzzling down all their food in a few seconds and then bringing it all back up.

Something like this:

Top 5 slow-feed bowls for cats in 2018 | Reviews & Comparative Analysis

I also want to add that active/predatory and intelligent breeds such as Bengal or Siamese will enjoy this more than food in a bowl, as they want to work a bit for their food to replicate the energy spent hunting.

Please seek veterinary attention if it persists, and go to an emergency vet right away if there is ever any indication of breathing problems.

We actually had a revelation this weekend, due to some increased symptoms immediately after eating. We may or may not have figured out the issue but I hesitate to take a sigh of relief just yet. Richard might have an allergy or sensitivity to chicken! He threw up (sort of regurgitated) all of his meal Friday night, then again Saturday morning. We had fed him Fancy Feast Chicken Kitten formula both of those times. But instead of making him wait a few hours to eat, I waited 20 minutes both days (he was begging for food) and then fed him a Fancy Feast salmon Friday and Fancy feast Beef on Saturday. He never threw up or coughed once after eating even though he had thrown up 20 minutes before that. He also never coughed Sunday and I avoided Chicken all day for him. Then I fed him this morning (Beef again) and he did not throw up and did not cough. His stool is still super liquidy as of yesterday evening but I'd imagine if the chicken was upsetting his stomach, he will need a few more days to reset. I am giving him a probiotic to help balance things out and I have been doing that for a few weeks now. Does anyone else know if this is a realistic assumption that he may be allergic to chicken or have a sensitivity to it?

 

[Timmer]

I would take the cat back to the vet. I know you don't want to and it stresses him out. I get that. But they can't talk and the longer this goes on the worse off you may end up being if that URI comes back. I had a bengal that also developed a cough but it had nothing to do with food or how he ate. He had it for the rest of his life. If your cat was diagnosed with an URI then it may not be cleared up 100%.
Also, there is a long thread under the cat nutrition section about Fancy Feast possibly changing their formula. I know my remaining cat used to love FF and now she won't touch it. Timmer was also fed FF most of his life. If you think your cat has an allergy, think about switching to another food.
I give my remaining cat Purina One canned and she likes it a lot.
Just some thoughts....

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Take him back. Tell the vet your observations. Cut chicken out of his diet (and he may hate you for a bit). IF he has a food allergy, chicken is one of the #1 culprits.

 

[Richard2121]

Take him back. Tell the vet your observations. Cut chicken out of his diet (and he may hate you for a bit). IF he has a food allergy, chicken is one of the #1 culprits.

I would love to take him back but I want to make sure the appointment is focused and not just a bunch of extra guess work. The vet and I talked on the phone today and they agreed a chicken allergy could be the culprit. They also said to keep an eye on him this week and cut chicken from his diet. If his symptoms improve, we move on. If not, then we may do a fecal PCR panel to determine if he has any infection or parasites being shed in his stool. Then we would progress from there if needed. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get Richard healthy and back on track. He just has ZERO external symptoms and suffered from two URIs within a 1.5 month period of time. Both times he was prescribed antibiotics and the second time his symptoms vanished for good. No eye drainage, no excess sneezing or wheezing, and no nasal drainage. Now i know what antibiotics can do to the digestive tract and so if he does indeed have a food sensitivity or allergy, this would be a double whammy on his digestive system thus explaining the diarrhea. The upset stomach could be causing nausea which then causes the coughing. The upset stomach could also be rejecting the food entirely through regurgitation. So yes it could be something else but the vet and I agreed to give this a try before spending hundreds of dollars on further diagnostics. It seems odd that he suddenly stopped having any symptoms once we removed chicken from his diet on Saturday. Now if only his diarrhea can go away....

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Have we discussed the possibility of probiotics for him at any point? They certainly won't hurt a thing.

 

[Richard2121]

Have we discussed the possibility of probiotics for him at any point? They certainly won't hurt a thing.

Have we discussed the possibility of probiotics for him at any point? They certainly won't hurt a thing.

He is on probiotics now, started with FortiFloria, realized how terrible it is for his situation and severity, switched to TummyWorks, did more research and found some threads on here. I found a probiotic called Dr. Mercola's and ordered it off Amazon and have been giving that to him for about 4 days now. I am open to suggestions as well!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Dr. Mercola's is the one I was trying to remember with no success.

 

[Richard2121]

Dr. Mercola's is the one I was trying to remember with no success.

So it was unsuccessful when you used it or you were just having troubles remembering the brand?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I didn't use it for my own cat, but got it for a neighbor's cat. It worked very well, but that was 3 years ago, and the name just wouldn't move out of long-term storage into "file available".

 

[Richard2121]

Okay everyone so I think the chicken allergy theory is correct...I still don't want to cross other health issues off the list and we continue to monitor Richard's litter box use and coughing/vomiting very closely. We will take him in at the first sign of illness if eliminating chicken does not work. He has not coughed or vomited since Saturday. I have avoided chicken like the plague! The only issue is we have all our kitties (4 total) on fancy fest pates because it strikes the perfect balance between quality and price. We want wet-food only diet with high protein and low carb values.

With all the above being said, I am concerned because Richard is already getting tired of the Beef flavored fancy feast pate and this is one of the only recipes without chicken or chicken broth in it. And I want to avoid fish flavors if I can. When I research brands that are of high quality and do not contain chicken, they are WAY out of my price range or they contain fillers that he doesn't need. I can't afford to feed Richard alone $120-150 worth of food and then add the other 3 cats on top of that! I did the math and nothing seems to work out. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Richard2121]

As another note to add to the above^^^

I want to try and avoid turkey for now too because it is so similar to chicken and I don't want to risk it.

 

[Wile]

As another note to add to the above^^^

I want to try and avoid turkey for now too because it is so similar to chicken and I don't want to risk it.

Hi Richard - if your kitten has a chicken intolerance you should probably stop feeding him fancy feast entirely and switch to a proper limited ingredient diet. As far as I know all fancy feast contains chicken, sometimes listed as meat byproducts. Simply eliminating some flavours of fancy feast won't really solve the issue.

Natural balance makes some affordable limited ingredient diets, or I'm sure your vet can recommend a diet to you.