Please Help!! Kitty Keeps Coughing/sneezing!!

Ashleyannmerk

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Hello everyone!! My 7 yo American Shorthair female has been with me for almost a year now and she’s only once coughed a few months ago. Friday, she coughed/sneezed (not sure!) 2 or 3 times. She’s been having a lot of trouble with allergies so I chalked it up to that! But, Friday I brought her to her vet to get a steroid shot to help with her extreme allergies. Then Saturday, she did it maybe 4-5 times. I wasn’t home most of the day but my sister kept an eye on her because I was worried. Sunday, same thing, I wasn’t home a lot of the day but my sister watched her and it seemed like she was doing it more. Yesterday, I was home all day and she seemed to be doing it even more. I emailed her AMAZING and caring vet with a video of it and she said since she couldn’t really see it, she can’t say for sure but that it sounded like a sneeze, not coughing which is very good news. She said she would be in the office Wednesday and would write her antibiotics for an infection/cold. Then this (Tuesday) morning, she woke me up doing it at 6am and 630am and again when we got up around 10. We played outside for a few hours and she hasn’t done it at all so I thought maybe she had a cold and was feeling better. Then just starting about 40 minutes ago, she is now having little sneezing/coughing fits. It started as one/MAYBE two and then that was it. But tonight, out of nowhere, it became pretty constant.

She got the steroid shot so her vet said it really can’t be allergies or asthma. She is an avid hunter so lung or heart worm is a possibility, maybe a cold/infection, or just a hair ball. Please someone help me to figure this out! I am a nervous wreck!!!!

I posted two videos of her doing it. The first one, in my bedroom, is from tonight - Tuesday night. The other one, in the garage, is from Monday afternoon and you can’t see her because she moved, but you can very clearly hear it.




Advice anyone please!! This is a pic of my baby sleeping. She’s my angel. I seriously cannot lose her. Someone please help me :(:(
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Starlion

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When you take her in, ask for some tests for the deseases you suspect. Your cat seems very sweet, I am praying for you and your cat. (I also have a situation with a stray, and He has an appointment abs well, so I know what you are going through).:angel:You are an angel to your cat.
 

silkenpaw

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I think if she’s still coughing or sneezing after the steroids, I’d worry about asthma, which may require inhaled medications, or something irritating her throat. Having the vet take another look is a good idea.

Good luck and let us know what happens.
 

catlover73

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I would have the vet examine her. I do not have any experience with Asthma personally. I have dealt with cat cold's (URI's). I am not a vet but that does sound more like a cold cough than a trying to get rid of a hairball cough. Is your baby eating normally? When she sneezes is there discharge? I currently have 4 cats. Two of them actually sneezed snot in my face when they had URI's.

If you can not get your baby to the vet right away call your vet and ask if you should try steam treatments at home. I have used steam treatments for all my cat's URI's even if they are antibiotic too. Run the shower as hot as you can and steam up your bathroom. Sit with your baby in the steamy bathroom for 15-20 minutes 2x-3x a day. This should help break up congestion if this is a cold. You can do more treatments if your baby wants them. My Apollo asked for extra treatments any time one of us went to the bathroom when he had a URI. After his first treatment he would randomly demand them by sitting outside the bathroom door yelling at us. He stopped demanding steam treatments when he felt better.

Keep an eye on her appetite because some cats will stop eating if the URI gets worse and then can not smell their food. None of my cats have ever stopped eating due to a URI but I have seen it happen to other people here.

Another thing to watch for is eye discharge. If she gets yellow or green eye discharge that is a sign of infection and also needs antibiotics. Some cats get eye infections with URI's. This happened with 2 out of my 4.
 
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Ashleyannmerk

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Hey everyone!! Here’s an update on her condition...
She’s still coughing but not as much. I just finished a 5-day course of antibiotics. I’m hoping it worked and she’s just slowly getting over it. I have also stopped keeping my AC so high at night (I like it to be frigid when I sleep) and I’ve been leaving the humidifier on overnight. Between the no AC, the steam, and her warm little body, I have been waking up sweating but it’s worth it if it is helping!!! So I don’t know if it’s the antibiotics slowly kicking in or that helping reduce irritation.

The thing that’s concerning me is she isn’t nearly as playful and has not been bringing home “gifts” like she almost always does. She’s been staying in our yard napping most of her time outside and only in the neighbor’s yard for a little bit, whereas it used to be the other way around.

She has been extra cuddly and lovey and laying on me at night. She does this sometimes normally, but she’s been doing it every night now. The one night she coughed/sneezed right on my face and it was snot filled. It felt like a spray.

She’s eating very well. She is eating a bit more than usual actually but that’s probably because she hasn’t been catching animals outside.

I also want to note that she has seasonal allergies. I’ve only had her since last summer and during both summers, she would itch at her ears until they would bleed and scab and lick her paw bald. Since the steroid injection, the ears and paw have been healing nicely.

I applied and was approved for a new credit card and it should be here within a week. I’m going to bring her in for X-rays because her vet strongly suggests that being the next step and she never tries to get me to do things unless it’s really necessary. They’re about $350 for the X-rays and visit so I have no choice but to wait until the card comes in.

I am so sick over this. I’m so scared she’s suffering or I’m going to find her dead one day. I’ve been working extra to pay for the stuff we have done so far and to pay the rest of the bill for my summer classes and I’m so afraid I’m wasting valuable time with her if something bad does happen soon.

I have some hope because her coughing/sneezing/wheezing is not as intense as it was. But I really think it’s because I’m keeping the AC on low or off and the humidifier on and it’s helping with the irritation. Please someone help me. I was up all night checking on her.

One more thing.. she enjoys “stalking” the dogs at night.
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As you can see in this photo of my foyer, there’s a balcony overlooking downstairs with my room at the top of the staircase. When she comes up to my room for bedtime, I let her roam around with the gate up locking the dogs downstairs. And all night long she’ll give them dirty looks from upstairs and sneak down throwing the railing before the gate on the landing and go mess with their stuff. And she’ll sneak into the room they sleep in downstairs and investigate and check them out really quietly as they sleep. This is one thing that’s making me believe she doesn’t feel absolutely terrible. She’ll do it for hours. Last night she snuck into my dads room at 4am and thought she was just sooo funny and clever lmao. I know cats are good at hiding stuff but I’m thinking if she was really bad she probably wouldn’t be running up and down the stairs and jumping up and down and putting herself in the position where when they finally hear her she has to fly back upstairs to safety if she wasn’t feeling well. But then today, she wouldn’t play with her favorite toy so I don’t know! :(

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Any advice or suggestions to help me get this little angel better would be greatly appreciated!!!!
 

mayabear

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This is literally like I wrote this myself. Going through the same with my 5 year old. She was diagnosed with asthma last year. I felt like it was flaring up more (more coughing episodes) and like she was breathing harder, and not herself in general, so I took her to the vet and she had x-rays and bloodwork. The in-house tests came back fine so the vet said it was her asthma getting worse, and increased her meds-predinisolone from 1/2 tablet to 1 1/2 tablets, keeping her at .25mg terbutaline. I hate that she's on so much medicine. Especially the Pred which can cause other problems, but if it helps her breathe then it's worth the risk.

Then the vet calls and said they got back the senior profile blood results and she tested positive for heartworm antibodies. Doesn't mean she definitely has heartworms, but she's been exposed. I'm hoping she already fought off the infection, but with her being not well I'm so worried. There's no cure for heartworms in cats and the risk of sudden death is always a concern. My kitty is an indoor only NYC cat so it's rare that she got this.

She's also not interested in playing (except for the laser pointer for some reason-at least there's that), even her favorite toys, which breaks my heart. The not playing could be a side effect of the Pred, but I just don't know anymore.

I had another vet review her records and they said (via email) it's a "puzzling" situation and that Maya is definitley sick. I have to talk to him later today to find out what all that means exactly. He suggested getting internal medicine consultation at the animal hospital. This is scary in itself, but taking her to the vet is so stressful for her. She gets so upset and they'd probably have to sedate her to do any tests. Of course sedation is always risky, especially with a cat that has repiratory issues.

I'm so sick as well, so I know what you mean. I want to throw up and curl up in a ball and hysterically cry. All I ate was a pita with tomato and cucumber and a piece of chocolate in the past 2 days.

I won't be able to deal if something happens to her. She's seriously my baby.

Not sure how your kitty is doing now, but based on my experience, unless you've already been using some kind of heartworm prevention it might be a good idea to have her tested, especially if she's outdoors too.

She has been extra cuddly and lovey and laying on me at night. She does this sometimes normally, but she’s been doing it every night now. The one night she coughed/sneezed right on my face and it was snot filled. It felt like a spray.

She’s eating very well. She is eating a bit more than usual actually
It's so sweet that she's extra cuddly and laying on me, but it's also worrysome. She's also been licking me more. I know what the spray sneeze is like. I think Maya is eating more bc of the Pred. And at least she's still jumping on counters, but she's not herself at all. She's even been going under the bed more which isn't good.

I'm so worried. Hopefully the vet will have some positive insight when I speak with him today. I'm supposed to go away Friday, but I don't think I can do it.

Hope your kitty is doing better. I know how you feel 100%. :(
 
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Ashleyannmerk

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This is literally like I wrote this myself. Going through the same with my 5 year old. She was diagnosed with asthma last year. I felt like it was flaring up more (more coughing episodes) and like she was breathing harder, and not herself in general, so I took her to the vet and she had x-rays and bloodwork. The in-house tests came back fine so the vet said it was her asthma getting worse, and increased her meds-predinisolone from 1/2 tablet to 1 1/2 tablets, keeping her at .25mg terbutaline. I hate that she's on so much medicine. Especially the Pred which can cause other problems, but if it helps her breathe then it's worth the risk.

Then the vet calls and said they got back the senior profile blood results and she tested positive for heartworm antibodies. Doesn't mean she definitely has heartworms, but she's been exposed. I'm hoping she already fought off the infection, but with her being not well I'm so worried. There's no cure for heartworms in cats and the risk of sudden death is always a concern. My kitty is an indoor only NYC cat so it's rare that she got this.

She's also not interested in playing (except for the laser pointer for some reason-at least there's that), even her favorite toys, which breaks my heart. The not playing could be a side effect of the Pred, but I just don't know anymore.

I had another vet review her records and they said (via email) it's a "puzzling" situation and that Maya is definitley sick. I have to talk to him later today to find out what all that means exactly. He suggested getting internal medicine consultation at the animal hospital. This is scary in itself, but taking her to the vet is so stressful for her. She gets so upset and they'd probably have to sedate her to do any tests. Of course sedation is always risky, especially with a cat that has repiratory issues.

I'm so sick as well, so I know what you mean. I want to throw up and curl up in a ball and hysterically cry. All I ate was a pita with tomato and cucumber and a piece of chocolate in the past 2 days.

I won't be able to deal if something happens to her. She's seriously my baby.

Not sure how your kitty is doing now, but based on my experience, unless you've already been using some kind of heartworm prevention it might be a good idea to have her tested, especially if she's outdoors too.



It's so sweet that she's extra cuddly and laying on me, but it's also worrysome. She's also been licking me more. I know what the spray sneeze is like. I think Maya is eating more bc of the Pred. And at least she's still jumping on counters, but she's not herself at all. She's even been going under the bed more which isn't good.

I'm so worried. Hopefully the vet will have some positive insight when I speak with him today. I'm supposed to go away Friday, but I don't think I can do it.

Hope your kitty is doing better. I know how you feel 100%. :(
Omg I am so sorry!!!!! I got her a year ago (she adopted me because her owners, my neighbors were pretty neglectful) and she was an outdoor kitty so as much as I HATE it and stress every day she’s outside, I’m kinda stuck with it because I’ve never seen a cat love the outdoors as much as she does. I built her a Catio and she kept crying and escaping so for now, she’s allowed outside. She usually sticks to our backyard and my neighbors. I’m going to be buying a home in the next 6 months and cat proofing the backyard so she can’t get out. But my point is she kills and eats animals pretty regularly so I wouldn’t be at all surprised about the heart worm. She started bringing home “gifts” everyday about two months ago and me and my vet spoke about preventive medicine but we didn’t get to do it until two weeks ago :( maybe it was too late :(

She actually hasn’t coughed since yesterday morning!!! She’s still extremely codependent and cuddly, but not as lethargic. Just a few minutes ago, she went over to her favorite hunting spot and was messing around. It’s a mouse nest under an old van we have in the backyard that someone is supposed to be coming to take but she hunts under there bc it’s infested with mice and she’ll bring her other victims under there if she caught them in the neighbors yard. I had tears when I saw her go under there!! First time in about two weeks! But she’s still not at all herself.

She finished antibiotics 2 days ago so I’m thinking maybe it’s just taking some time to clear up completely so we’re scheduling her X-rays for next week and playing it by ear. I’m a college student (and would have never adopted a pet without being financially stable, but again, she was in a bad situation and it was love at first sight for us) so I don’t have really ANY money right now. I just barely made my car payment today and it’s the last day of the 10 day grace period. I opened up a new credit card to pay for the X-rays though. I would not pay a bill and get a late fee and have it go on my credit report before I let her suffer or even worse, die.

Have you tried the humidifier?? I don’t know if it was the medicine that helped or the humidifier is reducing the irritation and that’s why she’s stopped but my vet said at the very least it would help reduce their discomfort and irritation. She sleeps with me at night so I’ve been keeping my window AC on low and occasionally throughout the night turn it off for a little bit because we have central air and even though it’s not really strong in my room, it’ll keep the room somewhat cool. And I’ve been keeping the humidifier near the bed on for maybe 75% of the night. I like to sleep in the frigid cold but it’s been warm and obviously extremely humid and then I have my own personal furry space heater laying next to me so I’ve been waking up drenched in sweat, but I can see she’s MUCH more comfortable so definitely do it!!! Even if you just keep it on for a little bit throughout the night. I can’t keep it on straight through bc it just gets to be way too much for me. She’s loving it though lol. You can get a humidifier at Walmart or Target for around $20. Then I keep an old gallon milk container filled with water and fill the humidifier up throughout the night because it will run out of water and turn off. If it wasn’t the antibiotics that got rid of the cough, then it’s definitely the humidifier so please try it!!!

How old is your fur baby? The vet told you heartworm? My vet said there was a medication for it but that it could be very hard to get rid of them completely. My baby HATES the vet as well. She has anxiety problems and the vet is traumatic for her so I really try to keep visits to a minimum. Her vet is unbelievable though and will save me the money and Belly the trauma of coming into the office and will send in scripts for me to pick up. I feel bad for my vet because I’ve been emailing her every single day. She’s amazing with my baby though so I’m going to be heartbroken when we move an hour away and can’t see her anymore :( please keep me updated about your angel! I’m so sorry for everything - I completely understand what you’re going through. I’ve barely even slept because I’m scared she’ll die overnight. I check her breathing anytime she’s sleeping. It’s a horrifying feeling. I have some hope that those antibiotics did the trick but I don’t want to get my hopes up too high just yet. Post a pic of your baby!!

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There’s my sweet baby when I wrapped her up like a burrito to keep her warm and she actually stayed in it the whole night.
 

mayabear

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Aww what a sweet pic. She’s a cutie. I love her paw position :) hope she is better!

I’ve barely even slept because I’m scared she’ll die overnight. I check her breathing anytime she’s sleeping. It’s a horrifying feeling.
That was me last night! I accidentally fell asleep on my couch and woke up at 2 am. When I was getting settled into bed, Maya was in her cat tree “in position” like she does when she’s going to start coughing. She looks so uncomfortable. Since she already had her medicine for the day, I didn’t know what I would do if it went into a full blown coughing attack.

Luckily it calmed down, but the poor thing kept meowing at me like she wanted help or something. Her meow was kind of squeaky (like the cat equivalent of us losing our voice). I’m like, I don’t know what you want from me! :( I went in the bathroom with her and put on the steamy shower. I don’t think it helped. She was breathing “hard” but not panting or anything.

Anyway, I kind of dozed off on the couch for an hour or 2. I knew if I went in the bedroom I’d just stare at her all night. I stare at her all the time. I’m sure that’s not helping anything.

She woke me up at 6am for breakfast. At least she’s still doing that. And then cuddled and layed on me. Which she doesn’t do all the time, but it’s the sweetest.
I hope I’m posting the pic right...
 

catlover73

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Anytime my Casey has to sneeze he seems to make sure it is right in my face. I have had to rinse out of my hair too. He is not sick at all just the normal once in a while sneeze. He climbed in my lap and sneezed on me last night when I got home from work. He sneezed once and got in my lap to knead. Hubby had to get me a towel to clean my glasses.

The lack of play could be she is just tired from being sick even if the symptoms are gone. The being extra cuddly can be a security thing from being sick. My Apollo was attached to me when he had a URI years ago. He is generally not a lap cat. My hubby is normally his preferred human.
 
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