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#1
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Question about cat coughing spasms
I've got a couple of cats that exhibit the same occasional fits of
coughing spasms. I would describe these spasms as follows: Initial onset is rapid, shallow coughs, pretty much identical to the prelude to throwing up a hairball. Two or three coughs or convulsions per second for about 5 to 10 seconds. Gradually over the course of the next 30 to 45 seconds, the coughs become deeper and stronger and the time between them grows longer. At the end of these episodes, there might be 5 seconds between coughs. The entire episode might last 1 minute at most. It initially looks like the cats are going to throw up a hairball, but it never happens, and it's clear that the lungs and chest are involved during the latter stages of deeper coughing. These spasms occurr pretty much only as a result of some sort of stress, like very physical play, or when struggling while being restrained during nail clipping. Weeks can go by between episodes, which again are almost always triggered by a physical stress event. There is a long list of causes for cat coughing: http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/cat-cough.html for which the ones that look possible in this case are asthma and bronchitis. But the coughing I see looks more like it was triggered by a reflex (sortof like hiccuping). More rarely it can happen without the trigger of physical activity or struggling. Has anyone else seen this before? |
#2
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Question about cat coughing spasms
"Cat Guy" wrote It's asthma. Your cat can die from it. I control my cat's with Depo Medrol (she also has allergies). There is also a system for cats that uses inhalers. It is good for emergencies. I was going to get one but the Depo and my keeping dust and such down in the house has controlled her asthma so well it has been two years since she had an attack. I am not even going to ask why you are asking us and not a vet. |
#3
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Question about cat coughing spasms
On Feb 8, 9:21*am, Cat Guy wrote:
I've got a couple of cats that exhibit the same occasional fits of coughing spasms. *I would describe these spasms as follows: Initial onset is rapid, shallow coughs, pretty much identical to the prelude to throwing up a hairball. *Two or three coughs or convulsions per second for about 5 to 10 seconds. *Gradually over the course of the next 30 to 45 seconds, the coughs become deeper and stronger and the time between them grows longer. *At the end of these episodes, there might be 5 seconds between coughs. *The entire episode might last 1 minute at most. * It initially looks like the cats are going to throw up a hairball, but it never happens, and it's clear that the lungs and chest are involved during the latter stages of deeper coughing. These spasms occurr pretty much only as a result of some sort of stress, like very physical play, or when struggling while being restrained during nail clipping. *Weeks can go by between episodes, which again are almost always triggered by a physical stress event. There is a long list of causes for cat coughing: http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/cat-cough.html for which the ones that look possible in this case are asthma and bronchitis. *But the coughing I see looks more like it was triggered by a reflex (sortof like hiccuping). *More rarely it can happen without the trigger of physical activity or struggling. Has anyone else seen this before? Get this cat to a vet. Son and daughter in law just lost their kitty to a CVA, cat had cardiomyopathy. This is what she had done. Coughing like a hairball but nothing came up. This was a symptom that was a prelude to this. There may be nothing to do for your cat but for God's sake check it out. This is very serious. No kidding. Sue -- Firefighter mom |
#4
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Question about cat coughing spasms
It could be any number of things from hairballs, worms, congestive heart
disease to asthma. You need to see a vet to have it diagnosed properly and get the correct treatment. If you have a camera phone take a video of it next time it happens to let the vet see what's going on. Celeste -- Get 600 FREE 4X6 prints and 600 FREE 5x7 prints sign up for Artscow http://www.artscow.com/?Ref=541736 Save 25% or more on your eBay® auctions Snipe eBay Auctions with Bidnip http://www.bidnip.com/a.php?id=39019 "Cat Guy" wrote in message ... I've got a couple of cats that exhibit the same occasional fits of coughing spasms. I would describe these spasms as follows: Initial onset is rapid, shallow coughs, pretty much identical to the prelude to throwing up a hairball. Two or three coughs or convulsions per second for about 5 to 10 seconds. Gradually over the course of the next 30 to 45 seconds, the coughs become deeper and stronger and the time between them grows longer. At the end of these episodes, there might be 5 seconds between coughs. The entire episode might last 1 minute at most. It initially looks like the cats are going to throw up a hairball, but it never happens, and it's clear that the lungs and chest are involved during the latter stages of deeper coughing. These spasms occurr pretty much only as a result of some sort of stress, like very physical play, or when struggling while being restrained during nail clipping. Weeks can go by between episodes, which again are almost always triggered by a physical stress event. There is a long list of causes for cat coughing: http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/cat-cough.html for which the ones that look possible in this case are asthma and bronchitis. But the coughing I see looks more like it was triggered by a reflex (sortof like hiccuping). More rarely it can happen without the trigger of physical activity or struggling. Has anyone else seen this before? |
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Question about cat coughing spasms
"Spot" wrote in message ... It could be any number of things from hairballs, worms, congestive heart disease to asthma. You need to see a vet to have it diagnosed properly and get the correct treatment. Yes, this is true. It surely sounds like asthma, but it could be heartworms too. |
#6
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Question about cat coughing spasms
On Feb 8, 12:21*pm, Cat Guy wrote:
for which the ones that look possible in this case are asthma and bronchitis. *But the coughing I see looks more like it was triggered by a reflex (sortof like hiccuping). *More rarely it can happen without the trigger of physical activity or struggling. OK... Your cat is coughing, and it has happened more than once, and you can make connections between certain types of activities and the coughing. And you _haven't_ taken it to a Vet yet, or you wouldn't be asking here. You don't need a remote diagnosis based on very limited information. You need a swift kick to the butt in the direction of the Vet. Could be many things, most of which are minor and uncomplicated. Could be serious as well. No one here is qualified to tell the difference. But what is clear is that if it is serious, each hour you delay further compromises the health of your cat. Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA |
#7
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Question about cat coughing spasms
" wrote:
for which the ones that look possible in this case are asthma and bronchitis. But the coughing I see looks more like it was triggered by a reflex (sortof like hiccuping). More rarely it can happen without the trigger of physical activity or struggling. OK... Your cat is coughing, and it has happened more than once, and you can make connections between certain types of activities and the coughing. And you _haven't_ taken it to a Vet yet, or you wouldn't be asking here. I see this cough pattern in two of our 8 cats. It is not a new behavior for them (they have exhibited it for as long as we've had them, which is 3 years for one cat and 1 year for the other). One cat has had minimal exposure to a vet (besides being neutered and then having a round of vaccinations once or twice over the past 3 years). He's quite healthy, active, and has had no other reason to be seen by a vet. The other cat has been recently treated for a blocked urethra that went wrong - bladder ruptured while in vet's care, which necessitated emergency surgery and heavy antibiotic treatment, during which time he experienced a fever which required him to be placed on a bed of crushed ice while his RBC count went to 10% and which required me to transport him to a vet college 60 miles away for a transfusion of B-type blood (relatively rare for a cat I understand, which none of our 6 other cats have because they were all tested late at night around midnight in a frantic effort to find a B-type doner). During care at the vet college a PCR test confirmed he had Feline Hemotropic Mycoplasmosis which seems to have been triggered by the stress of his bladder rupture. That was 2 months ago. He is fine now, but he requires (or so the vet says) a pill (twice daily) which relaxes his urethra (I forget the name of the drug nor do I know if he really needs it but he gets it anyways). The cause of his orginal blocked urethra was never really identified - some cats seem to have a naturally spastic or psycogenic reason for this. All of this is my way of saying we are no strangers to vets and we have spent thousands of dollars on cat care (as you can imagine from my story above) and I can recognize the difference between a medically dangerous condition vs a curious (but VERY INFREQUENT) condition. I recognize the fruitlessness of bringing in an animal to a vet that is not exhibiting the symptoms or behavior in question for the vet to see, and I recognize the rather limited experience of most vets to anything that either is not visually apparent or doesn't show up easily on a blood, stool or urine test. Obviously nobody here has ever seen this condition, and again it looks to me more like a reflex than the result of an infection or allergy. You need a swift kick to the butt in the direction of the Vet. You should reconsider your comment. I'm sure I've had more experience with vets and with feline health than the majority of readers to this group because of the over 20 cats in the past 10 years that we've rescued, treated (for a wide variety of ills), found homes for, integrated into our home, or euthanized. But what is clear is that if it is serious, each hour you delay further compromises the health of your cat. There is no need for such dramatic and exaggerated talk. There is absolutely no basis for you to make such a claim based on the behavior as I've described it. If you believe that my description matches a particular condition that can persist for several years (the duration of my ownership so far of these cats) which can suddenly turn deadly within a few hours, then please state that condition. |
#8
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Question about cat coughing spasms
Suddenly, without warning, Cat Guy exclaimed (2/9/2009 8:59 PM):
I recognize the fruitlessness of bringing in an animal to a vet that is not exhibiting the symptoms or behavior in question for the vet to see, and I recognize the rather limited experience of most vets to anything that either is not visually apparent or doesn't show up easily on a blood, stool or urine test. Not fruitless. Got a camera or phone that takes videos? Videotape one of the cats the next time this happens. I did that when Meep had a weird sort of coughing/choking thing that cleared up as soon as I threw her in her box. The vet used it to identify that she'd probably had grass stuck in her upper palate (or something; that was years ago). It doesn't matter this has been happening for years, untreated. All that means is there could be significant damage because of this. In all the times you've been to the vet, have you ever even *asked* about these coughing fits? No matter how long this has been going on, if you're concerned enough to be asking here, you should be concerned enough to ask your vet. Heck, if you don't want to bring 'em in, phone the vet, even. If nothing else, it's probably distressing for the cats. Think how you feel when you have a coughing fit. Could be asthma, could be a cardiomyopathy - like people, there's lots and lots of things a cough could be symptom of, some minor, some major. Please, if you care enough to have spent all those thousands, spend a bit more to have this diagnosed. jmc |
#9
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Question about cat coughing spasms
On Feb 9, 8:59*pm, Cat Guy wrote:
If you believe that my description matches a particular condition that can persist for several years (the duration of my ownership so far of these cats) which can suddenly turn deadly within a few hours, then please state that condition. Well, if the cat has congestive heart failure, that is a progressive disease. Which will not turn deadly in a few hours - no. This condition could go two ways. Almost no severe symptoms (other than the coughing you describe) until the heart fails altogether *POOF*. Dead cat. Or, finally you actually notice that the cat has become progressively lethargic until it now has a difficult time just performing the basic tasks of eating and going to the litter box. Unhappy cat. Heartworms - a simple blood test to determine - will get to the *poof* stage eventually as well. But only after considerably unhappiness for the cat - including coughing as you describe. Could be a trapped hairball, small symptoms, but progressive, then eventually permanent damage. Could be an environmental allergy expressed as coughing or asthma-like symptoms. Most allergies, untreated, become worse with progressive and repeated exposure to the allergens - and that could be as simple as the laundry detergent you use. Could be that your cat coughs after eating too fast/too much. Such a simple thing that you hope this is the case. Which turned out to be exactly the problem in our older cat - who still has the occasional coughing fit. Now, we had a much younger rescue cat which died at five months of a blocked bowel (congenital and inoperable due to multiple adhesions leading to peritonitis). His coughing was not so benign. So, none of these things are 'sudden' in the sense that nothing-then- poof. But if you understand the concept of the 'cliff effect', you might have a better understanding of the risk at hand. The cat will go along just fine (as far as you can see) then right off the cliff. *POOF* - death or permanent damage. So, consult a vet. Soonest. And when it does turn out to be simple (you hope), you will feel better for it. What is for damned-sure is that NOBODY here is qualified to diagnose it based on the evidence at- hand. Nor, apparently, are you. And it is also clear that you have a very poor opinion of vets (perhaps based on your experience) and their diagnostic powers. Find another vet, keep trying as necessary until you find one that works for your pets and then for you. Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA |
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