Your cat’s cough: It’s not a furball

First comes the warning meow. Your kitty is about to “cough up” a furball — or something.

“Please, let it not be on the bed like it was last time,” you think. Coming upon the scene of the crime, you find your happy feline has successfully delivered the offending hairball — and on the floor for a change.

Nice.

Interestingly, cats don’t cough to get rid of that troublesome hairball — they vomit or retch.

Coughing is a normal response to an irritation in a cat’s airways or throat, but they do it far less frequently than we pet parents do.

Coughing in cats

When a cat coughs, it sticks out its head, extending its neck, with noticeable chest and belly movements as it forces air out. Your kitty won’t pant, and there will usually be a second or two between each cough.

There are two types of cat coughs.

• A dry cough, which sounds like a honk or wheeze. Your kitty doesn’t swallow afterward.
• A wet cough, which sounds like something’s caught in the back of your cat’s throat. Your kitty will noticeably swallow afterward.

When to visit your vet

If you hear your cat coughing, monitor it closely — and don’t give your kitty cough medicine.

While there are over-the-counter medicines to treat coughing in cats (containing dextromethorphan and guaifenesin), they aren’t recommended because they don’t work, and they don’t treat the cause of the cough, which can get worse over time.

• If your kitty is coughing a lot in one day and appears to be in distress (signs include loss of appetite, hiding or other changes in behavior), you should take it to the vet right away.

• If you notice your kitty coughing — even occasionally — for two weeks or more, your cat may have a chronic medical issue and should be examined by your vet.

Causes

A cat’s cough can have many causes. Here are just a few:

• Feline asthma (also known as chronic bronchitis) — Similar to asthma in people, this illness is related to inflammation in the air passages and causes chronic dry cough in most cases.

  Because cats hide disease well, they may suddenly begin coughing and struggling to breathe rather than have a chronic cough.

• Viral respiratory infection — These common viruses are contagious among cats and usually affect the nose and throat. If the throat becomes inflamed and irritated, coughing may occur.

• Infectious bronchitis — This is an inflammation of the airways in the lungs caused by infection. It can occur because of a bacteria and virus combo in which coughing can occur suddenly, along with a fever, decreased appetite and sneezing with nasal mucus.

  Infectious bronchitis can also be caused by parasites inside the air passages in the lungs. Inflammation can occur, which leads to a cough. This is more common in young cats that live outside.

• Edema — When fluid fills the air passages of the lungs, it causes coughing as the body attempts to get rid of the fluid in order to breathe. But coughing due to heart failure is very rare in cats. If edema is present, it’s probably not related to heart disease. But to know for sure, have your kitty examined by a pet cardiologist.

Depending on the diagnosis, your vet may prescribe antibiotics for respiratory infections, and steroids for chronic bronchitis.

“Coughing up a hairball” is just an expression. Talk to your vet if your kitty seems to have more than its share of them.

And if you hear your kitty coughing, know that it’s not a common issue for cats and may need your attention.