Cat Cough
Introduction and list of causes The thing about a cat cough for a cat keeper who is not qualified medically is, can I do something myself and is there an underlying problem that needs veterinarian diagnosis and treatment?I guess we know from our own experiences that we cough to get rid of an irritant in the throat or more accurately the airway or respiratory system (the respiratory system, in fact, includes mouth, nose, nassal passages, throat, voice box, trachea and the airways of the lungs). When I get a cough it is usually (a) because "something has gone down the wrong way", meaning that a small piece of food has gone into my airway rather than down into my stomach or (b) I have had a cold and sore throat. At the end of the cold, I cough. We know when we are coughing. It may be obvious that our cat is coughing but it may not, in fact, be that obvious. Other sounds are sometimes similar such as wheezing, gagging, labored breathing and wretching. This is one more obstacle to self diagnosis. There are a wide range of reasons for cat coughing:
Drs Foster and Smith say that if a cat cough has lasted for more than 5 days it is time to see a veterinarian. And Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook - Drs Carlson and Giffin recommend that only minor coughs of a short duration should be treated at home. Some causes can quite quickly be "ticked" off such as cigarette smoke in the room. If a cat is an indoor cat and the cat keeper smokes this could, it seems, be a cause. It will certainly be unhealthy generally. Sometimes it will be apparent that a large object is stuck in the throat causing a cough. Obviously it may be possible to remove this if it is visible. Type of cat cough related to cause Hacking honking coughAssociated with a disease of the trachea or large bronchi. The trachea is the main tube from the voice box to the lungs. The large bronchi are the two main branches from trachea that lead to each lung. Half hearted coughing Could be associated with fluid on the lungs. Moist cough Lung infection or fluid on the lungs Cough with sneezing and watery red eyes Could be feline viral respiratory disease complex Deep convulsive type cough with neck extended plus phlegm Associated with chronic bronchitis Sudden coughing plus wheezing and difficulty breathing Suggests feline asthma Sporadic coughing plus weight loss, listlessness and poor appetite Associated with worms - heartwroms, lungworms and fungus diseases Spasms of coughing after exercise Possible acute bronchitis Coughing brings on more coughing. Home Treatments - cat cough? The Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook - Drs Carlson and Giffin says that cough medication for children can be used to treat cats, except for medicine containing:
Conclusion Based on my own experience and research my opinion is that all but the most obvious of causes should be treated by a veterinarian. Most of the simple causes of a cat cough will resolve themselves. It is only the obvious causes such as food particles (self resolve), large particles (help perhaps), environmental issues (cleaner environment or looser collar) that we can deal with.Update: Round worms can be a cause when asthma looks like the cause. Regular treatment for round worms will probably be required. One breeder gives six-monthly de-worming treatments of Pyrantel. Round worms are hard to diagnose and cause coughing that look like wheezing. Photo heading the page: This is a picture of cat coughing published under a creative commons license = Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. Sources:
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