https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/2016-05-17-nl-chronic-cough-cats/
https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/p/be2cd0e9-5250-447b-9968-e0ea913fc7d6/
By Dr. Becker
If your cat has a persistent (chronic) cough, it is almost always a sign of an underlying problem. Coughing is a protective reflex designed to clear irritants from the throat, voice box, trachea, or respiratory tract.
Coughing is also the body’s way of preventing the cat from aspirating (inhaling) fluids or foreign bodies into its lungs, but it also interferes with its ability to breathe normally.
Coughing is one of the body’s most powerful reflexes and plays a crucial role in protecting against invasion, obstruction, or abnormality of your cat’s airway. The medical term for cough is cough.
Underlying Causes of Cough in Cats
A persistent cough can be a sign of many underlying illnesses and disorders, including:1
✓ Inflammation of the sinuses (sinusitis) |
✓ Enlarged heart |
✓ Inflammation of the throat or tonsils |
✓ Airway collapse |
✓ Upper airway obstruction |
✓ Irritation, inflammation or bronchial obstruction (bronchitis) |
✓ Bacterial, fungal, viral infection |
|
✓ Polyp(s) in the throat |
✓ Environmental irritants, allergies |
✓ Laryngeal (voice box) disease |
✓ Bronchiectasis |
✓ Breathing problems |
✓ Bronchial foreign body |
✓ Tracheal obstruction or collapse |
✓ Fluid in the lungs |
✓ Mediastinal mass |
✓ Heartworm disease |
✓ Disease or dilatation of the esophagus |
✓ Infectious or aspiration pneumonia |
✓ Lymph node disease |
✓ Pulmonary granuloma |
✓ Parasitic infection, lungworms |
✓ Autoimmune lung disease |
✓ Inflammation or infection of the trachea |
✓ Tumor of the lungs, trachea or respiratory tract |
✓ Asthma |
✓ Blood clots in the lungs |
In cats, the most common cause of persistent cough is chronic bronchopulmonary disease, which is actually a group of conditions including feline asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic bronchopneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema.
What to watch out for and which cats are most at risk
The main symptom in cats is a cough which can develop suddenly or gradually and last for more than two or three weeks. If your cat coughs occasionally and infrequently, there is usually nothing to worry about. But a chronic cough should be evaluated by your veterinarian.
Other signs to watch for are wheezing, shortness of breath, respiratory distress, and retching at the end of a coughing episode that clears mucus from the throat. The most common age at which a chronic cough develops in cats is two to eight years of age. Oriental breeds, including the Siamese and the Burmese, seem predisposed.
Often, cats with chronic cough also have a history of flu-like symptomsseasonal allergic cough and triggers such as smoke, temperature changes, aerosols, dusty trash, and sleeping on their owners’ beds.
Diagnosing a chronic cough
Since there are many different illnesses of which coughing is a symptom, it is important to ensure that the underlying cause of your cat’s persistent coughing is accurately diagnosed.
The first step in investigating a cat’s coughing is to determine if it is actually coughing. Sneezing, gagging, gagging, and vomiting may sound like coughing.
Your veterinarian will also take a history of your cat’s health and current symptoms, including the duration of coughing episodes, their frequency, pattern of onset, and other characteristics. He will also want to determine whether the cough is productive or not.
Your veterinarian will perform a physical exam on your cat, take chest x-rays, complete blood count (CBC), biochemistry profile, and other blood tests as indicated. Blood test results may indicate the presence of infection, allergies, elevated liver enzymes, and other abnormalities.
A heartworm test may be performed, as well as urinalysis and fecal testing to check for respiratory parasites. To take a closer, more detailed look at your cat’s airway, your veterinarian may use a laryngoscope, tracheoscope, or bronchoscope to view the upper airway. Your veterinarian may also want to collect lung fluid samples from your cat’s airways.
Treatment options
The goals of treatment are to identify and resolve the underlying cause of your cat’s cough, as well as to control the cough itself. Treatment may require hospitalization in the event of serious illness. Oxygen will be given to kittens who are having difficulty breathing. Antimicrobials may be needed to resolve the infection, and cough suppressants may or may not be given. Typically, suppressing the cough does not solve the problem and may actually mask it, allowing it to get worse.
Cats who cough should not be exposed to respiratory irritants of any kind. Be sure to change your furnace filters as often as necessary and, if possible, invest in an air purifier as well. If you are a smoker, I recommend not smoking in your home and washing your hands before petting your cat.
I also recommend providing only organic cat beds and sleeping surfaces containing PBDEs (fire retardant) free. Your cat should receive a stress-free living environmentand if she is overweight, she should diet safely and gradually to a healthy waistline.
Below NO circumstances if you ever administer human medications to your cat. Even very small amounts of over-the-counter medications such as Robitussin, aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen can be extremely toxic to kittens.
It is also important to follow the dosage instructions carefully if your veterinarian gives you medication for your cat. Kittens are exceptionally sensitive to many medications and natural remedies, so it is important to be vigilant and aware when administering any type of medication or supplement to your cat.
Additional Tips for Relieving Your Cat’s Cough
• Do not smoke. Stop smoking around your pet and don’t let others smoke near them. Secondhand smoke is a major trigger for sensitive cats.
• Give up using your fireplace. Smoke of any kind is a cough trigger in sensitive cats.
• Reduce or eliminate all household sprays. This includes skincare products, hairsprays and deodorants – anything in aerosol form. Make sure Kitty isn’t in the same room as someone spraying something with a bottle or can.
• Get rid of scented plug-ins, candles, incense, heated potpourri – anything that gives off an aroma. Anything with a strong odor can also be a trigger for sensitive cats and people.
• Switch from chemical household cleaners to green cleaners.
• Gradually transition to an unscented, low-dust variety of cat litter.Mix the new litter with the litter your cat is used to and gradually eliminate the old ones. Also, do not use bleach to disinfect the box. Use dish soap or vinegar and rinse with lukewarm water. That’s all you need.
• If you have parasite problems in your pets, use a safe, all-natural pest repellent to control fleas and ticks.
• Make sure your cat’s daily routine remains very consistent. Kittens do not cope well with changes in their environment and any type of stress can be a potential trigger.
• Feed a balanced, species-appropriate diet. A species-appropriate diet means an anti-inflammatory diet for cats. It’s important to reduce inflammation throughout your pet’s body, and pro-inflammatory foods like carbohydrates make the problem worse.
Avoid giving any type of food containing corn, wheat, rice or millet. Avoid grains altogether. Unfortunately, “grain-free” foods high in starch (potato, tapioca, or legumes) can also create significant inflammation in your cat’s airways.
• Consider switching your cat to a raw food diet and a new or novel protein source. If your cat’s chronic cough is a respiratory manifestation of a systemic allergic response, simply staying away from poultry or seafood, for example, that your cat may be addicted to can make a big difference.
• Partner with a integrative veterinarian who will not insist on unnecessary vaccines that can create systemic inflammation and disrupt the immune system.
There are a variety of homeopathic remedies and drug-free therapies that are excellent for treating coughs, depending on the symptoms your cat exhibits.
Related Articles: