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Old October 30th, 2007, 02:35 PM
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phoozles phoozles is offline
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Question cat coughs while purring - Answered by Dr. Van Lienden

Hi there,

I've got a nine year old cat named Jake who is remarkably good natured (and pleasantly plump at 16.5 lbs). About a month ago, we got a new kitten from a rescue shelter. Jake wasn't too happy about the addition, but aside from not sitting on our laps as much as he used to, he was pretty much the same guy.
Suddenly he stopped eating as much as he usually did, and walked sluggishly around the room. Also, when he purred, he would cough, and as the purring continued, he would make a noise as if he was going to vomit, but wouldn't. (Kind of like a really bad cough).
We took him into the vet, explaining his symptoms, and they put him on an IV saying he had a fatty liver problem. We've got him back home now, where he is eating and moving like he used to, but the cough while he purrs still persists. It only happens when he's purring.
I called back the vet, and they said they didn't treat it, but that I should just wait on it. It breaks my heart to see him like that, and know that by making him purr I could be making him feel bad.
Any idea what this might be, and how to alleviate it? It seems as though the new kitten has ear mites - could this be related somehow?

I'd appreciate any information you might have.

Thanks,

Julia
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  #2  
Old October 30th, 2007, 03:09 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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You might want to ask your vet about the possibility of asthma. Here are a couple of links regarding coughing in cats:

http://www.fritzthebrave.com/asthma/symptoms.html
http://www.felineasthma.org/symptoms/index.htm

Is he overweight at all?
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Old October 30th, 2007, 04:08 PM
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phoozles phoozles is offline
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Asthma might be a possibility - he has seemed to lose his voice - it just seems odd that he only coughs when he purrs. He also foams when I give him his liquid medicine for his liver situation.

He is definitely overweight - he has been on light food for a year and has only lost 5 ounces. He should be about 12 lbs - right now he is 16.5. I just read an article about putting him on canned food to lose weight - I might try it once he's better.

Thanks for the thought - I left a message for the vet and am waiting to hear back from him.
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Old October 30th, 2007, 04:54 PM
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Definitely canned food would be much better at helping him lose weight. Diet dry foods are quite possibly the worst foods on the market for cats, and more often than not just make the problem worse. Perhaps this is the article you're talking about, but just in case it isn't: http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm

And some more info:
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.catnutrition.org/obesity.php
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...=show&item=016

Let us know what the vet says!
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Old October 30th, 2007, 05:13 PM
Shiloh13 Shiloh13 is offline
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I hope he feels better give him a hug for me
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Old October 31st, 2007, 04:47 PM
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phoozles phoozles is offline
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Thanks for the kind thoughts..

The vet finally got back to me, almost a full day later (good thing it wasn't an emergency!) .. Anyway, last night he wasn't coughing as much as he was before, and so the vet said to watch him tonight, but if it continues into tomorrow, I should bring him in and get an x-ray (add another $200 to the $600 I've already paid .. man, I should have been a vet!) .. to see if it might be bronchitis or asthma..

So I'm keeping an eye on him, and hopefully he'll have improved even more tonight than he did last night (he purred a lot and only coughed twice!)..

Crossing my fingers! Julia
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Old November 12th, 2007, 05:00 PM
steffy17 steffy17 is offline
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diet

Quote:
Originally Posted by phoozles View Post
Hi there,

I've got a nine year old cat named Jake who is remarkably good natured (and pleasantly plump at 16.5 lbs). About a month ago, we got a new kitten from a rescue shelter. Jake wasn't too happy about the addition, but aside from not sitting on our laps as much as he used to, he was pretty much the same guy.
Suddenly he stopped eating as much as he usually did, and walked sluggishly around the room. Also, when he purred, he would cough, and as the purring continued, he would make a noise as if he was going to vomit, but wouldn't. (Kind of like a really bad cough).
We took him into the vet, explaining his symptoms, and they put him on an IV saying he had a fatty liver problem. We've got him back home now, where he is eating and moving like he used to, but the cough while he purrs still persists. It only happens when he's purring.
I called back the vet, and they said they didn't treat it, but that I should just wait on it. It breaks my heart to see him like that, and know that by making him purr I could be making him feel bad.
Any idea what this might be, and how to alleviate it? It seems as though the new kitten has ear mites - could this be related somehow?

I'd appreciate any information you might have.

Thanks,

Julia
maybe you should put the cat on a diet
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  #8  
Old November 12th, 2007, 05:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steffy17 View Post
maybe you should put the cat on a diet
Maybe you should read the whole thread.
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  #9  
Old November 16th, 2007, 06:44 PM
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phoozles phoozles is offline
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I HEART my new vet!

My kitties are on the mend, which makes me so happy

Funny story though - my boyfriend took Alley in to get her final booster (to the new vet, not the old one), and when he walked in, he saw the tech (who had always been friendly) from the OLD vet there. He walked up to say hi, and my boyfriend was like, crap, here we go. The tech said that all the vet clinics are like a family here so they all work at all the clinics.. he asked why we were now going to this other place, and my boyfriend said it was because it was closer (which is true, but... )

The tech asked if there was any other reason, to which my bf added that we didn't really like the fact that we were charged $50 for them to watch him for 2 hours (when they didn't need to - they probably just put him in a cage) and the tech agreed that that wasn't right and that he'd fix it for us - maybe even get us a credit at the new vet..

Speaking of which - the new vet is great .. Cut Alley's nails for free (the other wanted to charge), gave her her booster and only charged us for the shot - saying that her last visit counted as a checkup, so we didn't have to pay for the visit at all!

It's so nice to find someone who is looking for the kitty at heart - my last vet probably would have charged us $200 just for telling us she needed a booster!

That's all - Jake is ing the Wellness, and Alley is nutty as usual. So happy to see my crazy critters back up to their old antics!
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  #10  
Old November 19th, 2007, 10:14 AM
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Hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) is a strange disorder of cats. Any cat that becomes anorectic is a candidate. Treatment is supportive care and feeding, by surgically implanted feeding tube if necessary. The gagging may be a result of a feeding tube, esophageal reflux, nausea, laryngeal irritation, secondary infection such as yeast, etc., tracheal inflammation secondary to aspiration, and my list could go on.

The kitten's ear mites need to be treated, but I can't make a direct connection to the adult cat's coughing/retching.

If your adult cat is eating well, then this problem should resolve over the next month. Sorry that I can't be more specific, but too many things can cause the symptoms you describe.

Dr. Van Lienden

Dr. Raymond Van Lienden DVM
The Animal Clinic of Clifton
12702 Chapel Road, Clifton
Virginia, U.S.A. 20124
703-802-0490
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  #11  
Old November 5th, 2013, 02:31 AM
cbonslaver cbonslaver is offline
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Check his thyroid!

Hello. I'm not a vet. I'm a nurse. But I wanted to share with you what I have learned. Same symptoms with my cat. Had a senior profile done. He has hyperthyroid. There is a thyroid blood test to confirm. I'm not saying your cat has this, just have him checked. My cat was sluggish, stopped eating, coughed when he purrs, lost his voice. Started him on methimazole and his thyroid decreased, he stopped coughing, started eating, got his voice back after 3 weeks b/c the size of his thyroid shrunk. My vets and specialist started with the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and kidney disease, but these are both caused by the hyperthyroidism first so if you catch the elevated level soon enough, the medicine for it works perfectly.. A cat is considered a senior at age 10. Yours is almost 10. It could be the start. Most senior cat's get hyperthyroidism. The good thing is they respond so well to the medicine that they will return to their former self, unless it wasn't treated in time. Like mine still has cardiomyopathy and the kidney disease is a little worse b/c the decrease in blood flow to the kidneys, but what was really getting him down was the symptoms from the hyperthyroidism. The not eating, lethargy, and malaise is his creatinine going up some but he bounces right back after subq fluids. I would just have his thyroid checked. And then keep everything I've told you in mind. Good luck! Christi
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