Just like humans, cats cough as a natural reflex to clear their airways. An occasional cough is usually nothing to worry about in a healthy cat. However, persistent or severe coughing, especially when accompanied by other symptoms, warrants a closer look. As a loving cat owner, understanding the nuances of a Cat Cough is crucial for ensuring your feline friend’s well-being.
This guide delves into the world of feline coughs, exploring the various reasons why your cat might be coughing, how to differentiate between different types of coughs, and most importantly, when it’s time to consult with your veterinarian. Early detection and appropriate care are key to a swift recovery and maintaining your cat’s respiratory health.
Unraveling the Mystery: Why is Your Cat Coughing?
A cat cough occurs when something irritates the cough receptors lining your cat’s respiratory tract, from the pharynx to the bronchi. The triggers for these irritations can range from simple environmental factors to more serious underlying health conditions.
Pinpointing the exact cause of a cat cough can be complex, as the list of potential culprits is extensive. However, identifying potential triggers in your cat’s environment and observing the nature of the cough can provide valuable clues.
Common Irritants and Environmental Factors
Just like human allergies, cats can be sensitive to airborne irritants. Think about recent changes in your home environment. Have you switched to a dustier cat litter? Are you using new cleaning products with strong scents? Exposure to irritants is a frequent cause of coughing in cats.
- Dust and Litter: Dusty cat litter is a common offender. Inhaled dust particles can irritate the respiratory tract, leading to coughing fits, particularly right after your cat uses the litter box.
- Smoke and Air Pollution: Secondhand smoke, household fumes, and general air pollution can also trigger coughing. Long-term exposure to these irritants can cause chronic respiratory issues.
- Allergens: Just like humans, cats can have allergies to pollen, mold, dust mites, and other environmental allergens, which can manifest as coughing and other respiratory symptoms.
Respiratory Infections: Viruses, Bacteria, and More
Infections are another significant category of causes for cat coughs. These can range from mild upper respiratory infections, often referred to as cat colds, to more serious lower respiratory infections.
- Viral Infections: Viruses like feline herpesvirus and feline calicivirus are common culprits in upper respiratory infections, leading to symptoms like coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, and watery eyes.
- Bacterial Infections: Bacterial infections can occur as primary infections or secondary infections following a viral illness. Bacteria like Bordetella bronchiseptica can cause coughing and other respiratory symptoms in cats.
- Fungal and Parasitic Infections: Less commonly, fungal or parasitic infections can also affect the respiratory tract and induce coughing.
Feline Asthma: A Common Respiratory Condition
Feline asthma, also known as allergic bronchitis, is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the airways of cats. It’s a significant cause of cat cough and respiratory distress.
- Airway Inflammation and Narrowing: Asthma in cats involves inflammation and narrowing of the airways, along with increased mucus production. These factors make it difficult for cats to breathe and lead to coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
- Triggers: Asthma attacks can be triggered by allergens, stress, exercise, and changes in weather.
Pleural Effusion: Fluid Around the Lungs
Pleural effusion refers to the abnormal buildup of fluid in the pleural space, the area between the lungs and the chest wall. This condition can put pressure on the lungs and lead to coughing and difficulty breathing.
- Underlying Conditions: Pleural effusion is often a symptom of an underlying condition such as heart failure, cancer, or chest trauma.
Inhaled Foreign Objects: A Coughing Emergency
Sometimes, a cat cough is triggered by a foreign object lodged in the airway. This can be a piece of food, a blade of grass, or any small object your cat might inhale.
- Gagging and Choking: When a cat inhales a foreign object, they will cough forcefully in an attempt to expel it. This can sometimes be accompanied by gagging or choking sounds.
Cancer: A Serious Underlying Cause
In some cases, a persistent cat cough can be an early warning sign of cancer affecting the respiratory tract or spreading to the lungs from another part of the body.
- Lung Tumors: Primary lung tumors or metastatic cancer can cause chronic coughing, along with other symptoms like weight loss and lethargy.
Trauma and Injury
Physical trauma, chemical irritants, or thermal injuries to the respiratory tract can also result in coughing.
- Inhalation Injuries: Inhaling smoke, toxic fumes, or hot gases can damage the airways and trigger coughing.
Heartworms: Parasitic Lung Disease
While heart disease is less commonly associated with coughing in cats compared to dogs, heartworm disease can cause respiratory symptoms, including coughing.
- Pulmonary Damage: Heartworms reside in the blood vessels of the lungs and can cause inflammation and damage, leading to coughing and other respiratory problems.
Image: A cat experiencing a coughing fit while in its litter box, potentially due to dusty litter. Alt text: Cat coughing in litter box due to dust irritation.
Deciphering the Cough: Wet vs. Dry Cat Coughs
Observing the characteristics of your cat’s cough can provide valuable information for your veterinarian. One key distinction is whether it’s a wet or dry cough.
- Wet Cough: A wet cough is characterized by a productive sound, often described as moist or rattling. This type of cough typically brings up phlegm, a thick mucus produced in the respiratory tract in response to infection or inflammation. Wet coughs are often associated with infections like bronchitis or pneumonia.
- Dry Cough: A dry cough, on the other hand, sounds harsh and hacking, but doesn’t produce much phlegm. It’s often described as non-productive. Dry coughs in cats are commonly linked to conditions like asthma, inhaled foreign bodies, or cancer.
While these distinctions are helpful, they are not definitive diagnostic tools. It’s crucial to consult with your veterinarian for a proper diagnosis.
Cat Coughing Accompanied by Other Symptoms
Coughing rarely occurs in isolation. Paying attention to accompanying symptoms can provide further clues to the underlying cause and help your veterinarian narrow down the possibilities.
Cat Coughing and Sneezing: Signs of Upper Respiratory Infection
When cat cough is combined with sneezing, it strongly suggests an upper respiratory infection (URI), similar to a common cold in humans.
- Nasal Discharge: URIs often involve nasal discharge, which can be clear, white, yellow, or green.
- Watery Eyes: Eye discharge and conjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva) are also common with URIs.
Cat Coughing and Wheezing: Classic Asthma Symptoms
Wheezing, a high-pitched whistling sound during breathing, is a hallmark sign of feline asthma and frequently occurs alongside coughing.
- Labored Breathing: Cats with asthma may exhibit labored breathing, rapid breathing, and even open-mouth breathing during severe episodes.
Cat Coughing Up Hairballs: Not a True Cough
It’s important to distinguish between a true cat cough and the sound of a cat trying to expel a hairball. While it might sound like coughing, bringing up a hairball is actually retching or gagging, originating from the digestive tract, not the respiratory system.
- Hairball Appearance: Hairballs are typically cylindrical masses of fur, often mixed with saliva and food.
Image: A cat in the process of coughing up a hairball. Alt text: Cat retching to expel hairball, not a true cough.
When to Seek Immediate Veterinary Attention for Cat Cough
While occasional coughing might be benign, certain situations warrant immediate veterinary attention.
Cat Coughing Up Blood: A Medical Emergency
If your cat is coughing up blood, it’s a potential emergency and requires immediate veterinary care. This symptom can indicate serious underlying issues.
- Possible Causes: Coughing up blood can be caused by trauma, severe infections, cancers eroding blood vessels, or exposure to rat poison that affects blood clotting.
Other Alarm Signs: When to See a Vet Promptly
Beyond coughing up blood, other signs should prompt a vet visit for your coughing cat:
- Persistent Cough: A cough that lasts for more than a day or two should be evaluated.
- Severe Cough: A cough that is frequent, forceful, or seems to be causing your cat significant distress.
- Difficulty Breathing: Labored breathing, rapid breathing, open-mouth breathing, or blueish gums are all emergency signs.
- Lethargy and Loss of Appetite: If your cat is also acting tired, weak, or refusing to eat, it could indicate a more serious underlying condition.
Diagnosing and Treating Cat Coughs
Diagnosing the cause of a cat cough involves a comprehensive approach by your veterinarian. This typically includes:
- Medical History: Your vet will ask detailed questions about your cat’s cough, including its duration, frequency, type (wet or dry), and any potential triggers or accompanying symptoms.
- Physical Examination: A thorough physical exam will include listening to your cat’s lungs with a stethoscope to assess for abnormal sounds like wheezing or crackles.
- Diagnostic Tests: Depending on the suspected cause, your vet may recommend various diagnostic tests, such as:
- Blood tests: To check for infection or underlying health issues.
- Fecal tests: To rule out parasitic infections.
- Radiographs (X-rays): To visualize the lungs and airways and identify pneumonia, pleural effusion, or foreign bodies.
- Bronchoscopy: A procedure where a small camera is inserted into the airways to visualize them directly and collect samples for analysis.
- Cytology or Biopsy: Samples from the airways can be examined under a microscope to identify infectious agents, inflammatory cells, or cancer cells.
Treatment for cat cough is always directed at the underlying cause.
- Irritant-Induced Coughs: Removing the irritant from the cat’s environment is usually sufficient to resolve the cough.
- Respiratory Infections: Antibiotics, antifungals, or antiparasitic medications are used to treat bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infections, respectively. Antiviral medications may be used in some cases of viral infections.
- Feline Asthma: Asthma management involves avoiding triggers and using medications like corticosteroids and bronchodilators, often administered via inhalers, to reduce airway inflammation and open up the airways.
- Pleural Effusion: Treatment focuses on removing the fluid from around the lungs and addressing the underlying cause of the fluid buildup.
- Inhaled Foreign Objects: Removal of the foreign object may require bronchoscopy or surgery. Antibiotics are often given to prevent secondary infections.
- Cancer: Cancer treatment may involve chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, or palliative care, depending on the type and extent of the cancer.
- Trauma: Treatment depends on the nature and severity of the injury and may range from supportive care to surgery.
- Heartworm Disease: While treatment options for feline heartworm disease are limited, prevention is key.
Supportive care, such as fluid therapy and oxygen therapy, may be necessary in severe cases. In some instances, your veterinarian might recommend home care measures like using a humidifier or taking your cat into a steamy bathroom to help loosen congestion, but always consult your vet before trying home remedies. Cough suppressants are generally not recommended for cats unless specifically prescribed by a veterinarian.
Protecting Your Cat’s Respiratory Health
While not all causes of cat cough are preventable, you can take steps to minimize risks and support your cat’s respiratory health:
- Minimize Irritants: Use low-dust cat litter, avoid smoking around your cat, and ensure good ventilation in your home.
- Heartworm Prevention: Administer monthly heartworm preventative medication as recommended by your veterinarian.
- Regular Vet Checkups: Routine veterinary checkups are crucial for early detection of health issues, including respiratory problems.
Understanding cat coughs is an essential part of responsible cat ownership. By being observant and proactive, you can ensure your feline companion receives the best possible care and enjoys a healthy, cough-free life. When in doubt, always consult with your veterinarian – they are your best resource for diagnosing and treating any health concerns in your beloved cat.
WRITTEN BY
Jennifer Coates, DVMVeterinarian
Dr. Jennifer Coates is an accomplished veterinarian, writer, editor, and consultant with years of experience in the fields of veterinary medicine.
Image: Dr. Jennifer Coates, DVM, the author of the article. Alt text: Dr. Jennifer Coates DVM, veterinary expert and author.
