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Hairball or coughing?

4K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  MowMow 
#1 ·
Alright, I need some opinions on Sinatra here...

Every once and a while (maybe once or twice a week) I hear him coughing for about thirty seconds, and then nothing comes up. Today he scared me because he stuck his tongue out and looked rather displeased while he was doing it. He has never had a hairball in the two years we have had him and he does get brushed but not as much as I would like (he hates it). Now, I know he needs to be checked out by the vet before I can rule anything out, and he is going sometime in the next week because he needs his shots updated, but what do you all think? Do you think he is swallowing a hairball? He does swallow afterwards. Or do you think he is coughing? We have had some problems with black mold in this apartment (we are moving in two weeks), and I am on an inhaler because of it so I assume it can hurt him too, but Nutmeg hasn't had any issues with it. I'm asking for your opinions not because I don't want to take him in, he is going in anyway, but I will feel really dumb to get blood work and x-rays done if the boy just has hairballs. Has anyone had a asthmatic cat? Does anyone have an opinion on the situation? Please let me know, thanks.
 
#2 ·
Coughing can be tricky.....not always sign of a hairball. I once had a cat that I thought had hair ball problems because she was longhair, but did get groomed alternate days. She was coughing several times a day for a couple of weeks. Don't want to alarm you, but shortly after she died suddenly (I presumed of a heart attack; she was 15 y.o.). It was quite a number of years ago, and I do recall her appetite was a little decreased at the time. Coughing can be a sign of a heart problem. So hope not in Sinatra's case.

Heart Disease In Dogs And Cats
 
#4 · (Edited)
Lily had some coughing issues a couple weeks ago, and I think it was because of hairballs. She did cough up one hairball, and then for a couple weeks afterwards, she had some coughing bouts similar to what you described.

We bought this: Amazon.com: FURminator Large Yellow deShedding Tool with 4-Inch Edge: Kitchen & Dining
The furminator (small size) - problem solved. She hasn't been coughing at ALL.

Lily doesn't appreciate being brushed (that's putting it mildly, haha), but since the furminator gets rid of SO MUCH at one time, it works well - just 5 minutes can make a world of difference. We just give her some treats afterwards and she seems to forgive us. ;)

However, that was just our experience, and of course Sinatra could be dealing with something completely different.

I just realized you mentioned him swallowing afterwards - that's exactly what Lily was doing, too! She would swallow hard sometimes; I could actually hear the "gulp" noise.
 
#5 ·
Chances are high it will just be a hairball problem, or even individual hairs getting caught in the throat. But I would still get your vet to check out the chest etc because just like in humans a cough can sometimes be a symptom of something more serious. I don't want to scare you again, but the first symptom of my cat's thymoma in the chest cavity was an intermittent cough.
 
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