How much joy we bring to our beloved pets! Your affectionate furry (or smooth-haired) four-legged friend greets you from work, purrs with happiness that he waited for his beloved master, and in the evening strives to get on his knees and watch TV with you. Idyll...
And suddenly you notice that the cat seems to cough. Is your pet sick? The first thought that comes to your mind: he caught a cold or choked on something. Subconsciously, you begin to build an associative parallel between yourself and your four-legged friend. But you should not do this. The fact is that coughing (as a physiological act) in almost all mammals is very similar, but the causes that cause it differ in humans and animals.
Moreover, a cat's cough can be a symptom of quite serious cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, respiratory diseases, and a sign of acute infection.
What is a cough?
In cats, this is a reflex, involuntary, jerky sonorous exhalation. The cough comes from the cough center located in the medulla oblongata. It receives a signal through the vagus nerve from sensitive receptors. The greatest number of them is in the area of the vocal cords, larynx, and also in the areas of division of the bronchi and trachea. Places where cough receptors accumulate are called reflexogenic zones (cough).
It should be borne in mind that coughing is primarily a protective reflex that occurs in the body of an animal as a result of chemical or mechanical irritation of sensitive areas. In many diseases, it helps to more effectively evacuate pus, mucus, and foreign particles from the airways, thereby contributing to the speedy recovery of the animal.
A feature of the cough zones that are in the bronchi and trachea is that they respond almost equally to the irritation that comes from the side of the respiratory lumen or from the outside. Therefore, a cough is considered a symptom of a disease of both the respiratory tract itself and the tissues and organs surrounding them. In this regard, there can be many reasons why a cat sneezes and coughs.
Causes of Coughing
Veterinarians believe that such a symptom may indicate at least a hundred diseases. Naturally, we will not be able to tell about all, but we will describe the most common ones.
Asthma
This disease must be said first of all, since cats, like people, suffer from it quite often. The symptoms that the owner of the animal should pay attention to include the following:
- The cat is coughing.
- The animal has shortness of breath.
The age of the cat in this case is of particular importance. Most often, this formidable disease develops in an animal older than two years. At first, attacks are rare, but over time they are repeated more and more often. The general condition of the cat worsens - after a short time he may stop reacting to everything that happens around. The disease requires the immediate start of therapy. The causes of this disease in animals have not yet been fully identified. In some cats, an allergy can provoke the disease, while others inherit it at the genetic level.
Allergy
Do not be surprised, but this disease, which affects millions of people around the world, did not pass by our smaller brothers. Have you noticed that sometimes domestic cats cough? Typically, this is a reaction to pollen from plants. Although more often in this case they sneeze. If you notice that thoroughbred kittens react like this, immediately show the babies to the veterinarian. If the diagnosis is confirmed, your pets will be prescribed the necessary drugs.
Helminths
The cat coughs and in the presence of helminthic diseases. Usually, our pets become infected with helminths that parasitize their gastrointestinal tract. But if your pet is walking on the street, then domestic cats can become the cause of the disease . If you do not carry out periodic deworming, then after a short time the parasites become so many that they do not fit in the intestine, they move into the stomach, and from there they enter the external environment with vomit.
In this case, the animal’s immunity is weakened. And coughing with such a disease causes irritation of the esophagus receptors (due to vomiting).
Foreign object
Animals are very curious, and if there are small objects (beads, buttons, etc.) in places accessible to them, your pet can get seriously injured. Thoroughbred kittens, who are just beginning to learn the world, often sin with this. As a result of getting into the respiratory tract of a foreign object, the cat coughs.
If you think that the animal is suffering precisely for this reason, do not try to get the item on your own - without a special tool and experience you will only harm the animal. In such a situation, urgent veterinary care is needed.
Heart diseases
You may have heard about the so-called "heart" cough in people. In the same way, it can manifest itself in animals. The cause that causes it may be heart disease, in particular a malfunction of the heart valves. With this pathology, the heart muscle increases in volume and presses on the trachea, which is located very close to it. Because of this, the cat coughs, and the intensity of the attack gradually increases. No wheezing is heard.
Cough Features
Unlike dogs, cats cough much less frequently. Often with one disease in dogs it progresses, and purring handsome men have difficulty, hoarse breathing, shortness of breath. In addition, they notice these symptoms and even more so it is quite difficult to recognize.
It’s all about the cat’s instinct of self-preservation - animals intuitively avoid the factors that provoke coughing for various diseases: they don’t play, they move much less, do not show unnecessary emotions, they settle in a well-ventilated place where nobody and nothing bothers them.
In itself, such unusual behavior can be regarded as the beginning of a disease. Have you noticed this for your favorite? If possible, consult a specialist.
Types of cough
Doctors distinguish the following varieties of cough:
- by duration - acute (from two days to a month) and chronic (from several months);
- in intensity (from coughing to debilitating);
- by sound - muffled or voiced;
- by the nature of the discharge - wet with mucus or dry;
- by the time of the onset of the attack.
Observe the coughing pattern of the pet. Your description of the seizures will help the doctor more accurately diagnose the causes of the disease.
Diseases of cats: symptoms and treatment
And again, back to bronchial asthma. A sick cat may suffer from sudden, moderate or sufficiently severe bouts of coughing. The animal is breathing heavily, it is difficult for him to pass air. Usually with this disease, the cat coughs and wheezes. Often with asthma there is frequent sneezing.
The development of the disease can be affected by stress, air pollution, weather changes. In the initial stages, bronchial asthma is more often observed in young animals (up to three years old), as a rule, representatives of the Himalayan and Siamese breeds are exposed to it. Attacks become more frequent in spring and autumn, which is typical for most allergic ailments.
This diagnosis is made on the basis of a clinical examination of the animal - laboratory tests and radiography. The treatment is long and, as a rule, consists in the appointment of corticosteroids and bronchodilator drugs, prescribed in the form of injections or tablets.
Viral rhinotracheitis
This is an infectious disease that causes convulsive and frequent coughing attacks. For him, the age of the cat does not matter. In severe illness, the animal sneezes and coughs. His eyes are watery. The disease may be accompanied by a runny nose and diarrhea. All of these symptoms are similar to the clinical picture of human flu. But this does not mean that the cat caught a cold. In this case, the treatment is difficult and time consuming. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, timely vaccination is necessary.
Coughing after receiving “combat” wounds
If you still have an old cat who likes to sort things out with his brothers, then suddenly he may start coughing. This can occur due to direct tracheal damage from a bite received during a battle with an adversary. Such injuries provoke not only coughing: the animal often sneezes and even refuses food, as the passage of food causes pain.
In this case, help consists in treating the resulting injury in order to avoid suppuration of the wound.
Worm Cough
Worms often cause a cat to cough. This disease affects animals at any age - both an adult and only born purebred kittens. Moreover, pets who never leave home and never come in contact with other animals can catch it: you can easily bring parasites from the street (on shoes, for example). In this disease, a sick cat coughs, craning its neck. Often an attack is accompanied by vomiting.
Cough in this case is short, moderate. Similar symptoms can occur in animals with infectious diseases of the lungs and bronchi, as well as toxoplasmosis. Therefore, an accurate diagnosis is necessary, based on the results of analyzes that are aimed at detecting parasite eggs. Treatment in this case comes down to the usual deworming procedures.
Heart diseases
The intensity of coughing with problems with the heart valve increases gradually, it is usually deaf (uterine), while it does not contain any secretions. Usually this disease affects animals in old age. It seems that the old cat seemed to choke on something and is trying to get rid of a foreign body. You can make sure that this is a cardiac pathology by observing your pet for several days. If the cough is exactly the same in nature, in addition, its intensity and frequency increase, then a visit to a veterinary clinic cannot be postponed.
Treatment
If your pet coughs, wheezes, has shortness of breath, shortness of breath, and all these symptoms are accompanied by a deterioration in well-being, a complete lack or loss of appetite, and even the temperature of the cat has increased, it is urgent to show it to a specialist.
Before visiting the clinic, provide the animal with an influx of fresh air and complete rest. In some cases, it helps to alleviate the condition of humidification of indoor air. Before establishing the causes of the disease, do not give any medications - you will only smear the real picture of the disease and complicate its diagnosis, which can cause irreparable harm to your pet.
The doctor will collect an anamnesis and on its basis will recreate a complete picture of the onset and development of the disease, after asking you about the conditions of keeping and feeding the animal. After this, as a rule, an examination of the upper respiratory tract follows, listening to the trachea, lungs and bronchi. Often in this situation, an X-ray is taken and a blood test is taken. If specific pathologies are suspected, an X-ray contrast study of the esophagus, laryngo-, tracheo-, bronchus- and esophagoscopy will be required. In addition, a study will be conducted for the presence of viral infections of the blood, a biopsy of the bronchi is possible.
This process can be long and rather laborious. For this reason, before the root cause of the cough is identified, the doctor will prescribe symptomatic, supportive treatment to alleviate the condition of the four-legged patient.
Antitussive drugs
To stop the cough and / or change its character (remove dry and cause wet), there are many medications. They are conditionally divided into two groups. The first includes medications that block this reflex, affect the cough center, regardless of its nature. They are called antitussive agents of central action. Only a doctor prescribes such drugs. They are usually included in complex therapy. This is primarily due to the fact that in most cases they only remove the symptoms of the disease, but do not eliminate the cause of its occurrence. As a result, the illusion of recovery can be created, but in fact the disease will progress. In addition, antitussive drugs are potent drugs, and if used improperly, they can harm the animal.
The second group is expectorant drugs. They do not stop the cough, but significantly facilitate dry, increasing the amount of mucus secreted and diluting it. Along with it, pathogens are excreted from the body. These drugs are used to treat an infectious cough.
In pharmacies for people, many combined medicines are sold - both expectorant and antitussive. However, not all of them are suitable for your pet. Moreover, some drugs are categorically contraindicated in animals.
If you are sure that your cat is coughing and sneezing because it has caught a cold and you don’t have the opportunity to visit a veterinarian, you can buy in the pharmacy Amoksiklav or another antibiotic of this group (for cats). It can be presented in the form of tablets and powders, from which a suspension is prepared. More often it is the liquid form that is more effective.
It is necessary to choose the lowest dosage and fill the powder with water. Give this drug to an animal three times a day, 2.5 ml each. The course of treatment is no more than seven days.
And some more tips
Before starting treatment, it is necessary to accurately identify the cause of the disease. Do not forget that cough in many cases is a protective reaction of the animal’s body, it can be beneficial, accelerating recovery. In other words, it is often not necessary to fight it to a complete victory with the help of antitussive drugs. An exception can only be a dry debilitating cough, causing the animal anxiety and deterioration in general condition. In this case, specialist advice is required.
The immune system of cats (as, indeed, of many other predators) is focused on powerful antibacterial immunity. This is due to the fact that in the struggle for territory or during hunting, the wild ancestors of our beloved pets often received infected wounds and injuries. Without a strong immune defense against various bacteria, no animal can survive in the wild.
Bacterial infections of the nasopharynx (including respiratory cough) are much less common in cats than in humans and dogs. They can develop only against the background of a very strong weakening of the immune system. Therefore, the generally accepted notion of a “cold” for cats is uncharacteristic, although, of course, there are exceptions.
To summarize
If you want your pet to be healthy (and almost all pet owners want it), then, noticing that the cat is coughing, watch him for a day (of course, if there are no signs of suffocation), and then go to the veterinary clinic. Do not self-medicate: it is just as dangerous for animals as it is for people. Carry out all the necessary vaccinations and regularly clean the body of the animal from helminths. Only in this case your affectionate pet will be healthy, and you will be happy.