My cat makes a hacking noise
by Heather
(Maryland)
My cat is about 7 yrs old, male, fixed. Indoors. He is fed a diet of dry food only. He recently started doing this hacking noise that looks like he’s choking .. or like he’s got a hairball but he does nothing. It sounds dry and he looks like he’s having a seizure or something when he does it. Everything else seems normal.
Heather
Hi Heather… This sounds like a food particle may have become lodged in the trachea or bronchial tubes.
Normally these are coughed up but sometimes they become stuck in the bronchial tube. It will cause irritation and perhaps swelling.
If I am correct your cat should be examined by a veterinarian.
There are other possibilities of course such as bronchitis that causes repeated coughing. But bronchitis usually causes coughing after exercise – not the case here.
It seems that there are no other symptoms that indicate a disease such as a respiratory infection or asthma or perhaps heartworms or lungworms. Sporadic coughing with weight loss and depressed appetite might indicate a worm but these other symptoms are not present it appears.
Wait for while to see if it clears and if not a vet visit is called for I would suggest.
Best
Michael
