Bit worried about my kitten - hairball issue

watna

We got a kitten from the SPCA recently. He's 12 weeks old. He's absolutely gorgeous and has settled in with us really well. The only problem is that he seems to be coughing a lot - about once an hour. I've had cats before and it seems to the coughing you get with hairballs (he has never thrown up) but I just think he seems to cough far too much and we haven't found any hairballs around. Apart from this, he seems very contented. He's a short haired cat and isn't that furry - I've been brushing him a few times a day to try and help.

He needs his next vaccinations on the 22nd so I'll talk to the vet then but I just thought I'd see if anyone had any similar experiences with a very coughing kitten! Could it be anything else? Should I take him to the vet sooner? Can i do anything else to help (e.g. cat grass)?

bunyip123

hi Watna. He seems a bit young to have hairballs already, in my experience it usually takes a lot longer of a period of grooming 'adult' coat to get hairballs.
I would bring him to the vet sooner. In my experience kittens can pick up cat flu and viruses and things of that nature - they are all very easy to treat/get rid of once picked up early, but can do a lot of serious damage to them if left untreated. He'll be all the healthier in future if he is treated early for it now.

MsFifers

I thought my cat had a stuck hairball once - she was coughing a lot too. But it turned out she had a bad throat infection and was quite ill. It needed antibiotics to get her well again.

How is your cat's form otherwise? Is he eating ok?

I'd go to the vet sooner rather than later, just to be on the safe side.

The Sweeper

He could well have an upper respiratory tract infection.

How is he otherwise? Eyes weeping at all? Lethargic? Off his food? Friendly but tires easily? It's very, very common for cats to pick up URTIs and flus and little snotty viruses from being in communal holding conditions, plus the stress of moving them home can make them a little sick.

Up to 16 weeks, kittens are still young enough that they can tailspin in 24 hours if you take a 'wait and see' approach. You need to take him to the vet today or tomorrow - it has the benefit that if the vet diagnoses something you can start a course of treatment and your revisit on 22nd will be a good check up to see how the kitten is getting along.

watna

Thanks guys - you've just confirmed what I was thinking. It doesn't sound like just furballd. We're getting more worried so we've got a vets appointment for Thursday morning (earliest we can go). If he gets a lot worse we can take him down there as an emergency. We got a leaflet about “snuffles” when we collected him so it might be that. They get it from living in close quarters with other cats. He’s fairly energetic and seems happy enough (apart from when he’s coughing) but I’m pretty sure he’s not eating enough for a kitten. The poor thing. Hopefully the vet will sort it out.

watna

We got him in for an appointment on Wednesday because I got very worried after reading this thread and the vet seems to think it is a throat infection/scratchy throat kind of thing as he is otherwise well - so it's not cat flu. Bf said he was explaining what the coughing was like and the cat obliged by demonstrating right then. He's a good boy! She said it sounds like something is caught but she can't see anything but it is def his throat.

He's been given antibiotics and the vet reckons he hasn't been eating much because of the sore throat so we've had to by him nice gourmet wet food to keep him eating and he's loving it! The antibiotics are for a week and then he'll get another check when he gets his vaccinations. He seems to be perking up a bit already but is still coughing.

Thanks for all the advice. It's been a long time since I had a kitten (last cat died at 16).

MsFifers

Aw - the poor kitty!

Anytime I've had to give antibiotics to any of mine they usually responded really quickly, so I'm sure he'll be fine.

What do you bet he'll refuse to eat anything but your fancy wet food from now on!

The Sweeper

Good that he's on treatment and it's not a cat flu.

Watna, have you anything in your house that could be an irritant to his throat? Do you use plug-in air fresheners, incense burners, essential oil burners, have any indoor plants that have heavy pollen, have a particularly dusty house or use any carpet refresh products when you vacuum?

My biggest puss had a broken miaow for a week a few weeks ago - something acted as a throat irritant and he was hoarse and squawky for a week, and a second cat had the same symptoms after a day. I rang the vet and went through his lack of other symptoms (no temp, lethargy, weeping eyes or running nose and no lack of appetite) and she reckoned it was just an allergy or irritation. I kept an eye on food intake and they smartened up within the week. I reckon it was a combination of me having the front door open one day when there was high wind and a lot of dust and pollen came through the house - I had a day tortured with hayfever myself!

watna

MsFifers wrote: »

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What do you bet he'll refuse to eat anything but your fancy wet food from now on!

This is my worry! Last cat had to get a lot of teeth taken out towards the end of his life because he refused to eat dry food so I'm very conscious of it. This one seems a bit less stubborn though. He even lies on his back and opens his mouth for his antibiotics (I think they must taste nice!). He already rules our house though. He's got my OH (who claims to be a dog person) wrapped around his little paw already!

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

Good that he's on treatment and it's not a cat flu.

Watna, have you anything in your house that could be an irritant to his throat? Do you use plug-in air fresheners, incense burners, essential oil burners, have any indoor plants that have heavy pollen, have a particularly dusty house or use any carpet refresh products when you vacuum?

My biggest puss had a broken miaow for a week a few weeks ago - something acted as a throat irritant and he was hoarse and squawky for a week, and a second cat had the same symptoms after a day. I rang the vet and went through his lack of other symptoms (no temp, lethargy, weeping eyes or running nose and no lack of appetite) and she reckoned it was just an allergy or irritation. I kept an eye on food intake and they smartened up within the week. I reckon it was a combination of me having the front door open one day when there was high wind and a lot of dust and pollen came through the house - I had a day tortured with hayfever myself!

We can't think of anything - apart from dust because we haven't been as tidy as usual recently. Although OH did a big clean yesterday to reduce the dust to see if it helped. We've no house plants, no air fresheners etc and he's not allowed outside yet so all doors and windows are firmly shut.

He's still having coughing fits but not as much so I'm not sure if that's the antibiotics working or it's just naturally feeling better. He's eating more too. Going to get the vet to take another look when he goes back this week anyway.