Saturday 5 November 2011

Mum needs some Advice

Puss' Mum here.  The BFGC has been a bit poorly, and I'd appreciate some advice.

The BFGC started coughing nearly 3 weeks ago.  It's a sneezy chesty cough, which sounds different from the sound you get when a cat is being sick, which is more stomachy - if you know what I mean.  He's never been a cat to cough up fur balls, which is surprising considering the amount of time he spends licking himself! This will come on for no apparent reason - one minute he will be asleep, and the next he will be coughing.  I have filmed him doing it (that really made me feel bad!) mainly so I had something to show the Vet.

So, of course, we took him to the Vet.  The first time (without the video), the Boy-Vet had a good prod and poke, but said he was inclined to leave things to see if it settled by itself.  It didn't, so a week or so later we went back.

This time we took the video and showed it to the Lady-Vet.  She said his chest, etc, sounded clear, but managed to get him to cough whilst he was there when she was feeling his neck.   She thought that he might have a bit of grass or something similar stuck behind his soft palate - this is quite common, apparently.

So, the following day, he went back to the Vets and was sedated.  They had a good look at his throat and up his nose, and took x-rays of his chest.  Everything looks fine - the x-rays were clear, apart from the fact they thought there was a bit more mucus in his nasal passages than they would have expected, although this wasn't discoloured in any way.

The BFGC has come home with some antibiotics, although the only way we can get him to take them is by crushing them into powder and coating prawns with it. He has been taking these since Wednesday, but is still coughing and there doesn't seem to have been any real improvement as yet, although maybe it is still a bit early.

He has to go back again on Tuesday, but obviously we're worried about him, and the coughing is quite distressing. In himself, he seems fine.  He's eating normally, the business end at the back is fine, and he's doing all the things he would do normally.  He sleeps a lot but no more than he usually does.  He hasn't lost any weight at all.

The Vet mentioned heart worm, but we don't think that's it.  There isn't heart worm in the UK due to the weather, and although he has been abroad, that was nearly 3 years ago and we feel sure we would have seen some other symptoms before now.

Our current feeling is maybe asthma, but we would appreciate some advice from the Kitty Blogosphere.   Video follows:

Thanks muchly in advance.

BFGC's Mum (and Dad!)

8 comments:

  1. Awwwww poor BFGC!! I am so sorry to read and hear him coughing like so! It does look as if he is trying to expel something rather than sneezing, i.e it doesn't sound like it's a cold/virus sneeze. But could it be an allergic reaction to things around him (air freshner for eg?)? And it's defintely not grass or seeds or anything he's ingested? Oh dear! Sorry -not much help but to me watching the clip - he's wanting to retch something out, or maybe he's throat is sore now from all the coughing and it's like the more you cough the more sore your throat hurts so you cough some more!

    I have everything cross that the meds work. I can only imagine how distressing this all is for you all to hear him like so, poor BFGC! Me and Charlie are sending lots of purrs and hugs! Take care
    x

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  2. The Tower Hill Mob5 November 2011 at 14:41

    Oh, poor babay! We also think it sounds as though something's stuck. Our best advice is to watch to make sure he's doing everything normally-eating, drinking, using the box, etc. If all that's OK, we would just monitor the situation and try not to worry too much.
    Also, if my Mum and Dad were getting me to take my meds by covering them with prawns, I would develop the most amazing symptoms... just sayin'.
    Toby and Cupcake are sending their best wishes and purrs!
    Toby, Cupcake and Mum Kate

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  3. It really looks like he's trying to get rid of a hairball to me. Have you tried giving him some laxatone or petromalt to help "ease" things through? Poor guy, I hope he upchucks/moves it through soon, and as long as he's eating/pooping/peeing OK I'd just watch him for a bit longer. Purrs and hugs!

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  4. Smidgen will cough similarly - and also everything else about her is fine. Hers seemed to me like an asthma attack; it's kind of like coughing and wheezing. I would wonder too if there was something in the air Puss could be allergic to? I hope the antibiotics will help with more time. We'll all keep Puss in our purrs.

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  5. Clementines coughs and wheezes every so often! My vet seemed to think it was asthma!! She has only had a couple of instances and they don't happen very often!
    Your TX furiends,

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  6. Oh poor Puss! I had a cat that would have hairballs and he sounded just like that before he would cough one up. I agree with the Lounge Kats' mom...maybe try giving him some laxatone or petromalt to help move things through. The fact that he's acting normal otherwise is positive. I sure hope the problem resolves.

    Island Cats' mom

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  7. Poor BFGC! We hope you will feel better soon. Last year, Tanner and his brothers all came down with colds, and Tanner had a bad cough with his. Our first thought was maybe his heart condition, but the vet said no, just an irritated throat. She had some fancy name, but I can't remember it now. :) Anyway, here is the video of Tanner...his cough seems a bit wetter than BFGC's.

    http://fourcrazycats.blogspot.com/2010/09/wordy-wednesday-health-update-and-video.html

    Best of luck...sending purrs your way.

    ~Four Crazy Cats

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