Cat coughs: causes and consequences. Cat diseases: symptoms and treatment

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

How much joy our beloved pets bring us! Your affectionate fluffy (or smooth-haired) four-legged friend meets you from work, purrs with happiness that he has waited for his beloved owner, and in the evening tries to get on his knees and watch TV with you. Idyll…

And suddenly you notice that the cat seems to be coughing. 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. And you shouldn't do it. The fact is that cough (as a physiological act) is very similar in almost all mammals, but the causes that cause it are different in humans and animals.

Moreover, a cat's cough can be a symptom of quite serious cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, respiratory diseases, a sign of an acute infection.

What is a cough?

In cats it is a reflex, involuntary,jerky resonant exhalation. Cough comes from the cough center located in the medulla oblongata. It receives a signal along the vagus nerve from sensitive receptors. Their greatest number is in the area of the vocal cords, larynx, as well as in the 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 animal's body as a result of chemical or mechanical irritation of sensitive areas. In many diseases, it helps to more effectively evacuate pus, mucus, foreign particles from the airways, thereby contributing to the speedy recovery of the animal.

A feature of the cough zones, which are located in the bronchi and trachea, is that they almost equally respond to the stimulation provided, which comes from the side of the respiratory lumen or from the outside. Therefore, cough is considered a symptom of the disease of both the respiratory tract itself and the tissues and organs surrounding them. In this regard, there can be a lot of reasons why a cat sneezes and coughs.

Causes causing cough

Veterinarians believe that such a symptom may indicate at least a hundred diseases. Naturally, we cannot tell about all of them, but we will describe the most common ones.

Asthma

This disease must be said first of all, because cats, like people, suffer from it quite often. Tosymptoms that the pet owner should look out for include the following:

1. Cat is coughing.
2. The animal becomes short 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, seizures are rare, but over time they are repeated more and more often. The general condition of the cat is deteriorating - after a short time, he may stop responding to everything that happens around him. The disease requires immediate initiation of therapy. The causes of this disease in animals have not yet been fully identified. In some cats, allergies can provoke the disease, while others get it by inheritance, at the genetic level.

Allergy

Do not be surprised, but this disease, which affects millions of people around the world, has not bypassed our smaller brothers. Have you noticed that yard cats sometimes cough? As a rule, this is a reaction to plant pollen. Although more often in this case they sneeze. If you notice that purebred kittens react this way, immediately show the kids to the veterinarian. If the diagnosis is confirmed, your pets will be prescribed the necessary drugs.

Helminths

The cat coughs even in the presence of helminthic diseases. Usually our pets become infected with helminths that parasitize in their gastrointestinal tract. But if your pet walks on the street, then yard cats can also become the cause of the disease. If you do not carry out periodic deworming, then after a short timethere are so many parasites that they do not fit in the intestines, they move into the stomach, and from there they enter the external environment with vomit.

In this case, the immunity of the animal is weakened. And coughing with such a disease causes irritation of the receptors of the esophagus (due to vomiting).

Foreign object

Animals are very curious, and if small objects (beads, buttons, etc.) are in their accessible places, your pet can be seriously injured. Thoroughbred kittens, who are just beginning to explore the world, often sin with this. As a result of a foreign object entering the respiratory tract, 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 disease

You may have heard of the so-called "heart" cough in humans. In the same way, it can manifest itself in animals. The cause that causes it may be heart disease, in particular disorders in the functioning 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. At the same time, no wheezing is heard.

Features of cough

Unlike dogs, cats cough much less frequently. Often with one disease in dogs, it progresses, and inpurring beauties appear labored, hoarse breathing, shortness of breath. In addition, they have these symptoms to notice and even more so to recognize is quite difficult.

It's all about the cat's instinct for self-preservation - animals intuitively avoid factors that provoke coughing in various diseases: they do not play, move much less, do not show unnecessary emotions, settle in a well-ventilated place where no one and nothing bothers them.

In itself, such unusual behavior can be regarded as the beginning of some kind of disease. Have you noticed this with your pet? If possible, consult a specialist.

Types of cough

Doctors distinguish between the following types of cough:

• by duration - acute (from two days to a month) and chronic (from several months);
• by intensity (from coughing to debilitating);
• by sound - muffled or sonorous;
• by the nature of the discharge - wet with mucus or dry;
• according to the time of attack.

Watch your pet's cough patterns. Your description of the seizures will help the doctor to more accurately diagnose the causes of the disease.

Diseases of cats: symptoms and treatment

And back to bronchial asthma. A sick cat may suffer from sudden moderate to severe coughing fits. The animal is breathing heavily, it is difficult for him to pass air. Usually with this disease, the cat coughs and wheezes. Frequent sneezing is common with asthma.

The development of the disease can be affectedstress, air pollution, weather changes. Bronchial asthma in the initial stages is more often observed in young animals (up to three years old), as a rule, representatives of the Himalayan and Siamese breeds are susceptible to it. Attacks become more frequent in spring and autumn, which is typical for most allergic ailments.

This diagnosis is based on a clinical examination of the animal - laboratory tests and radiography. Treatment is long and usually consists of corticosteroids and bronchodilators given by injection or tablet.

Viral rhinotracheitis

This is an infectious disease that causes convulsive and frequent bouts of coughing. For him, the age of the cat does not matter. In severe illness, the animal sneezes and coughs. His eyes tear up. The disease may be accompanied by a runny nose and diarrhea. All these symptoms are similar to the clinical picture of the human flu. But this does not mean that the cat has caught a cold. In this case, the treatment is difficult and takes a lot of time. Therefore, timely vaccination is necessary as a preventive measure.

Cough after receiving "combat" wounds

If you have not yet an old cat who likes to sort things out with his fellows, then all of a sudden he may start to cough. This can occur due to direct damage to the trachea from a bite received during a fight with an opponent. Such injuries provoke not only coughing: the animal often sneezes and even refuses to eat, because the passagefood hurts.

In this case, help is to treat the injury in order to prevent the wound from festering.

Cough from worms

Worms often cause a cat to cough. Animals of any age are susceptible to this disease - both an adult individual and only born thoroughbred kittens. Moreover, pets that never leave their homes and do not come into contact with other animals can also pick it up: you can easily bring parasites from the street (on shoes, for example). With this disease, a sick cat coughs, stretching his neck. Often an attack is accompanied by vomiting.

Cough in this case is short, moderate. Similar symptoms can appear in animals with infectious diseases of the lungs and bronchi, as well as toxoplasmosis. Therefore, an accurate diagnosis based on the results of analyzes that are aimed at detecting eggs of parasites is necessary. Treatment in this case is reduced to the usual procedures for deworming.

Heart disease

The intensity of the cough in case of problems with the heart valve increases gradually, it is usually deaf (uterine), and does not contain any secretions. Usually this disease affects animals in old age. It seems that the old cat seems to have choked on something and is trying to get rid of the foreign body. You can make sure that this is a heart pathology by observing your pet for several days. If the cough is absolutely the same in nature, besides, its intensity and frequency are increasing, then a visit to the veterinarythe 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 decrease in appetite, and even the temperature of the cat has increased, it is urgent to take him to a specialist.

Before visiting the clinic, provide the animal with fresh air and complete rest. In some cases, it helps to alleviate the condition of humidifying the air in the room. Before establishing the causes of the disease, do not give any medications - you will only blur the real picture of the disease and make it difficult to diagnose, which can cause irreparable harm to your pet.

The doctor will collect an anamnesis and, on its basis, recreate a complete picture of the onset and development of the disease, after asking you about the conditions of keeping and feeding the animal. This is usually followed by an examination of the upper respiratory tract, listening to the trachea, lungs and bronchi. Often in such a situation, an x-ray is taken and a blood test is taken. If specific pathologies are suspected, X-ray contrast examination of the esophagus, laryngo-, tracheo-, broncho- and esophagoscopy will be required. In addition, a study will be carried out for the presence of viral blood infections, a bronchial biopsy is possible.

This process can be long and rather laborious. For this reason, before the underlying cause of the cough is identified, the doctor will prescribe symptomatic, supportive treatment to alleviate the condition of the four-legged patient.

Antitussives

To stop a cough and / or change its character (remove dry and induce wet), there are many drugs. Conventionally, they are divided into two groups. The first includes drugs 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, an illusion of recovery may be created, but in fact the disease will progress. In addition, antitussive drugs are potent, and if used incorrectly, they can harm the animal.

The second group is expectorants. They do not stop the cough, but greatly facilitate the dry one, increasing the amount of mucus secreted and thinning it. Together with it, pathogens are excreted from the body. These drugs are used to treat infectious coughs.

In pharmacies for people, a lot of combined medicines are sold - both expectorants and antitussives. However, not all of them are suitable for your pet. Moreover, some products are strictly contraindicated for animals.

If you are sure that your cat is coughing and sneezing because he has a cold and you do not have the opportunity to visit the veterinarian, you can buy at the pharmacy"Amoxiclav" 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 smallest dosage and pour the powder with water. Give this drug to the animal three times a day, 2.5 ml. The course of treatment is no more than seven days.

And a few more tips

Before starting treatment, it is necessary to accurately identify the cause of the disease. Do not forget that coughing in many cases is a protective reaction of the animal's body, it can be beneficial by accelerating recovery. In other words, it is often not required to fight it until complete victory with the help of antitussives. An exception can only be a dry, debilitating cough, which causes anxiety in the animal and deterioration in the general condition. In this case, you need to consult a specialist.

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 the hunt, the wild ancestors of our beloved pets quite 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) in cats are much less common than in humans and dogs. They can develop only against the background of a strong weakening of the immune system. Therefore, the generally accepted concept of "cold" for cats is uncharacteristic, although, of course, there are exceptions.

Summarize

If you want your pet to be he althy (and this is what almost all pet owners want), 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 humans. Carry out all the necessary vaccinations and regularly cleanse the body of the animal from helminths. Only in this case your affectionate pet will be he althy and you will be happy.