Lynne, licking lips is indicative of upset stomach. Snorting is a new one. It really could just be a hairball...breathe and make notes!
I know that I can easily go to a fear place. Frankie (blind, asthmatic and previously had pancreatitis) has been calling out in the night the past few nights. He sounds distressed and I don't believe I had ever heard his voice before. He's been with me for 10 years. This is totally new. So, is it a thyroid problem...or is he wanting the Drinkwell which is downstairs or is he maybe hungry. I'll keep notes and try the easy fixes first...but boy I know that I can go to the worse case quickly. Not good for me or him! L ----- Original Message ----- From: Lynne To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2008 12:45 PM Subject: Re: coughing Thank Lance and Laurie for your advice. I definitely am going to start keeping a journal so when I do see the vet again I will have it all written down. To me it sounded like a fur ball cough, nothing came out though, but I also notice him licking his lips a lot and when he eats, he snorts. Oh I don't know. This is just all so foreign to me. Like I've mentioned, I've never had serious problems with cats. They just get really old, develop a kidney issue and have to be put down. This guy is a whole different story. If nothing else I certainly can appreciate that I was very fortunate to have one kid that grew up with no health issues. Some people have children with serious health issues and it must be so very difficult for them with the worry of losing them. Lynne ----- Original Message ----- From: Lance To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2008 1:32 PM Subject: Re: coughing I'd just watch him closely for the next few days to see if the cough changes in any way. If it's going away, or seems to happen less, then it might not be anything to worry about. Ember did this weird panting thing several weeks ago, and it hasn't happened since. She may have had a reaction to a high dose of Flagyl. If BooBoo actually does hack up fur, then it's highly unlikely to be something abnormal. Cats are prone to that, as you know. One thing I've done, though not as regularly as I should have, is to keep a text file on my computer of dates and any unusual health occurrences for Ember. I used it to track a diarrhea problem over a year ago, and I still have the file, in case I need to refer to it. Lance On Feb 10, 2008, at 12:25 PM, Lynne wrote: Hi all. I've noticed that BooBoo gets these coughing spells. I described it to the vet and he says it sounds like fur balls. He does use his litter box so I don't think there is an obstruction or anything like that, but I'm not convinced this is the problem. I'll get some of that fur ball stuff in a tube for him today, but could this be something else? I have no idea if this was a problem before we got them because the previous owners will not offer up any more information on him to me. I do know that the previous owners smoked in their home and that certainly could not have been good for him. Is this a typical problem for a Felv cat ? If so, should I be getting him back to the vet for some kind of medication? Thanks Lynne
