Our new cat (as of Feb. 23) coughs about 4 times/day

[Kolesar]

She's 18 months old, about 4 pounds, and was spayed on 2/20. Her name is Chloe! She has had a huge number of inoculations all in the last two weeks. We think she had kittens, then they fixed her and then they put her up for adoption. We visited her Saturday and then took her home. There was no note of coughing in her medical report.

She's a little timid but she's really happy here. She has the energy to run for cover when startled, but she usually just sleeps.

She will cough several times and she turns her head like she has a throat irritation or a hairball (?). We plan to get a vet appointment next Saturday, which is the soonest day to get her stitches out and our day off from work. We put a dab of vaseline on her paw because we heard that is a treatment for a hairball. (I'm worried because my father's cat choked on a hairball.) What do you advise?

[meow2u3]

1. You might want to check for allergens in the home

Your cat might be allergic either to something in your house or the meds the vet gave her.

[Kolesar]

2. thanks

Allergies and asthma was on one list I googled up. My girlfriend knows a lot about pets, but Chloe is the first new pet we got. I need a book. I am going to bed soon.

[IndyOp]

3. I like Laxatone for hairballs, but be sure to ask the vet about upper-respiratory

infections - one of my cats had chlamydia that caused a lot of sneezing. Kittens can get the the sexually transmitted disease in their eyes during their trip down the birth canal and wind up with upper-respiratory problems. The treatment was eye drops - several types, multiple times per day, for many weeks. Once it was past, it was past.

My female cat slept for 3-4 days after her spay surgery, so maybe that is part of what is happening with her.

If you can get into the vet any sooner, I'd suggest that you try that. My vet has a drop off option - drop off on the way to work and pick up on the way back home - and they open as early as 7:30 and close around 6:00 p.m.

Good luck!

[Kolesar]

4. Both of "us" had head colds last week, maybe that's it ?

I don't recall if the vet had evening hours.

[IndyOp]

5. I don't think people and cats share many viruses -

Toxiplasmosis being an exception.

The sooner you make it to the vet and get everything checked out the better off kitty, you, and your wallet will all be -- it might be nothing, but if it is something then waiting a week could make it worse for everyone involved.

[AZBlue]

6. Four pounds! What a tiny baby!!

She might be younger than that if she's not underweight - I've noticed that shelters often add a few months to the stated age, though I'm not sure why. That's happened to us with both cats and dogs.

As to the cough - I don't know if that could be a reaction to the shots or not. Make sure she doesn't start coughing more or appear to have nasal congestion - could be an upper respiratory virus, they are common in any shelter (the virus is so contagious, it's hard to control with that many cats in one place). If she does appear to show those symptoms, I would take her in sooner than Saturday for some meds.

Vaseline is good but there are some great hairball formulas that you can buy at any pet store - some are flavored especially to get cats to "eat" them more easily.

Keep us posted - and post a picture when you can! She sounds very sweet!!

[Kolesar]

7. Lungs are clear and the vet gave her an antibiotic

There's "all kinds of communicable diseases" at the shelter and she apparently got one. If it's bacterial, the antibiotic will work on it, if it's viral, her immune system should deal with it. I think that's what the vet said.

And she's 6 1/2 pounds, not four. Whereever she is hiding right now. Thanks everybody!

[AZBlue]

8. Glad her lungs are clear!

That's a good sign.

She'll come out from under the bed (or whereever she is) soon - my Sally lived under the bed for the first 3 weeks I had her. Then she became a shadow and never left my side.

Congrats on your new family addition!

[Kolesar]

9. Nine months later, Chloe is having "little" fits of dry sneezing again

The only contact she has had with other cats was when sister's slow cat stayed here for a week last month. That cat has no sneezing.

We did some amount of dusting on the day before Thanksgiving that may have got up her nose. She likes to visit every cavity in the house where it is dusty. December is *way* past tree pollen season. As for mold--the house is not especially moldy, especially since we remodeled the basement (new slab). The air is very dry now--my nasal passages are not good, either. I am usually cold in that house, too.

I read a web page this morning that said cats may get a latent "herpes" virus that causes periods of sneezing that end eventually. I also read about dental problems as a cause, too. Those sites were pretty brief and I did not get a strong feeling that they were related.

At least she has no coughing.

The little black devil went from 6.5 to 7 pounds in the first three weeks, and I think she is heavier yet. She certainly has her "energy level" right now. She's a sweet thing.