It is crucial that If your cat shows signs of struggling to breathe which may show as an altered breathing pattern, increased effort to breathe, open mouth breathing or even collapse then it must be seen as an emergency at the first opportunity.

Causes

There are several reasons why your cat may be coughing. In most cases this will be a respiratory problem i.e. involving the larynx (voice box) trachea (wind pipe) or lungs (these are collectively known as the airways). The coughing is usually caused by irritation or inflammation of the lining of the airways.

In rare cases coughing can be caused by compression of one or more airways by something pressing from the outside.

Some other things might look like a cough, for instance cats may appear to cough when they wretch whilst trying to bring up a hairball, or grass, that they sometimes eat if they feel they need to clear the stomach.

We can classify coughing as acute or chronic in nature.

Acute

Acute coughs usually start quite suddenly and have been ongoing for less than 2 weeks. They are often caused by infections or the inhalation of foreign bodies. 

It is mentioned above that healthy cats quite often eat grass which they subsequently vomit back up. It is reasonably common when this happens for a piece of grass to lodge in the back of the nose/throat. When this happens cats will suddenly begin to cough and gag or sneeze, they will be less willing to eat and their voice may alter. These signs often occur when the cat has just been outside for a short while and was fine when it went out.

If these signs develop then a visit to your vet is required as sedation or an anaesthetic may be needed to confirm the presence of a foreign body in the throat and to remove it if it is confirmed.

Infections causing coughing are more common in younger cats and they may look very similar to the cat with something stuck in its throat as described above.

Some coughs caused by infections may also give the cat a high temperature (fever) and these pets will usually be much quieter than usual, less willing to play or go out and will have a reduced appetite. If this is the case it is important to see your vet at the earliest opportunity.

Chronic

A chronic cough is a cough with a duration greater than two weeks and this type of cough may develop more gradually and become more noticeable with time.

If your cat’s cough has not cleared after 2 weeks then we would consider the cough to be chronic. Chronic coughing cats may have continuous bouts of coughing or they may come and go but not fully recover. Sometimes a chronic cough may suddenly worsen and occasionally this can result in an acute life threatening incident.

The most common causes of chronic coughing in cats are chronic bronchitis or Allergic bronchitis (also known as feline asthma). Rarely cats can be affected by a lung worm but this is usually a slight cough or often symptomless. Chronic bronchitis tends to be a problem of older adult cats but asthma can develop in young adult cats. The signs can be very variable in either case as they may be complicated by infections and irritants such as dust and smoke.

Similar to humans, asthma in cats can wax and wane and therefore be better or worse at different times and under different environmental conditions. Occasionally an asthmatic cat may develop sudden breathing difficulties, much like an asthma attack in a person.You may notice the cat breathing through an open mouth with much greater effort  and the breathing pattern will be altered.

Any coughing cat should always be seen by a vet as some cases will deteriorate if left undiagnosed and untreated.

Any cough where the cat also appears unwell should be seen by a vet as soon as possible.