Cat coughing: hairball, retching or a cough, and when to worry

Cat coughing is less common than most owners expect, and it’s easy to confuse with bringing up a hairball. The difference matters, because a real cough usually means something is irritating the airways or lungs. If you’re not sure how fast to act, our should I go to the vet check can help you decide.

Is it a hairball or cough? How to tell them apart

Many owners hear their cat hacking and wait for a hairball that never arrives. VCA Animal Hospitals notes that coughing in cats is often confused with bringing up a hairball, but no hairball is produced. A bad coughing fit can end with a gag or retch, and a little foam or stomach fluid may come up, which adds to the confusion.

Here is how the three usually look:

Cornell Feline Health Center describes a hairball as a damp, tube-shaped wad of hair, usually about an inch long and the same color as your cat’s fur. A cat bringing one up every week or two is not unusual. Repeated retching that produces nothing is different, and Cornell advises seeing a vet, since it may be a breathing problem such as asthma rather than hair.

Hairballs aren’t always harmless either. Long-haired breeds such as Persians and Maine Coons get them more often, and they’re more common in shedding season. Cornell warns that a hairball can pass into the intestine and cause a blockage that can be life-threatening. See a vet without delay if your cat is also lethargic and refuses food for more than a day or so.

The best thing you can do is film the next episode on your phone. International Cat Care recommends this, because a short video shows your vet at once whether your cat is truly coughing. If vomiting is the issue, see our guide to cat vomiting.

What does cat wheezing mean?

A wheeze is a whistling or squeaky sound as your cat breathes, usually heard when breathing out. It means air is being pushed through narrowed airways. Cat wheezing together with coughing is a classic sign of asthma or chronic bronchitis, where the small airways in the lungs are inflamed and tighten up.

Cornell lists wheezing, coughing or hacking, fast breathing and open-mouth breathing among the signs of feline asthma. VCA notes some cats wheeze loudly enough to hear when you’re close by.

Snuffly or snorty breathing with sneezing and a runny nose usually comes from the nose instead. That points more toward a cold or a cat upper respiratory infection. Learn more about the airway side in our guide to cat asthma.

Why is my cat coughing?

In cats, a cough usually means inflammation somewhere in the lower airways. A vet needs to examine your cat to know the cause, but these are the common ones.

Heartworm spreads through mosquito bites. Most infections in cats never reach the adult worm stage. Instead, dying young worms inflame the lungs, which VCA calls heartworm-associated respiratory disease. The most common signs are a sudden cough and rapid breathing. Indoor cats are not safe from it.

Lungworm is usually passed on when a cat eats a bird or rodent that has eaten an infected slug or snail, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual. Signs range from a mild cough to severe breathing trouble.

One thing surprises many owners: VCA notes that coughing is not commonly linked to heart disease in cats. An early sign of heart failure is more often a fast breathing rate at rest. If that’s what you see, read our guide to a cat breathing fast.

When is cat coughing an emergency?

Some coughs can wait a few days. Others can’t wait at all. VCA advises that a cat in an asthma attack will usually breathe with an open mouth and may have a bluish or gray tongue or gums, and that this is a medical emergency.

Go now, or to an emergency vet if your clinic is closed, if your cat:

• Breathes with an open mouth, or the belly pushes hard with each breath
• Has blue, gray or very pale gums
• Is coughing and also weak, hiding or not eating

Book a vet visit if the cough:

• Lasts more than a few days
• Keeps coming back, or seems to be getting worse
• Brings up mucus
• Comes with weight loss, sneezing or low energy

An occasional cough in a cat that’s eating, playing and breathing easily isn’t usually urgent. VCA notes that some cats cough now and then without any problem.

Counting your cat’s breathing rate helps you and your vet. A healthy cat resting or asleep takes about 15 to 30 breaths per minute, according to VCA. A resting rate that stays above 30 is abnormal. Our cat breathing rate counter makes this easy.

What will the vet do for a coughing cat?

Your vet will ask when the cough started, how often it happens and whether anything changed at home. Then they’ll listen to your cat’s chest. Depending on what they find, tests may include:

• Chest X-rays to look at the lungs and airways
• Blood tests, including a heartworm test
• A stool test for lungworm
• An airway wash, where fluid is gently flushed into the airways and collected to look for cells and germs
• A camera look into the airways (bronchoscopy), usually under anesthesia
• A heart ultrasound in some cats

Treatment depends on the cause. Infections may need antibiotics, often for a couple of weeks or longer, and VCA stresses finishing the full course. Asthma is usually managed with anti-inflammatory medicine, sometimes given by inhaler. Your vet will choose the medicine and set the dose. For typical fees, see what a cat vet visit costs.

How can I help a coughing cat at home?

These steps help while you wait for a vet visit, or alongside treatment. They don’t replace a visit if your cat has any sign from the red box.

• Film the cough. A 20-second video tells your vet more than any description.
• Count resting breaths. Check once or twice a day while your cat sleeps and write the numbers down.
• Cut airway irritants. VCA lists common asthma triggers: cigarette smoke, perfume, hairspray, air fresheners, scented laundry products, carpet cleaners, dusty cat litter and essential oil diffusers.
• Brush your cat. Regular brushing means less swallowed hair and fewer hairballs, which Cornell recommends, especially for long-haired cats.
• Keep other cats apart. Until your vet rules out infection, give the coughing cat separate bowls and a separate space.

Don’t reach for a human cough syrup or cold remedy. Many cold and flu products contain acetaminophen (paracetamol), which is toxic to cats. And a cough that brings up mucus is helping to clear the airways, so your vet will decide whether a cough suppressant makes sense at all. See our guide to human medications and cats for why. For other signs and what they mean, browse our cat symptoms guides.

Written by the CatsMed Team from the sources above. This guide isn’t reviewed by a veterinarian and isn’t a substitute for one. See how we research.