Coughing is a reflex that occurs in response to irritation of cough receptors. According to physiologists, in humans these receptors are found in the trachea, bronchi, larynx and, with less density and sensitivity, these receptors are present in the pharyngeal mucosa, pleura, mediastinum and wall of the esophagus.
Cough in cats natural remedies
The above definition is fully applicable to dogs, but not to cats. With pleurisy, peritonitis and even chest injuries, cats, as a rule, do not cough. Cats with these conditions develop shortness of breath, insufficient external breathing, but there is no cough. A well-known sign of heart failure is coughing – “cardiac asthma”, but here cats are different, in these animals heart failure is almost never accompanied by coughing. And even cardiogenic pulmonary edema in acute heart failure and decompensation is not accompanied by coughing and manifests itself with severe shortness of breath.
Types of cough in cats
The different types of coughing in cats are determined by the manifestation and duration. There are many different classifications in the literature, and all of these classifications have similarities and differences. By combining this data and taking into account our clinical experience, we have obtained the following characteristics.
- Type
- Unproductive or dry cough – cough without obvious release of sputum or foreign bodies from the respiratory tract.
- Productive cough – in which something is coughed up. Observing the cat after coughing, it is evident that the cat swallows something. It is extremely rare for cats to produce sputum from their mouths when they cough. A false definition of productive cough may be due to the accumulation of saliva during prolonged paroxysmal cough.
- By duration
- Acute – a fast-onset, usually progressive cough that lasts less than 1 week
- CHRONIC.
– According to the dynamics of chronic cough, it is divided into 3 categories:
Stable, – the severity and frequency of cough manifestation have no obvious dynamics;
– Progressive, – a gradual increase in coughing or an increase in the frequency of coughing fits;
– Recurrent: during the course of the disease, there are periods of partial or complete cessation of coughing.
Cough in cats establish the diagnosis
- Foreign bodies in the trachea and larynx – coughing is always sharp, sudden, constant, often suffocating, always associated with shortness of breath.
- Foreign bodies in the pharynx and esophagus – regular, acute cough, usually uncomplicated, sometimes paroxysmal. Always associated with impaired swallowing, salivation, desire to vomit.
- Infectious feline rhinotracheitis – cough, usually acute, often dry (wet cough in these cases is more like a sneeze), rare or regular, without complications. Accompanied by a decrease in appetite, moderate lethargy.
- Bacterial bronchitis and bronchopneumonia – an acute cough, dry at first, then, when the catarrhal exudate accumulates, moist. The severity of the cough can be rare to paroxysmal, often simple. The presence of other signs of the disease is characteristic: hyperthermia (in severe conditions the opposite effect – hypothermia – can be observed), depression, anorexia, shortness of breath (always mixed), characteristic wheezing (during auscultation). In blood tests, pronounced neutrophilia, leukocytosis, increased ESR.
Pulmonary fibrosis in cats – develops after the animal has been ill with chronic bronchitis. The cough is chronic, always dry, infrequent or regular, the breath is wheezing.
On X-ray, an increase in radiopacity of the walls of the trachea and bronchi can be observed, up to calcification of individual cartilage and a decrease in lung airiness. This disease is not rather a disease, but is the result of inadequate treatment for asthma or chronic bronchitis.
Lymphadenopathy, lymphomas – accompanied by coughing when mediastinal lymph nodes are affected, exerting mechanical pressure on the trachea. Cough is chronic, progressive, regular.
Other neoplasms – in the chest and trachea, neoplasms are most often metastatic, but there can also be primary ones (adenomatous lung cancer, bronchial cartilage chondrosarcoma).
Allergic cough or cat asthma is a chronic recurrent cough. During periods of rest, coughing is rare, often dry, periodically becomes regular, paroxysmal, suffocating. Inspiratory dyspnea and choking attacks often occur at the same time as or before coughing attacks.
In the blood during periods of exacerbation, eosinophilia is often pronounced (up to 40% of eosinophils) and with prolonged illness.
Chronic bronchitis in cats: The clinical manifestation is similar to asthma, but the signs of choking are less pronounced.
Fungal bronchopneumonia (aspergillosis) manifests itself in a similar way to chronic bronchitis, but with more pronounced signs of general intoxication.
Chronic obstructive bronchitis is accompanied by proliferation of the epithelium and the onset of fibrosis of the bronchial wall and trachea. At the same time, the cough begins to decrease, but the shortness of breath increases.
Parasitic Lung Diseases – Pulmonary Strongylosis
- Aelurostrongylus abstrusus.
- Capillaria aerophila.
- Oslerus rostratus.
- Troglostrongylus spp.
Special methods for diagnosing respiratory diseases in cats include:
laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy, cytological examination of sputum, histological examination of tracheal mucosal biopsy specimen, cytological and histological examination of biopsy specimens of neoplasms detected in the respiratory tract or in the vicinity of them.
The most common diagnoses for cough disorders in cats are:
asthma, infectious rhinotracheitis (mainly kittens under one year of age), non-specific bacterial tracheobronchitis.
Cough in cats natural remedies
Below are some natural remedies for the treatment of cough in cats
- Alcohol-free Ribes Nigrum if the cough is of allergic origin
- Natural antibiotic colloidal silver helps relieve tonsillitis from foreign body or sore throat
- Echinacea anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antibacterial properties
- Propolis is an excellent natural antibiotic due to its antibacterial properties. Alcohol-free propolis-based food supplement in drops, has a balsamic effect and helps heal respiratory tract diseases, in particular sore throats and coughs.
Cough in the cat homeopathic remedies
In homeopathy we can resort to the following cough remedies:
Arsenicum Album, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla, Sulphur, Lycopodium and Silicea
