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My cat's been coughing for months, vets can't find why. What's wrong?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

My cat has been coughing for 3 months now and it has progressively gotten worse. It has gone from 2 times a day to 15 times a day of coughing. We took her to the vet twice and nothing was found on the X-ray, an antehestimine was recommended, she was also given hair ball medication and nothing has worked. What could be wrong with her? What should I do?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Emily, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 14th, 2017

This could indicate asthma, heartworm disease and even heart disease. Sometimes changes in the lungs can take 2-3 weeks to show up on xrays so just because the first xrays didn't show anything doesn't mean it couldn't have been an early case of lung disease. I recommend having your veterinarian recheck your cat and discuss if repeating the xrays would be helpful and/or running any routine lab tests. Do not give any human medication as it can be very toxic to cats.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Leigh, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Depending on where you live, she could have Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease. Your vet could test her for heartworms. You could also take her to an internal medicine specialist, if your vet can not find the cause of the coughing.

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