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My cat suddenly coughs while sleeping and wakes up. What's happening?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 13 years and 3 months old | 13.2 lbs

My cat has been coughing for almost a week. always during the middle of sleep, coughing wakes him up and stopped after less than one minute. and he goes back to sleep after that. he eats and plays like usual. I live in China so I want to have some professional suggestion before I take him to the vet. thank you!

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Emily Fukuzato, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 15th, 2019

Hello and thank you for reaching out about your cat. The most common causes for coughing in a cat of his age are: heart disease and bronchitis/asthma. Other, but less likely causes: infection or parasite. When a cat is coughing it is very important to get him to the vet so a doctor can listen to his heart and lungs and take an xray. This will help to determine which medication(s) would be best to treat his cough. Thank you.

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