My cat chokes on hairballs and struggles to breathe. What should I do?

This is very unusual that a hairball causes such bad respiratory problems. I think this is serious enough that you need to take your kitty to a vet right away for an exam as there may be other problems causing this. Apart form that you should feed Smokey cat food with hair control additive (if you are feeding dry food), or better canned food, pate style, and a hair ball remedy (it ia a type of malt paste, available at pet stores and your veterinarian), Feed the hair ball remedy every day for a while , it facilitates elimination of ingested hair. As for now, please take Smokey to a vet or emergency service.

It sounds like Slinky may have an obstruction or difficulty breathing. This can be caused by hair balls but also other conditions such as heart disease. I definitely recommend having him seen by a vet as soon as possible. Your vet can perform bloodwork and x-rays to rule out any concerning medical conditions. I hope all is well!

This definitely seems suspicious of an airway blockage. If this was the first time you've seen this, then it would be good to try and check inside his mouth to see if anything is visible. It's best to do this with two people - where one holds a flashlight and looks, while the other holds the mouth open. If you see something, then I recommend taking him to the vet to get it removed, because if you attempt to remove it at home, you have a chance of pushing it further into the throat. If he has had something like this happen before, then I would be suspicious of a nasopharyngeal polyp (a soft mass that can develop in the throat), which can cause them to choke every once in a while. This would have to be diagnosed and treated by a veterinarian. The other possibility is that he got his claw stuck in his collar. This happens sometimes when they are scratching and can cause them to panic like this. If he is getting better, then I would not worry too much right now. It wouldn't hurt to get him checked-out by a vet sometime in the next week, to make sure that this won't happen again. I hope that helps and all goes well.

I am so sorry your cats are having this issue. I would recommend Science Diet Hairball formula, daily doses of cat lax (for hairballs) or laxatone and also grooming with the furminator (https://www.chewy.com/b/grooming-432?rh=c:432,furminator&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwp_UBRD7ARIsAMie3XZdkVx70Hb8gu2MvY0srwTUNZ10qOh6_HD4sbUFYgvyY37qXt1rcVwaApngEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds). Unfortunately, this is all you can do at home. If Mila is coughing, not vomiting and non of that is working then I would be concerned about asthma. This would require a veterinarian to listen to her and see if her lungs sound asthmatic. If so then giving her an appropriate treatment. Thank you for using PetCoach.

Sometimes when he has a big hairball it can take a few days of coughing and gagging to bring it up. I suggest you get some hairball remedy paste from a pet shop and give that to your cat as directed on the tube. Some cats actually like eating it and will lick it off your finger. For those cats who do not like the remedy, the easiest way is to put it on the top of the paws and they will lick it off, trying to clean up. Hopefully this will resolve the issue. If the coughing gets worse and if your cat gets lethargic or appears ill, you will need to take him to a vet for a thorough exam.

Hello there, thanks for choosing Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Goodness! That certainly does sound like a scary experience for Persyk. Hairballs shouldn't cause this much trouble coming up, though I can't be certain why it was such an issue this time. However, based on your description of Persyk after the event, it sounds like she has some vomitus in her nasal passages. A small amount of liquid should resolve on it's own within a day or two, but if there was any solid material, it could have become trapped and would continue to cause the nasal pain, sneezing, running nose, etc. I would say that if she isn't back to normal in a day or so, she needs to be checked out by a vet. After physical examination, the vet may recommend sedation to flush the nasal passage and do a more thorough exam.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern! If feeding smaller portions and more frequent meals has not helped, this could potentially be a hairball problem. I would recommend a product such as Laxatone and give this 3-5 days of treatment to see if there is a difference. Sometimes, stress or anxiety can lead to hiccups, so using a product such as Feliway (which you can find online or at your local pet store) can sometimes help and put an end to the hiccups. If the hiccups are still there after trying these methods or they become more distressing for Jicky, I would recommend taking her in to be seen by a veterinarian for an examination so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!