Why is my senior cat still coughing after a year on medication?

I agree with you that a cough that lasts more than a month is longer than I would expect if she was coughing secondary to a cold or infection. I would expect that the next step would be to take x-rays of her chest to evaluate her heart and lungs. You didn't mention how old Winnie is, but we certainly see asthma in cats. I will attach a handout with more information about that below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=665 Good luck! I hope that was helpful and you can figure out what is causing Winnie's cough. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Poor guy. I would first be inclined to ask for chest radiographs to be taken to look for internal causes for the cough such as bronchitis, heart disease or primary lung disease. I am not sure what kind of medication he was placed on, but for most coughs we typically will try an antibiotic first if it seems to be infectious and then go with more diagnostics if things don’t improve. I would also ask the vet to check for any abnormal lung or heart sounds on physical exam. I hope that you can get to the bottom of Pretty boys cough soon! That is a long time to have a cough, is hopefully he can stabilize soon. Take care.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor guy! is your pet a dog or a cat? What breed and how old? It is helpful to know a bit more. If he has been on TWO antibiotics and zyrtec since May and it has returned while on these medications I would have him rechecked by your Vet. I would want a chest X-ray and consider doing different medications based on the recheck exam and X-rays. There are many reason for a cough: genetic condition where the trachea collapses, larygneal disease, allergies, heart worm disease, other parasites, allergic disease that needs steroids, cancer, heart enlargement or heart failure. I wish you the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am afraid that without diagnostics such as radiographs there is no way to tell what may be going on. This is not likely to be due to a hairball. Coughing can be a sign of many conditions such as pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Max evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Likely diagnostics to be performed include thoracic radiographs and bloodwork. Treatment would be dependent on findings. Good luck and have a good day!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Coughing can be a sign of many conditions such as pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Mylo evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Likely diagnostics to be performed include thoracic radiographs and bloodwork. Treatment would be dependent on findings. Good luck and have a good day!

If a round of antibiotics did not cure Tsuyu's cough, then it may not be caused by a bacteria. Other possible causes of cough include heart disease, lung parasites, allergies, asthma, fungal infections, pharyngeal polyp, among many other things. I would recommend discussing these concerns with her primary veterinarian. Here is an article that discusses coughing in cats in much more detail: https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/coughing/

It is possible she has asthma, heartworm disease or allergies. I am pretty sure heartworm disease is not common in Canada. You can try an anti histamine to help with the coughing. However if it progresses I would recommend trying to find a vet for chest x-rays because cats love to hide heart disease