Ragdoll Cat Forums

For 2 or 3 weeks now Solo has been hacking to the point where I am worried, say at least once per day, sometimes he will do it 3 or 4 times in a day, but at minimum I hear him do it every day. I have heard my parents cats hack before and they sometimes cough up the hairballs too. My first thought was that it must be hairball related, so a few weeks ago I got some hairball medicine.

For about 5 - 7 days or so I was giving him one inch of the paste every day, but had not noticed any difference in the hacking. Now I am giving it twice a day and have been for about 3 days or so and he still seems to do it every day.

Am I too impatient on awaiting improvement here? He has never coughed anything up before, and being a kitten I don't see him groom himself excessively. I am becoming suspicious that it may not be a hairball kind of hack. Sometimes it seems that his hacking is triggered when he sneezes. Now his eyes and nose are clear, nothing is running, and he was fine at his last vet check a month ago, so I am not sure if this means he is sick either.

When I am able to, I'd like to take a video of it and post it somewhere to see if anyone could tell me if what he is doing is a classic hairball hack up or something.

One thing that I am worried about....in the first week or so we had Solo he would always try to go into the fridge or freezer when it was open. One time my bf was closing the freezer door and Solo had his head in there. I heard an awful squeak and we rescued him out of there, and believe me he hasn't tried to go back in there since. My worry is that this event might have possibly caused damage to his throat? Would that cause the hacking? He doesn't have a hard time breathing or anything... and I do seem to remember him doing the hacking before the event, just not as often as he does it now.

My only advice is to take Solo to a vet ASAP and have him checked out, since it's been going on for so long.

I doubt the refrigerator event is related, but a vet visit is appropriate to make sure there is not something that needs medical attention.

I would take him for a vet visit. Another reason besides hairball that causes "hacking" is asthma. I'm not trying to be an alarmist, but it is something to consider -- and it IS treatable. I have a friend with a cat that has asthma. If you go on youtube and search for asthma and cat, there are videos of cats having asthma attacks. It's definitely worth a trip to the vet to check out any possible cause. If you get it on video, then you can also take it and show the vet to help him make some determinations.

I agree with everyone - please take Solo to the vet as soon as possible. I hope whatever is troubling him is easily treated, but my guess is that it's not a hairball. It could be something stuck in his throat or as Teresa notes, asthma.

I think I was a little overly protective. Of course right after I posted my concerns on here his symptoms seemed to have disappeared. I maybe have heard him hack 2 or 3 times total this whole week, so it is improving. I am guessing the hairball medicine is finally kicking in. If symptoms get worse, definitely vet check. I did look at some asthma videos and he does not look or sound like any of those cats. I never got any of his episodes on tape though, he seems to do it when I am not ready and by the time I get my camera out he is done.

Well that's great news!! Join the club of being over protective. Do you know how many times I've hauled a cat to the vet for nothing more than a hairball? I get the eye roll from the vet and the question if I've been giving the catlax. It's good to hear that it was nothing like an asthma video either!! Could just be an allergy to some seasonal something that is passing also.

That's good news about Solo. Don't worry about being overprotective. Even though the vet might give you the eye-roll (like Teresa gets - lol), it's better to be safe than sorry. You can also call the vet's office and get their opinion over the phone. I find my vets are very good about that.

By the way, he is 7lbs now and about a week away from turning 5mo old. To me he looks like a lil fatty boy. Does 7lbs for a 5mo old sound like a good weight? This is my first ragdoll and I know they are big cats, I just worry about him being overweight.

That sounds an ok weight to me. THey'll flunctuate -- put on weight then have a growth spurt where they look skinny again. I"m sure he's Purrrrfect!