Sorry if this is repeating, I've had a browse through some of the older posts and didn't find this particular topic - feel free to direct me if you have seen it!
Merlin drinks and drinks and drinks from the bathtub, then he hops out and starts coughing/gagging/hacking while crouching down with his head almost touching the ground. It kinda sounds like a hairball (Lancelot is the only one who seems to produce these), but nothing comes out. He usually swallows when he's done and then continues playing/eating/doing kitty things as normal.
Is he choking on the water? Could there be a hairball that's getting stuck? He doesn't do it every day, maybe once a week but when he does we can hear the gagging all through the house! If there's something we could do to help the little guy, suggestions welcome!
It may be soap, which is not a good idea.
Hi Jan, as both kitties love the bathtub so much we haven't ever used it as a bath! (we moved in about 6 mnths ago). I do clean it from time to time - they leave dirty pawprints all over it - always making sure to wash away any residue, and not letting them drink from it until the next day. Only Merlin seems to do this too, and I have not noticed it happening right after a clean... it appears random. I've heard elevating the drinking water can help, although it would be hard elevating the bath!
Winston does that sometimes-- it seems that sometimes he got water up his nose! One thing that helped was switching to water bowls slightly off of the floor (I got one of those food/water bowl frames that suspend the bowls a few inches off of the floor). After that, it stopped almost completely.
Are you sure he only does it right after drinking?
Solo used to do this hack/cough thing and would also swallow at the end. I thought it was a hairball but nothing ever came up. What I found that triggered his coughing was a sneeze. Some times after a sneeze he would start to cough. I asked my vet about it and took a video, and they said it looked like asthma. They x-rayed his lungs and confirmed he has asthma.
Just to be on the safe side, I would talk to your vet about the possibility. It could just be he got water up his nose, or drinking could be one of his triggers that irritates his throat and gets him started on a coughing fit.
Here's my video for reference so you can compare the coughing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JLMqTx1Z84
Aww poor Solo! How does a cat get asthma? How is he doing now? From your vid, it doesn't look exactly like Merlin's cough... but its a good idea, next time it happens I'll try to catch it on video. Thanks
We think Solo's asthma is allergy related. Since it has been colder out he hasn't coughed at all and is not taking any meds for it..so we think it might start up again as it gets warmer. Cats get asthma just like people do I guess, hereditary or environmental influences and sensitivity.
Honestly, what you're describing sounds *exactly* like what Winston does. The vet explained it as either water going up his nose or what we humans experience when we take a drink of something and it goes down the wrong tube, and the new water dishes have helped him to avoid that now except for when he drinks from my (dripping) bathtub faucet. It's probably a good idea to ask your vet, but I also wouldn't stress too much about it (of course, keep an eye on it in case it becomes worse or more frequent or starts happening under other circumstances as well).
Hi Sarah, that DOES sound like whats happening to poor Merlin! Its so hard to keep them away from dripping taps too
They have their own water "fountain" but hardly use it, figures... hehe.
My Max used to do that often only after drinking water. I think it was water up his nose. As he grew it became less and less and now It doesn't happen at all.
Catherine