Many adverse health conditions can cause pets to cough. Only your veterinarian can determine whether your pet’s cough is serious, and requires immediate treatment to ensure they can breathe properly. Read our Creature Comforts Veterinary Service team’s seven most common causes for coughing in pets.

#1: Heart disease in pets

Heart disease commonly causes coughing, particularly in older dogs. As the heart valves or heart muscle fails to function properly, the heart can no longer pump blood efficiently, which can then lead to an enlarged heart. The heart’s enlarged portions can compress airways within the lungs, causing a cough. Fluid backup in the lungs can also lead to soft, continuous coughing. If your pet has developed a cough, a thorough evaluation is in order to determine whether they have heart disease.

#2: Kennel cough in dogs

Kennel cough, which is caused by several infectious agents, is another common cause of coughing in dogs, because it leads to tracheobronchitis (i.e., windpipe and airway inflammation). When you ensure your dog’s vaccinations are current, you help prevent them from contracting kennel cough. Young dogs and those in a group setting more commonly develop highly contagious kennel cough, which can quickly sweep through boarding and day care facilities, dog parks, and animal shelters. 

Dogs who have kennel cough generally have a hacking, dry cough that occurs when pressure is put on their trachea. If your dog coughs after pulling on their leash, they may have kennel cough. 

Kennel cough often resolves on its own, but some dogs may need antibiotics to prevent secondary infections such as pneumonia. Cough suppressants can also help keep your dog comfortable until their infection has run its course.

#3: Respiratory infections in cats

While dogs commonly develop kennel cough, cats can develop viral respiratory infections, such as feline herpesvirus and calicivirus. Oftentimes, young kittens—particularly stray kittens—have highly contagious respiratory infections that can worsen in a shelter environment. Once infected, a cat can experience flare-ups when stressed or suffering from other illnesses. You can protect your cat from upper respiratory infections by ensuring they are vaccinated against these pathogens. A cat with a respiratory infection may cough, sneeze, have reddened eyes, and produce nasal and ocular discharge.

#4: Tracheal collapse in dogs

The cartilaginous tracheal rings weaken in a dog who has tracheal collapse, and their trachea essentially sucks in as they breathe. Although this condition seems terrifying, your veterinarian can successfully manage your dog’s tracheal collapse. Toy and small-breed dogs most commonly experience tracheal collapse, but obese dogs often have worse signs. If your dog with tracheal collapse becomes hot or overexcited, their coughing can worsen. In addition, the condition can increase a cough’s severity in dogs who have allergies. The cough associated with tracheal collapse is generally dry, hacking, and spasmodic, and the afflicted dog has trouble calming down. 

Helping your pet lose weight is usually the first action your veterinarian will recommend to manage your dog’s collapsing trachea. In addition, your veterinarian will likely prescribe medications such as cough suppressants, bronchodilators, and steroids.

#5: Heartworm disease in pets

Heartworm disease is a preventable condition that causes dogs to have a mild, persistent cough that worsens as the disease progresses. Transmitted via mosquito bite, heartworms settle in the major blood vessels surrounding your dog’s heart and lungs. Heartworms mature slowly, and an infection can take substantial time to cause your dog obvious signs. The first signs are a mild cough and low energy, but as the heartworm load increases and causes more damage to the cardiovascular system, your dog may develop congestive heart failure, which can cause fluid buildup and a swollen abdomen, along with a much worse cough. Dogs’ heartworm disease treatment is a long, costly process that requires several months of strict exercise restrictions.

Cats develop heartworm disease less commonly than dogs, as heartworms prefer canine hosts. Cats with heartworm disease often exhibit asthma-like signs. Although cats’ worm burden is usually much lower than dogs’, heartworm affects cats more severely, often making sudden death the first heartworm sign in cats. If your cat has heartworm disease, they may cough, wheeze, or have breathing difficulties. No treatment is available for cats who develop heartworm disease, so prevention is critical.

#6: Hairballs in cats

Hairballs are common in cats, and form as they swallow fur while grooming. This wad of hair accumulates in your cat’s stomach, and they usually cough it up. Typically, a cat produces about one hairball per month, more if their coat is exceptionally thick. If your cat is unable to cough up a hairball, your veterinarian may recommend a dietary supplement to help pass the fur through their intestinal tract, and prevent a blockage. 

#7: Asthma in cats

Cats more commonly have asthma than dogs, although the condition is uncommon in all pets. Inhaled irritants—pollen, mold, dust mites, and other substances—can cause asthma (i.e., inflamed airways), which triggers coughing fits, breathing difficulties, lethargy, and vomiting. Cats’ asthma medications are similar to those people use to help manage their inflammatory airway condition.

Coughing can indicate your pet has a serious underlying disease that only your veterinarian can effectively diagnose and treat. Do not wait for your pet’s cough to resolve on its own, contact our Creature Comforts Veterinary Service team, and your pet will be breathing easy in no time.