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About Jessica
Expertise
I have bred Siamese cats and have years of experience caring for homeless, feral, orphaned, and terminally ill cats. I am knowledgeable in cat behavior, health, history, troubleshooting, breeds, coat patterns and colors, and trivia.

Experience
I have extensive experience with cats ranging from breeding to at-home medical care to rescuing homeless cats and placing them in homes. I have assisted cats giving birth and hand-nursed kittens who were neglected by their mother from 2 days old through weaning. I have given supportive care to cats suffering from diabetes, terminal cancer, feline leukemia, feline infectious peritonits, and kidney, liver, and heart failure. I have been through chemotherapy with two of my cats who had lymphoma and have also been through many cutting edge surgeries with my special needs cats.

Education/Credentials
15 years' experience

You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Cats > Cats > My cat's voice changed

Cats - My cat's voice changed

Expert: Jessica - 11/7/2009

Question
Hi, about a month ago my cat's voice began to change, and sounded as if she had a sore throat. After this persisted for two weeks, I took her to the vet, fearing it was an infection. Her meow sounded like a quack from a duck.

The vet gave her a check up and found nothing wrong. Then he gave her a blood test, and found no infections.

After a week her meow started to sound better, but then it became even worse. Three times I've caught her regurgitating something, but never threw it up. She swallows it back down. I think its grass that she's eating in the back yard. But I'm not entirely sure. Two days later, now she makes a vocal sound when she exhales, and her purrs sound choppy.

The entire time she's been playful and loving, chases her toys and runs around -- no behavial changes. In the morning I'm calling the vet again to make an appointment, but wanted to get your medical opinion first, as I've become very concerned now.

Thanks.

Answer
Hi Brian. There are a few things to consider. I would definitely talk to the vet about having an x-ray done to check for asthma and masses in the chest area. Secondly, assuming this was not part of the blood tests (it usually is not), I would recommend having a feline heartworm test done. These things can all certainly cause her coughing, gagging, choppy breathing/purring and a change in voice.

An x-ray can show obvious masses in the chest area. It isn't so great for showing growths that may be in the throat, since the skull is in the way. If it’s suspected that something may be higher up in the trachea, many vets will prefer to put the cat under some light anesthesia and physically look down the throat.

X-rays will also show white blotches in the lung area of a cat who has active asthma problems. Your vet probably would have noticed wheezing on her last exam, and in some cases, eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, are high on a blood count when cats are having problems with asthma. But I think radiographs would still be a worthwhile investment.

Feline heartworm cases are on the rise, especially in cats who go outdoors. There is an antigen test available now that is relatively dependable. Because cats are not the natural host for heartworms, the worms rarely make it to the heart and cause problems there. However, they do cause significant problems in the lungs and airways.

If your cat has lost any weight or has had an increase in appetite, you may want to have her thyroid checked. This is usually an add-on to blood tests, so check with your vet to see if this was included. If not, it might be something worth doing, especially if your cat is getting older, since an enlarged thyroid can cause a change in voice and difficulty swallowing. Even if her T4, the primary hormone they check on a thyroid test, is normal, she may still have hyperthyroidism. When strongly suspected, the FREE T4 level should be checked and a T3 suppression test should be run.

Best wishes!

Jessica

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