Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi all,

My cat keeps heaving like he’s about to bring up a hair ball, but doesn’t in the end. This happens daily and I’ve read that this can sometimes be asthma-related depending if they are low on the ground when the heave or not. I am worried he may have a hair all blocking his system but I have watched him the last few days and he has been managing to go to the toilet, so I was hoping someone could shed some more light for me.

Here is a link to a video of him heaving:
https://youtu.be/Rihl3ALAI6c

Thanks!

Handsome boy!

My Ragdoll used to do just the same, from the moment I adopted him at 8 years old, for the rest of his life. At first I thought it was because he had moved from outdoors to a centrally heated indoor only smoker home. My vet at the time said his upper and lower respiratory tract were clear and offered me x-rays, but that was it. It wasn't until near the end of his life 5-6 years later I got a sensible idea from my new vet, she said it was most likely he had a latent herpes virus that flared up into a cough any time he got a minor bacterial infection on top.

That was mine and it was harmless, it might not be the same for your cat so do get him checked over.