I, too, have a cat with a deep, wet cough. Stormy's not
FeLV+ either. He's had a few health problems recently -
a few years ago, he spent a year on insulin for steroid
induced diabetes. Last year his T4 level got up to a point
where I had him tested, and he had a thyroid tumor. We
treated it with the radioactive iodine (his liver tests go
haywire whenever he gets sick, so Tapezole was out).
While he was there, all of my cats had a virus. I don't
know now if the problem he has now is due to that virus
or what.
His cough started around the beginning of the year. When
it didn't go away with antibiotics, I had him x-rayed, and
the center lobe of the left lung is full of crud. We did
a bronchioscopy, and there is no bacteria, so the only thing
left is to remove the lobe. He goes in for surgery next
Monday.
I am *very* hopeful that the problem is either he was not
treated with the right kind of antibiotics last year, or
since he has a tendency to eat the dust/fur balls on the
floor that he inhaled one, because the other cause is a
tumor, and in the lungs, it's not likely to be benign.
Diana