宠物咳嗽全解析：从观察到诊断的实用指南

Introduction to Pet Respiratory Health

Pets may occasionally cough due to choking while eating or drinking, but if you notice an increased frequency of coughing, or if it occurs at specific times or is accompanied by other discomforts, this is not normal behavior! Every time a pet coughs, it causes anxiety for pet parents! This seemingly ordinary, yet potentially serious abnormality is truly the most concerning situation... Today, we will briefly explain the pet respiratory system and common causes of coughing, and more importantly, how to observe and assist veterinarians in diagnosing the condition when seeking medical care for your pet.

宠物进食或饮水时呛到是常见现象，但如果发现咳嗽频率增加，或在特定时间发生或伴随其他不适，这就不是普通行为了！宠物每咳一次，宠物主人的心也跟着紧张一次！这种看似普通却可能很不寻常的异常情况，确实是最令人担忧的...今天我们将简要解说宠物呼吸道系统及常见咳嗽原因，更重要的是如何观察，并在宠物就医时协助医生判断病情。

The Physiology of Coughing During Eating and Drinking

When animals eat or drink, choking can occur. 1. The normal opening of the throat (called the glottisThe normal opening of the throat that serves as the primary airway during breathing.) is usually covered by the 'epiglottisA flap of cartilage that covers the glottis during swallowing to prevent food and liquids from entering the respiratory tract.,' which prevents food and liquids from falling into the wrong passage. 2. If food or water enters the wrong passage (the respiratory tract), it will cause coughing.

动物进食或饮水时可能发生呛咳。1. 喉咙的正常开口（称为声门）通常被“会厌”覆盖，可防止食物和液体掉入错误管道。2. 食物或水进入错误管道（呼吸道）就会引起咳嗽。

Common Causes of Coughing in Pets

According to veterinary medical literature, pet coughing can be attributed to several categories of underlying conditions:

Inflammation-related causes: Cat asthma, bronchitis, eosinophilic lung disease, etc. (炎症造成：猫哮喘、支气管炎、嗜伊红性白细胞肺病等)
Physical and trauma-related causes: Such as tracheal collapseA condition where the tracheal rings weaken, causing the airway to narrow or collapse during breathing., respiratory tract foreign bodies, and esophageal dysfunction (身体和创伤造成：像是气管塌陷、呼吸道异物与食管功能障碍)
Infectious disease causes: Including lungworm infection, toxoplasmosis, blastomycosis, histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, cryptococcosis, pneumonia, aspergillosis, canine infectious respiratory disease complex, and heartworm disease, etc. (传染病造成：包括肺虫感染、弓形虫病、芽孢杆菌病、组织胞浆菌病、球虫病、隐球菌病、肺炎、曲霉病、犬传染性呼吸道疾病综合征以及丝虫病等)
Cardiovascular disease causes: Congestive heart failure, degenerative heart valve disease, pulmonary thromboembolism (心血管疾病：充血性心力衰竭、变性性心脏瓣膜疾病、肺血栓栓塞)
Cancer-related causes (癌症造成)

Documenting Cough Symptoms for Veterinary Diagnosis

The more complete the records, the better veterinarians can understand the condition; during veterinary visits, doctors not only need to observe the pet's breathing patterns and intensity but also perform tests to attempt to induce coughing for confirmation. At this time, pet parents need not worry too much—allow the veterinarian to conduct a thorough examination!

✓ Cough frequency (咳嗽频率)
✓ Cough sound (咳嗽声音)
✓ Occurrence or worsening during eating/drinking (饮食时发生或恶化)
✓ Whether exercise exacerbates symptoms (运动是否加剧症状)
✓ Whether phlegm is produced (有没有痰产生)
✓ Whether it commonly occurs during the day or night (常发生在白天或晚上)

记录咳嗽症状越完整，越能让医生了解病情；就医时医生不但需要观察宠物呼吸的模式、强度，也需要做些测试，试图引发咳嗽来确认，这时候各位宠物主人不用太担心，让医生仔细地诊察！

Most Commonly Performed Diagnostic Tests

Blood and urine tests – Screening for metabolic diseases (血液和尿液检查－筛查是否有代谢性疾病)
Chest X-rays (胸部X光照片)
Infectious disease screening (传染病筛查)
Respiratory tract testing – Examining the interior of the trachea and lower airways through tracheobronchoscopy (呼吸道测试－通过气管支气管镜检查气管和下气管内部)

Differences Between Dog and Cat Coughing

Dog coughing: Often related to respiratory or cardiovascular disease issues, but cats basically do not cough due to heart disease! (狗狗咳嗽不少是因为呼吸道或是心血管疾病问题，但猫猫基本上不会因心脏病而咳嗽！)
Therefore, when examining coughing conditions in cats, the focus will be on respiratory tract issues. (所以在诊察猫猫咳嗽状况时，会注重在呼吸道问题上。)

Conclusion and Recommendations for Pet Owners

In addition to observing and recording abnormal behaviors in pets, when seeking medical care, do not refuse tests recommended by veterinarians out of心疼 for your pet. The more complete the data, the more accurate the diagnosis and the more effective the treatment can be.

除了观察和记录宠物异常的行为外，就医时也不要因为心疼宠物而拒绝医生推荐的测试，越是完整的数据越能做出准确的判断，进行有效的治疗。