Hi, my 10 month old cat Ruby started acting abit odd yesterday, she kept gagging and was very distant and weak. Today is has developed into a really harsh cough and she swallows hard after and seems to have a dry mouth. At first I thought she had something stuck in her throat but she is still eating wet and dry food?

Sounds like she may have hair balls stuck in her throat, that's why she would probably have a dry mouth.

Is it just a sort of hacking/wheezing sort of thing? It might just be hairballs. It's the time of year for them. Even if that's not it, it's still a good idea when it starts warming up to brush them often, and you can give them hairball gunk that you can just get at any reasonable size grocery store.

If it seems worse than that, or that just doesn't sound right, it's possible something is stuck. She might be able to eat anyway. Canned would be easier to eat (and is better for her anyway), and has much more moisture than dry food. If she actually does puke, she'll need the moisture.

If you can get her to cooperate, you might be able to see the back of her throat and see anything obvious. Or if you think there's seriously a problem, get her to a vet. If she had something in there and was trying to puke it up, it may have gone into her stomach and started digesting by now. If it's something small, it should pass through OK. But if it's something bigger, or string or something, it can cause problems. So if you think it's more than just hairballs, you may want to get her to a vet.

If I could see her and hear what she's doing, I could probably tell better -- but difficult to say without being there.

Thanks for your replies.

Its quite a loud hacking cough and hasn't brought anything up. She just goes under the bed and hides. She's not herself and is lethargic, really sleepy eyes etc so not sure if a hair ball would cause this?

If she is no better in the morning I will take her straight to the vet!

She could have ashtma. It sounds like a cough and sometimes like they want to get up a hairball but nothing comes out. If so, something like smoke or fragrances could trigger her.