# Do cats get sore throats or laryngitis?



## sdk1406 (Jul 17, 2004)

My 10 yr. old Daisy had a squeaky "meow" yesterday and today she's not using her voice at all. She purrs, but she's not meowing, and she's usually a VERY vocal cat. She doesn't seem ill in any other way (except she's been suffering from possible food allergies for quite a while and has all her belly fur and spot on her legs licked off). She's been eating the Hill's Prescription Diet Z/D for food allergies for going on 3 months and I haven't noticed too much of a change. But this has me concerned that she's not using her voice when she's the loudest of my 5. Thank you in advance.


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## Gudewife (Jun 27, 2004)

The short answer is that cats can temporarily 'lose their meow' if their vocal cords get strained. I'd be concerned if it lasted longer than a day or two, though...my cat never shuts up, and if she stopped meowing, I would think there was something very wrong...would just be my gut feeling knowing my cat...I'd say that you should keep an eye on it, and if your gut feeling is that something's up, or if she doesn't return to normal, give the vet a phone call.

Have you considered flea allergy as well as food allergy? Many cats with severe flea allergy don't have any fleas on them because they're so good at grooming them off. I have a friend with a cat showing similar fur loss from overgrooming; it seems to be seasonal, so this year, they're going to try being very aggressive with flea prevention and see if it helps, and if not, they're going to try some more dietary stuff (homemade raw diet using lamb/venison/rabbit and no grains). The poor cat's had problems ever since he showed up as a stray with a ghastly coyote bite wound in his neck...so he's better off than he was before, but he's still their problem child. My cat's never had an issue with bald patches, but I do know that removing corn from her diet helped her dry, flaky skin immensely, and this friend's cats also seem to have benefitted in varying degrees from corn and wheat-free food...keep trying, though, something will work!


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

If your normally talkative cat is suddenly silent, that's a good indication that something has changed, and that something might be wrong. But not necessarily a "sore throat" or "laryngitis". Could be just about anything that's causing the cat's behavior to change. As Gudewife says, if it lasts more than a couple days, you want to find out if something's wrong.


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