# Horky cat **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149 "2013-04-08T13:48:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/1 "2013-04-08T13:48:19Z")
[Tonka](http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m305/llaaksonen/Tonkacouch2.jpg) has been here a couple of months. He’s made horking sounds as if he’s horking up a fur ball, but nothing has ever come up. Recently we’ve noticed that his hork sounds often come when he’s been active. For example, I just played with him. (He likes playing with that wily string.) After playing for a few minutes, he stopped and took up the fur ball stance. Again, nothing came up. Afterward he was fine, and is prowling around looking frisky. The SO has taken out her stethoscope and listened to his lungs, but she never hears anything abnormal. He seems to be a healthy, happy cat; but the lack of fur balls when he horks is a concern. We’ve been thinking of taking him to the vet. Any ideas? In other news, he was very interested in the cat, dog, and goat on TV this morning. He stood up and watched closely, and then turned around and meowed. Too bad ‘mom’ is still asleep. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/2 "2013-04-08T14:14:40Z")
Just played with him some more. No horking this time. Only blood. Don’t worry; it’s mine. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/3 "2013-04-08T14:43:13Z")
I think this is the first time I’ve encountered someone else using the term ‘hork.’ I got it from an old friend who addressed the family canine as “the incredible horking dog.” I’ve had cats cough and hork occasionally without any obvious problems, or any discovered during regular checkups. I’d say watch and wait. OTOH, cats are fragile; if he seems distressed, weakened or in any way impaired, get him looked at. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/4 "2013-04-08T15:37:44Z")
He’s not distressed, weakened, or impaired. He just doesn’t produce anything when he goes into the coughing-up-a-furr-ball mode. (And no, we haven’t found any fur balls.) One thing we see is that he’s a stress eater. Play with him when he doesn’t want to play, or scold him when he’s about to scratch the furniture, and he’s off to his food dish. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/5 "2013-04-08T15:56:15Z")
I always figured if they were horking and a hairball didn’t come up, they needed something to smooth the way in the other direction. So, I’d wipe some peanut butter on their whiskers. My theory may be correct, or it might have been some sort of behavior modification, because the horking would stop for at least a couple of weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/6 "2013-04-08T15:59:15Z")
We’ve been applying fur ball gel to a paw, which he licks off (usually). ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/7 "2013-04-08T16:11:03Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I’ve had cats cough and hork occasionally without any obvious problems, or any discovered during regular checkups. I’d say watch and wait. I’ve been hostess to maybe 30 cats in my lifetime, and some horked; some did not. _(FABULOUS word, BTW. It is now a permanent fixture in my vocabulary. I can already envision other uses for it… like at staff meetings… people who hork and hork but never cough anything up, if you kwim.)_ Sometimes a hairball was forthcoming (or \*furlog \*as we like to call them) but often nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/8 "2013-04-08T16:16:46Z")
_They said get back horky cat Better get back to the woods Well I quit those days and my hairball ways And oh the vet is gonna do me good_ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/9 "2013-04-08T16:21:28Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > _They said get back horky cat…_ Exactly what I think of when I think of horky cats. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/10 "2013-04-08T17:31:10Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > \*They said get back horky cat > Better get back to the woods > \* Dammit, I was going to post exactly that. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/11 "2013-04-08T17:45:52Z")
Aw, he reminds me of my [Marshall](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/96/088sx.jpg/), who is no longer with me. As for the non-productive horking, I have one cat that’s done this his whole life. I gave him hairball treatments for awhile, but nothing came of it. He’s now 14 years old and hasn’t had any health problems. He’s just a horker. My other two cats are outright vomiters, but that’s cuz they eat too damn fast. Is he using his litterbox? I’d say take him to the vet if his digestion seems problematic or if he starts horking more often. Otherwise I’d just mention it at his next checkup. But that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Rudiger\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rudiger\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rudiger_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/12 "2013-04-08T17:55:57Z")
Have you had him checked for asthma? Our cat has spasms that sound like coughing/horking when he’s having trouble breathing. They may last 2 or 3 seconds or up to a minute. He gets real low to the ground and extends his neck. He takes a steroid twice a day to help control it, but he still has attacks several times a week. It’s generally worse in the spring when there’s a lot of pollen, but I don’t think he’s ever had a reaction from exercise. I’m not sure if you can hear any abnormalities with a stethoscope when he’s not having an attack., either. ---
**Author:** ![FrillyNettles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ea924/32.png) [@FrillyNettles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrillyNettles)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/13 "2013-04-09T00:27:50Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > We’ve been thinking of taking him to the vet. This. It could be nothing. It could be asthma. It could be cardiomyopathy. Let your vet examine him and go from there. ---
**Author:** ![Av8trix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/90db22/32.png) [@Av8trix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Av8trix)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/14 "2013-04-09T01:21:41Z")
Seconding the asthma / vet recommendation. Check out you tube for “asthma cat” and see if those horking cats sound familiar. I had a kitty who apparently had asthma for years but I too always thought it was non-productive hairball coughs. There are medications / inhalers available for feline use. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/15 "2013-04-09T01:35:48Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Any ideas? > **[Maybe You Shouldn't Eat That](https://cheezburger.com/7229138432)** > > Maybe You Shouldn't Eat That - A large, mouth-watering buffet of GIFs that are not only free, but also include validated parking in a shaded area. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/16 "2013-04-09T02:00:42Z")
Spring allergies? My late kitty, Figaro, had to be given benedryl during certain times of the year, even though she was an indoor cat. Just the pollen we’d bring in on our persons (and dogs) was enough to irritate her to the point of horking. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horky-cat/655149/17 "2013-04-09T02:16:50Z")
He likes to play with string? How about rubber bands? Unless there is someone closer who can expertly palpate a cat, get him to a vet - if he has swallowed a string or rubber band, it is a matter of time until it blocks the intestine. Yes, I have seen a string coming out the other end of a cat, but it is exceedingly dangerous to either wait or try to pull out an end.