this aft/evening i've noticed that when my cat meows or cries her voice is weirdly muted. yesterday i also saw her stretching her neck in this weird way, almost like she was going to hack up a hairball, but she never did (and she doesn't often get hairballs anyway).
i'm wondering what the deal is. i don't know if she breathed in or ate something outside (she's an inside/outside cat) that didn't agree? also, my parents pulled up a corner of the carpet in one room because it kept getting a damp patch (we think from a bathtub leak), so now i'm paranoid that there's mold in there that's affecting her...agggh.

anyone know anything about this? if it doesn't go away in a day or two i'm going to call the vet and ask, but i know there are a lot of cat people here so i thought i'd at least check in.

thanks,
Shannon {:[

I am pretty sure they do - I had a friend who had a cat that could only croak after a kittenhood illness.

I don't know about laryngitis, but my cat did the same stretching/gagging/hairball thing for a day or so last spring. Scared me, because she made the awfullest retching sound at the time, but she seemed fine otherwise (eating, breathing, etc.) and she was totally over it by the next afternoon.

As long as your kitty's breathing OK and her appetite or energy level seem to be unaffected, I think you're fine giving it a day or so to resolve itself before calling the vet. Hope she's feeling better soon!

thanks guys. i haven't seen her yet this a.m. b/c my dork of a father let her out! even though he knew about all this...argh. i mean, whatever caused it could well have been from outside. nice going, dad.

i will keep an eye on it though and hopefully it will resolve itself. thanks again...

-S

My cat earl does the silent meow.
She didn't have a voice at all 'til she was around 6 years old. Then she meowed all the time for about two or three years. Now, at age 10, she is silent again. Kitty mouth opens, looks like she meooows, but nothing comes out.

EmmaK

in this case it's not silent per se, just hoarser sounding than usual, if that makes sense for a cat? {:P

-S

If you stirred up some mold, it might be an allergic reaction. A few years ago my cat ate a bouquet of flowers someone gave me - I left the room for less than 5 minutes to find a sturdy vase so that I could put the flowers on the cabinet well out of his greedy reach. He was hoarse afterwards for a while.

I didn't ultimately take him in to the vet but when I called they told me to put him under 24 hours observation and call them if he had trouble breathing or if his eyes got gunky. His airway was irritated a bit but it went away after a few hours. It turned out to be an allergic reaction to baby's breath.

If she went outside and didn't seem horribly ill, she's probably ok, but you never know with the kitties!