Before I begin, let me mention that I do not have a trustworthy local
vet. It's a long story, but I live in rural North Carolina, and I lost
all faith in my vet when he diagnosed my senior dog with an incredibly
rare disease that has never existed in this area, when in fact she had
a common uterine infection... conveniently, we spent roughly $2000
treating a disease that didn't exist, and I still believe that this
difference in cost is why it was misdiagnosed.

So while I plan to take my cat to the vet tomorrow (Monday), I really
need to have an idea of what the possibilities are, so that I don't
get snowballed again.

I have a cat that's just over 6 years old. Male, neutered, and
exclusively indoors (as are all of my pets; another cat and a dog).
About 6 or 8 weeks ago, he developed what felt like a respiratory
infection. He would cough regularly (wet, like he was coughing up a
hairball), was very lethargic, and threw up a few times (not every
day; maybe once every 2 or 3 days). He would eat at his regular times,
but not as much, and seemed not to drink as much (although with 2 cats
sharing a water bowl, it's hard to be sure).

At first I just thought that he had a nasty hairball, and after a few
days he went back to normal so I assumed that it had passed. I didn't
see that he had coughed anything up, but I thought it may have found
its way to the litter box or, gross, my dog may have eaten it.

After a few weeks of normal activity, on Friday those same symptoms
returned, although they seem worse this time. He's back to being weak
and lethargic, and he has slept pretty much all weekend although he
seems to have no problem going downstairs to the litter box and food.
If I pick him up, though, it immediately triggers a coughing fit. He's
only vomited once, but it seems like a lot; I wasn't home, but the
clean-up was larger than usual. It was watery with a little bit of
white foam, not really yellow.

It's also worth mentioned that he usually spends his days in my
office, either on my lap or watching my fish tank, but since he's
gotten sick he stays in one of the unused rooms in the basement, where
it's colder and darker. There's also a blanket here that he likes to
suck on, so I'm not sure if he's drawn to the temperature, darkness,
or just the blanket.

I can't get a good listen to his heart, but he does purr a lot (louder
than usual, too). His chest heaves constantly, though, as if he's
having a hard time breathing, but I can't be sure about that because
these cats are so dramatic, anyway.

He doesn't seem to be wet around his nose, but he does have a small
amount of brown stain at the corners of his eyes. His eyes aren't
cloudy that I can tell, either.

I haven't changed his diet at all. Since the cats were little, I've
always rotated between Meow Mix indoor formula and Meow Mix hairball
control formula. For treats, I usually give Whiskas. However, it has
been colder than normal in my area lately.

Do these symptoms sound like anything recognizable to you guys?

TIA,

Jason