Please forgive my wall of text, I've been bottling this up for awhile. And researching the information on this site and others has me totally freaked out...

So, my three-year-old, Maxwell, has been coughing on and off since New Years when he had a bit of a runny nose and stuff. I called the vet at that time while we were staying in Louisiana and she said it was the season for most animals to get a bit of an allergy out there, and gave me things to look for, which perfectly coordinated with Max's changes in his coughing. We moved back to Florida (I was gone for a year for my internship and took the boys with us) and his coughing increased. It's a dry, unproductive cough that sounds like it might be a hairball, but nothing ever comes up.
I had my husband take him to our vet on Tuesday... They're awesome, as a side note. We were going out of town and they had him come in on his day off to see Max, since the other guy who works there created an issue a few years ago. Anyway, they did an x-ray and said that there was a hazy spot on his lung, gave some antihistamines (more on that), and scheduled an ultrasound... apparently, he was more concerned about the loose stools (that he has had since birth) and "his lungs not sounding good" per my husband. When I called, they told me he heard "something cardiac." I'm freaking out, since I know the bengal connection to HCM (he was last seen by the vet at 1.5 years old, since we were gone during his need for the next set of jabs). He doesn't seem to have the symptoms of FIP, though they're tossing that around, too.
-- no exposure to other cats, except Faust (who's four and a half and hasn't had exposure either)
--raised in the breeder's bedroom with only two other animals and his sibs
--no loss of appetite... EVER... no dulling of the coat (he gets a little rough at change of seasons, only), he's always had a bit of a goopy left eye.
--no change in stools, if anything, the change to Blue Buffalo Freedom chicken has helped (they were vomiting more on the Merrick Purrfect Bistro since the formula apparently changed a bit). They both have a corn allergy. And, Faust has the same stools... always has. They have one shared ancestor, two gen back on Max's side, three back on Faust's.
--no change in water intake, energy levels, etc.

Max's dam had to be euthanized about two weeks after he was born due to unknown issues. The necropsy was inconclusive. After the babies' birth, she became lethargic, off her food, and was wasting, basically. It nearly killed the breeder... first cat they ever lost, and she was a Gogees. The kittens were raised separately in the breeder's bedroom (thanks to the F1, who gave him awesome behavior habits, ha!) with two others. One sibling died, the rest were watched closely, testing for everything, and the other two have no issues that I'm aware of. One is a TICA Grand Champ of something. I'm really worried about this ultrasound. Since we've been able to get a little bit of the antihistamine in him (in his food, so it's not all at once--he vomits oral meds on purpose), he's coughing less per my petsitter and experience since being home last night, but he seems somewhat spacey for a good two hours, and his snoring is a lot worse. He's nearly impossible to get to take meds orally. This is the first time that we've been able to sneak anything into his food and there's no way I could get it in every 8 hours. Every 12 (when I feed them the wet) is pushing it. The last time we needed meds, they had to give us IM Benadryl injections I could do at home, because the vet and his two assistants couldn't get him to take it/keep it down. That was a massive reaction to his jabs.

I guess I'm just interested in hearing anyone's perspective on having to go through this when the symptoms really aren't clear and there doesn't seem to be a way in which he could have contracted anything. I'm so terrified that something incurable (or extremely expensive) is wrong that is going to significantly impact his quality of life. It breaks my heart, I love this boy so. Also, does anyone know if they can eat and drink per usual before an ultrasound? Eh... I'll call in the morning, I was just curious. My husband doesn't think that they'll be able to tell anything, but the next step is an intestinal biopsy, which costs around $1500... which we don't have, since my student loans are coming due. :( Ugh... the stress and the drama. I love my boys, though. Sorry for the ramble.

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Oh my goodness I feel for you deeply. I couldn't imagine going through that with BB. I really don't have any advice, I have never went through anything like that. I will keep you and your fur babies in my prayers! Please let us know how things go.

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Got my fingers crossed for you, that its something treatable.

Thank you, ladies.
He's super clingy since we got home Saturday afternoon and my husband left yesterday for the Appalachian Trail for a week, so they're completely out of sorts. They know what packing is, and Max has been calling for him all over the house.
I can't tell if anything is different or not, given those variables. I've only heard one coughing spasm, last evening, so I gave him a dose of the antihistamine. It makes him so dopey that I've been really stretching it out, if I can, until I can talk to the vet this morning. I'm just a ball of nerves. I'll take all of the positive thoughts I can get.

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They've called the vet to come in on his day off to go over the results with me in 30m. I'm freaking out :(

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Well, after I completely burst into tears when the Doc walked out of the back to talk with me, he told me that it is not HCM or FIP. He went through all of the bodily symptoms... no fluid build-up or visible abnormalities in the heart, no fluid or thickening in the bowel, and no lymph node swelling. Phew. He didn't mention the coughing or the hazy spot on Max's lung, but did stop the antihistamines. I almost gave them last night as the poor little man had a nasty rattle when he coughed, but it was just once and the rattle/snoring got worse when he was coughing less. But, I digress, the reason he stopped the antihistamines was because they gave him a low dose injection of a steroid to see if this is Irritable Bowel Disease happening with Max's stool. He's 16.2 pounds at 3 years old, still has a waist, but has a bumpy belly (and a nekkid one, now that they shaved him). They're worried about malabsorption and potential for dehydration if the small bowel is not working correctly. Faust has the same stools, so if there is a response to this med, they may try both of the boys on low dose steroids.
I can't tell you how thankful I am that there is nothing majorly wrong with my baby... I'll take IBD over almost any of the chronic alternatives. He's been this way since birth, it's not anything new. I've just been holding my breath for three years, as his mother died at around 2 years old. Huge sigh of relief...

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So relieved for you and your boy. You can breathe again now. Fingers crossed the steroid injection works xx

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK