Cat Laryngitis

Question
A week ago, my cat's meow started to get hoarse, and within 2 days, it was completely gone. He gags and hacks a little, as if he has a hairball. I've been giving him hairball remedy 3x/d for 4 days, but he hasn't coughed it up and his voice is still gone. He doesn't feel like he has a fever, and is still eating, drinking, and voiding fairly normally (except that he has been pooping on the floor instead of his box off and on for the last 2 years). Do you have any ideas of what might be wrong? What should I do?

Answer
Anytime a cat loses its voice there is something wrong in the throat.  You should have your vet check the cat out to see if there is tonsillitis, enlarged lymph nodes, or a foreign body (like a sewing needle) in the throat. If your cat has not been tested for Feline Leukemia, you might want to have that done also.