Why is my cat wheezing?

My cat occasionally begins to wheeze, it sounds like he has a lot of mucus in his lungs. He will get really low to the ground and continually wheeze, as if trying to clear his lungs. Once he stops, he will breathe normally, but it sounds like he is congested and has crackly lungs. What is going on with my little baby?? (He's actually about 12 human years old)

He has hairballs. Cats have very rough tongues and when they lick themselves they swallow the hairs that their tongues catch. Some hair gets passed out in their stool, and sometimes they have to cough up the hairball and re-swallow or spit it out.

It's usually harmless, but you can talk to a vet if it concerns you.

You cat looks very handsome, by-the-way.
Good Luck!!

LOL Thanks!

she may also be feline infectious anemia take your cat the vet asap and the vets only charge like 25 bucks for a check up and for medicine like 10 to 20 bucks hoped I helped

she may need anti bodys it sounds like she is getting a upper respor. infection ,its very serious my cat almost died from it.get her to a vet before it gets worse.if she gets sicker then its more expansive to save her...

Because you describe your cat as geting 'really low to the ground' it makes me wonder if he is trying to open his airway- a symptom of asthma. Hairball coughs do not have a 'mucus' sound.

Check out http://www.fritzthebrave.com/ to learn more; there is a great video on the 'symptoms' page. Hairball coughing will usually just produce a hairball at some point; at twelve years old I would think you would have already seen a few around the house if this was a problem for your cat. Asthma can be life-threatening, so it's important to distinguish which cough your buddy has. Good luck!