I’d take him to the vet as soon as possible. A cough can indicate many things other than kennel cough or something stuck in the throat. It can be an upper respritory infection, the start of a heart problem…some scary things. The best thing is to see a vet.

first: spay her.  this will PROBABLY help to cut down on aggression issues with the  new cat.

second: go younger.  older cats seem to accept younger/smaller cats better.

third: i would wait until after the move, just because bringing home a new cat prior to a move is a LOT of change for that cat to handle, and you’ll want introductions to be slow (at least a couple weeks of no-contact aside from sniffing under a shut door).  

in the interim, research methods of bringing a second cat into the home.  there’s a lot of info out there, and doing it right can mean the difference between getting along and wanting to kill each other.

i posted an answer here

is it possible this is just dust?  my cat will end up with black gunk around his nose when we’ve kicked up dust in the house.

does he have any other symptoms that might indicate an issue?

instead of buying them from pet stores, look into reptile supply.  they will sell frozen/thawed.  i also cannot say this would be a nutritionally complete diet.  better to fully research raw feeding and put meals together that ARE nutritionally complete.  besides, your house pet does not need to learn to hunt…and depending on the breed of your dog(s), they may fail miserably in this task.  feed a high quality kibble or feed raw, do not feed live rodents.

and yes, this is considered inhumane, especially considering how it’s basically one step away from animal fighting.  can’t you see how that is problematic?

it’s inhumane to feed live to reptiles, too…inhumane and irresponsible, as the rats are just as likely to do serious damage to the animals they were intended to feed.

i cannot fathom why you would only give wet food to your dog.  does your dog have a lot of missing teeth?  or is there a medical reason you’re feeding wet?  

A domestic dog is not a wolf even though they may have ancestry in common. A domestic dog does not have the digestive tract of wolves. Raw fed dogs are fed raw meat but they are not expected to kill their own. Personally my dogs eat what I eat as I feel that pet food is sadly lacking. This includes meat, fish, vegetables and a small amount of pasta and rice. I do not eat rats or mice and I wouldn’t give it to them either. Of my seven dogs only two have a small amount of prey drive. I can’t imagine any of them would know what to do with a raw kill. As for snakes….they are a wild animal. I did have snakes many years ago and they ate live rats and mice because they wouldn’t eat anything else. Dogs are not wild animals.

It wouldn’t be for entertainment but it would be for entertainment.

Your ethics are in question. Be glad I lack ban powers. People who justify allowing their animals fight for their personal amusement disgust me.

cats should not be outside. they are an invasive species and have hunted many native rodent and bird species to the point where they are endangered. letting cats outside is irresponsible, plain and simple.

you said you wanted to do this for your entertainment as well as that of your dog. THAT IS PROBLEMATIC. how can you not see this?

some dogs will always eat poop.  it’s just a thing some folks have to contend with.  i think, in your case, i’d keep her on leash until she poops, clean it immediately (and with the leash, you can pull her away from it), and then let her off lead to run around and play.

i came across this article, and i think it may be of use to you as it offers a training suggestion.

it’s iffy on whether that works, though.

HI, I stopped my dog from doing this  when she was a pup, simply by training her to “go” in the same spot every time and then my grandpa took over. My dog is huge. A Great Dane who used to take my 6foot tall 225 pound uncle for a walk. Anyways my grandfather walks with a cane and taught him not to eat poop and to walk nicely on the leash at the SAME TIME by simply walking him around near the pop and away from the poop. When he walked by the poop without noticing it and walked nicely he got a pigs ear (his favourite treat) and  a simple, “good boy t.j.” when he’d try to sniff at or eat the poop or when he’d pull on the leash he’d get a light rap on the bridge of the nose with my grandpas cane (not hard but enough to make him understand) and a firm, not loud or shrill but quiet and firm. “T.J. NO.” Sometimes with all this new stuff we forget that sometimes we need to change with the times (I.e. Not letting two consenting adults in a relationship share a bed in your house unless their married: Aka Disrespecting the couple and being a jerk) and sometimes  we need to remember that the old ways are sometimes the most effective.

This is a quick way to causing your dog to become very reactive to hands anywhere near the dog’s face. Why advocate hitting when there is always a better option?

First I would take her to a vet for a check up to be sure it’s not medical.  However, it is possible she is depressed and may take time to adjust to a new family!