Warm boot recommendations please

[Surfnirvana]

Hi there,

 

I have a lovely ginger elderly cat called Harry who is about 20 years old. He's obviously been slowing down in his retirement, but over the past 2 months, he's developed really bad breathing difficulties, but only when he starts to purr. He has to breath through his mouth and he rasps. It is such a shame as he is a real lap cat and loves cuddles, but he can't do that any more. He'll jump up to sit on my lap, start to purr but then has too move away to a quiet place and it takes about 5-10 minutes for him to get back to normal.

 

He's eating and drinking well. I have obviously taken him to the vet. He's had an x-ray which was fine and blood tests - all within the normal range for an old cat with dodgey kidneys. He does have an enlarged thyroid, but his thyroid tablets now seem to have improved that. He's also on diuretics and has had a 2 week course of antibiotics. Poor chap he's positively rattling!

 

I was just wondering if anyone else has had this with their cat? I know we are drawing closer to making a decision, but at the moment he doesn't seem in much pain - only when he starts to purr.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Daphne]

We had something similar with one of ours earlier this year, although not only when she purred. It wasn't good news for us I'm afraid. I can't accurately remember the sequence of events but she did have difficulties breathing which eventually got so bad that she couldn't get her breath even to eat, and so we had her PTS. She was given steroids which helped, but only for the period of treatment. The hope was that it might give her a enough of a boost to overcome the problem, but in hindsight I realise that actually the vet was giving me a final 'good' week with her. I think it took about 6-8 weeks from first noticing her difficulties until the end. The vets thought she either had a tumour/growth, or fluid on/around the lungs or heart- it wasn't worth investigating further by opening her up as the prognosis was never going to be good and I didn't want to put her under the stress.

 

It may not be the same thing at all, and I wish you a better outcome.

[Lydia]

My mother's cat had a similar thing in her later years. It started when she was about 17 and happened when she purred - she would cough like she had something stuck in her throat. She was fine otherwise, it was only a problem if you stroked her and she started purring.

 

The vet could not find anything untoward so everyone just stopped stroking her to minimise the problem. It was hard to do but it seemed to help. She lived about another year and passed away peacefully.

 

I hope you get to the bottom of it. Good luck.

[Surfnirvana]

Thank you Daphne & Lydia for your comments. They are really helpful and I think that we will have to monitor how he is over the coming days / weeks, but also knowing that the inevitable decision could soon be upon us. He has been such a character and great friend to us over all these years - this is the harsh reality of loving our pets so much, in that we know at some point they will be leaving us. So we will savour and appreciate every moment we have left with him.

[Daphne]

Well said Surfnirvana. Our first boy lived till he was 20 as well - a Henry

[ccleven2]

  @Surfnirvana did you ever find out what was wrong with you cat.  I have a 20 year old cat that's been with me since she was just a baby.  She means so much to me and now she developed a weird breathing issue only when she purrs. She starts to purr with her mouth open and starts to sound like shes gasping for air then she'll make a noise as is she is clearing her throat or a cough then continues back to gasping for air.  Only when shes purring. Almost as if shes suffocating. Now when shes by me in bed and starts to purr and the breathing issue starts, she removes herself from the thing that makes her purr (me) and goes to litter box and stands there to calm herself down and then returns to me and then if it starts again she gets up goes to the litter box, calms herself down and then returns to me.   In the last year shes gone deaf,  and in the last 4 months gone almost completely blind. It breaks my heart to watch her go through it and now this I cant  pet her cause she'll start to purr and then it starts.  Any insight would help . You can email me personally at chadcleven@gmail.com . Also here is a youtube video of her breathing.

 

[Cat tails]

My car has something similar. Sort of dry coughing. Vet thinks it is a allergic reaction on something. She takes a daily dose of prednoral, which really helps her. 

[Catmom18]

Ccleven2 - did you ever find out what was going on with your kitty? My 18 yr old has been doing the same thing and it seems to be getting worse. We have a vet appt in the AM but am trying to do a bit of research beforehand. Thanks!

[zipztar]

Hi Ccleven, Hi Catmom18,

Alvin and Manuela here. We are also experiencing the same breathing issues when purring as seen in the video.

We also have a very appointment for an x ray, and oral inspection under sedation this coming Monday.

Is there anything that you both could share based on any updated information? 

Would really appreciate any insights we can pass onto the vet.

 

Thanks in advance guys

Alvin and Manuela

zipztarz@gmail.com

[zipztar]

Hi all,

Just to close off our own post about our cat Mikey.

Unfortunately the problem of breathing when purring did not go away, and when we took him to the vet, once under general anesthetic so they could look down his throat, they found a tumour growing on his trachea. This tumour was closing off his air supply, and would have required major surgery, or if cancerous, would have required chemo.

This took us all by surprise as he was 100% active, 100% greedy guts and 100% healthy. We even had the call in the morning that his ultrasound and blood tests were fine and that he was able to come home.

A subsequent call after this outlined a major issue we faced was that as he was under anesthetic, he would have most likely been unable to wake up with the ability to breathe normally as the muscles may not have "woken" up at the same time as he did, so when they pulled out the breathing tube, he would more than likely have trouble breathing.

Even if he had woken up without issue, we still needed to consider the 3 options to remove the tumour, all of which did not mean a great quality of life for the poor guy. Ultimately to reduce the suffering and not buy time for our own comfort, we had to make the decision that morning to put him to sleep.

Very difficult time for all as the vet informed us that it is not a common occurrence in cats, but in the last 3 cases he had over his years of being a vet, none of them had great outcomes.

Hope this helps others in their information gathering.

 

 

[Luvachicken]

That's very sad to read @zipztar

He sounded like he was a very well loved cat and extremely well looked after.

Sweet dreams Mikey x

[Hummingbird]

Hello, 
 

My cat is having this same problem. She is 17yrs old. Started open mouth breathing while purring. She also has been hard swallowing at random and when drinking/eating. Additionally, she wheezes often when inhaling while just laying around relaxing.

Her regular vet and a specialist vet did several test. Chest X-ray, ultrasound  of the abs, camera endoscopy into her trachea, larynx, esophagus and stomach. Plus bloodwork. Everything was perfect, therefore they could not diagnose the problem or provide a remedy. 

They put her on low dose steroids to see if that could help somehow. Several weeks and nothing has changed, it’s not helping. 
 

They said perhaps it’s laryngeal paresis. This is not the same thing as laryngeal paralysis, which is what pulls up if you try to search the internet. They are going to provide information on laryngeal paresis, though they still don’t know that’s the issue. I have been reading about laryngeal paralysis though, since some of these symptoms match up.

Has anyone had this same situation where all test were perfect and nothing could be found. What was the outcome? Did the open mouth purring stop? Did the cat get worse? 

Has anyone had a cat diagnosed with laryngeal paralysis, if so are the symptoms similar to what I mentioned, and did the cat have a procedure to repair the vocal flap as I’ve read about online? 

Has anyone had a cat with laryngeal paresis? Are the symptoms same as I mentioned and was there a cure? 

My cat is uncomfortable when she start open mouth purring. Sometimes it can be 3-4 minutes before it stops. Extremely worrisome for me. Looks like she can’t breathe when it’s happening. 
 

Any information of other’s experience may be helpful. I need a better understanding of what to expect and prepare for or how I can help. 
 

Thanks!

[Alisonjoy]

Hi all, 

I appreciated everyone’s story so I am adding to this chain of stories. I have a 19 year old cat who has been happy and healthy until a couple weeks ago and had breathing like the video above- raspy gasping, but only when purring and otherwise healthy. 
 

First vet visit we had x-rays and nothing was shown. Of course- I could not get him to our there- so she wasn’t able to hear what I was talking about. Suspecting an upper respiratory infection (possible) we went home with an antibiotic to try. 4-5 days past and no change. We went in and he oddly enough was breathing that way the hole time so she could hear it. I was told it was probably a mass (cancerous unknown) that was pushing on his airway and an optical nerve (his third eyelid has been partially closed. I’ve noticed his eyes have been weird for a few months- but I thought it was age related) 
The vet said she could sedate him and look with a scope- but she herself has always had to send a cat over for a CT and has never seen a mass that way. A CT requires anesthesia. The treatment would be possible removal and or chemo and radiation.

To sum it up- I was stuck with two choices of further testing to diagnose it, both which were high risk for my kitty, plus the outcome either way would be too high of a risk for him. So, we came home on prednisone yesterday. 
 

I don’t see a difference yet. I was told 3 weeks to 3 months. However, he doesn’t do it constantly, just purring. I’m hoping the vet thought he was doing it constantly and maybe I can buy more time with him before he starts to get uncomfortable. It is said cause he is trying to avoid the cuddles cause of purring, so he sleeps at our feet or on the couch. When I let him, I give a quick kiss and a quick good rub so it doesn’t irritate it. I’m hoping the prednisone helps. I will check back here and update 💕

[Deedlit]

Hi Allison, any update? Thanks!

[Leilou]

On 8/8/2021 at 12:07 AM, Hummingbird said:

Hello, 
 

My cat is having this same problem. She is 17yrs old. Started open mouth breathing while purring. She also has been hard swallowing at random and when drinking/eating. Additionally, she wheezes often when inhaling while just laying around relaxing.

Her regular vet and a specialist vet did several test. Chest X-ray, ultrasound  of the abs, camera endoscopy into her trachea, larynx, esophagus and stomach. Plus bloodwork. Everything was perfect, therefore they could not diagnose the problem or provide a remedy. 

They put her on low dose steroids to see if that could help somehow. Several weeks and nothing has changed, it’s not helping. 
 

They said perhaps it’s laryngeal paresis. This is not the same thing as laryngeal paralysis, which is what pulls up if you try to search the internet. They are going to provide information on laryngeal paresis, though they still don’t know that’s the issue. I have been reading about laryngeal paralysis though, since some of these symptoms match up.

Has anyone had this same situation where all test were perfect and nothing could be found. What was the outcome? Did the open mouth purring stop? Did the cat get worse? 

Has anyone had a cat diagnosed with laryngeal paralysis, if so are the symptoms similar to what I mentioned, and did the cat have a procedure to repair the vocal flap as I’ve read about online? 

Has anyone had a cat with laryngeal paresis? Are the symptoms same as I mentioned and was there a cure? 

My cat is uncomfortable when she start open mouth purring. Sometimes it can be 3-4 minutes before it stops. Extremely worrisome for me. Looks like she can’t breathe when it’s happening. 
 

Any information of other’s experience may be helpful. I need a better understanding of what to expect and prepare for or how I can help. 
 

Thanks!

Hi hummingbird! 

I have been searching high and low also as my kitty is experiencing same issues! I work at a veterinary practice and the vets can not find the reason for her doing this either! 

However your post has been quite helpful as I have not yet come across this laryngeal paralysis option before! 

I am desperate for some answers as it's getting to the point I'm not sure how long I can let her go on like this 😢

If you see my reply and have any further information on this and how your kitty is please feel free to email me on: leighaalouisee@gmail.com

Thank you x

[Deebee]

Hi All

My darling girl of 20 is having the same problem when purring. I brought her home at 6 weeks of age, so I’m so worried about her welfare.

She is eating and drinking and toileting ok, but sleeps on the end of our bed and doesn’t come up for cuddles, this has been going on for 2 days

Any information would be helpful

[Percival Hastings]

My 5month old kitten is doing this. Exact same issues you've all described. But he only does it in the morning.

He also has a rare congenital heart defect - pulmonary valve stenosis - where his heart valves didn't form properly. As a consequence, his heart muscle is overgrowing to compensate.

Not sure if this breathing is related to that. 

I try not to cuddle him much when he wakes me up

He's otherwise very playful and eating/drinking fine. 

[8bitbella]

Hi.. I know this is an older thread but I have a sweet two year old long haired tabby that has been doing this or something similar since he was a year old..he’s up-to-date on all vaccines and visits the vet regularly… it does not seem to bother him enough to avoid seeking affection which I am thankful for but now I’m curious as to what could be the cause of his condition and if I should be more worried about it..trying to attach a video

   
 

 

[KKH]

Well, this string is discouraging, but at least I know we aren’t alone. Our 20 year Max, a Manx, has the same struggle breathing while purring. It’s been for a few months now and 2 trips to the vet with one dental check under anesthesia that showed nothing.  I truly doubting our vets’ skills and interest in research, especially with geriatric cats.  In fact, both commented that they rarely see cats this old. Max is a novelty to them. The vet checking his teeth was giddy to work on such an old cat.  He actually bragged that took several pictures of Max and his mouth during the exam and sent them to his fiancé who is also a vet.  How about they do a little research and get all of us some answers!  Max only received an X-ray for his teeth/mouth. Vet would have had to take him to the other building for a larger scan.  I signed the form to do whatever needed to be done, so go next door!!

So we continue to guess and wish things are different without changing anything. They encouraged us to increase his steroid from 1/2 a tablet daily to twice daily and the vet/photographer suggested increasing to 3/4 of a tablet twice daily. Doing so, but no different results. He also mentioned the laryngeal paresis and paralysis, but he was truly guessing and was quick to equate both with putting Max down. I think the vet means well, but could work on his delivery and a little ambition to collaborate with other vets and find a cause and/or treatment. I’m not buying the paresis or paralysis, because logically either should limit the purring, and it’s noise. Neither has occurred with Max, and it’s certainly loud.  We all need an older vet with some experience  

The tumor in the trachea mentioned above was the first time I’d heard that. Interesting and strangely helpful/comforting as a possible “why”.  I’ll respond as we learn more and watch for your comments too. It’s crazy to me in this world of veterinary technology, the aggressive management of who is allowed to adopt a pet, the explosion of pet ownership with heavy vet care and the evolution of pet healthcare insurance that no one understands what causes this or how to resolve it. I don’t think the veterinarians are trying very hard.  Perhaps I’m misinformed, but that’s my opinion throughout this experience and underscored by all of your kind and heartfelt posts.

my best to all of you and your precious cats. 
KK

[Hummingbird]

Hi everyone.. I posted back in August 2021 about my cat's open mouth breathing while purring.  It appears lots of folks have had this same issue with their cats and their vets did not have a diagnosis for it either.  My cat is now 18.5 years old and she still has the issue, it never went away and the temporary steroids we tried back then did not work at all.

They had stated it was most likely a partially damaged larynx, aka partial laryngeal paralysis. That was their best guess, since they had ruled out anything else it could be. The only cure for a damaged larynx is to have surgery. Cutting into that area and pinning back the larynx so it doesn't close. It is risky in an older cat due to anesthesia and the larynx can be brittle in older age and break after it's pinned back, along with requiring the cat to travel by car many hours both ways and stay for days in an animal hospital. It also has it's drawbacks of getting liquid and food into the lungs since the larynx is always open after surgery, which in turn can cause pneumonia.

Has anyone out there ever tried this surgery option for their cat that is having open mouth breathing while purring?

It seems to have gotten worse in the past few months.  I don't give her more than a quick pet while she's walking, since that seems to be the safest time to do it so she doesn't start purring.  She also never purrs at the vet, so I have them trim her nails during those visits.

I feel for everyone here dealing with this.  It's heartbreaking! My cat seems happy, cute little meows when it's food time, loud meows to make sure I wake up way early to hang around her, lays around in her sun spots all day long, but if she purrs I know that part is a poor quality of life and feels like she will stop breathing.  My cat has always been a hardcore purr box, so she purrs very easily. 

Just checking in with an update on how my cat is doing and seeing if anyone ever found a real diagnosis or tried the larynx surgery?

 

 

[MaimeRae]

My 14 yr old ginger is doing this. He’s done the open mouth purring, occasionally, for a couple of years. But it’s getting more frequent. I took videos & he sees vet in a few days.

[jfricker]

Hey all, very glad to find this thread...hard to find info about this particular kitty issue.

My almost 17yr old cat just started having this issue today. We took her to the vet and they couldn't find any issues. She has stage 2 renal disease and a grade 3 heart murmur but those have been issues for a few years now. We give subQ fluids several times a week and gabapentin as needed. Xray and exam came back fine. Vet diagnosed possible asthma but couldn't get my cat to reproduce her symptoms so it seemed like a guess. She was given a prescription for an inhaler, I guess we will try that.

Her symptoms are exactly the same as others have reported. Open mouth breathing and raspiness only when purring. She has been snoring while sleeping occasionally as well. She looks and sounds exactly like kitty in Ccleven2's post above. 

If I get any new answers I'll follow up, hopefully there's something I can share. 

[Kayla13]

I am going to add in my recent experience with my 16 year old cat named Mystery. It started off as him starting to snore when he slept. Then it progressed to wheezing 24/7 and open-mouthed loud purring, which then led to gagging when he ate. He stopped eating his food only taking a few bites at a time. I took him to a vet when I noticed the wheezing. The vet brushed me off but I persisted in asking for a chest x-ray. The x-ray was normal. They gave him antibiotics in case he had an upper-respiratory infection. The antibiotics did not help. Then they gave him a steroid in case it was asthma, but that didn't help either. Also, I stoped giving him the steroids when I was told by a different vet that a diabetic cat shouldn't be taking them. I went to this different vet next and requested blood work and more x-rays. Blood work was normal, he said he may have seen something in his trachea on x-ray, he referred me to a specialist. I went to the specialist, they said the best way to see what was going on would be to get a CT done. We did that and they told me that he has a tumor in his throat that could be cancerous. I'm writing this while he is in surgery to have it removed. I hope this helps someone out there that is worried about their pet. Take them to a specialist would be my advice, the sooner you get answers the better. 

[ILoveMyCat]

All the previous posts sound identical to his symptoms. My cat is 21.5 years old has hyperthyroidism, chronic kidney disease and high blood pressure. We have tried the steroids, antibiotics, lasix and nothing has helped. He is on thyroid meds, gabapentin, cerenia for nausea, mirtazapine for no appetite, solensia monthly for arthritis pain, amlodipine for high blood pressure. His troubles began as random coughing fits where he would extend his throat while laying down but they would soon pass. Over the past month and a half the raspy open mouth breathing while purring began and after a half dozen vet visits nothing has improved. I wondered if anyone could think this is caused by an enlarged thyroid gland? I will not put him through surgery unless there was a procedure to shrink it by a localized injection of some sort to reduce it.  I am only guessing now.  Please advise. He does not seem to be in pain, only sleeping a lot and has always been a poor eater.

[Captilney]

I love that this thread is still going. My 18-year-old cat just started doing the purring/open mouth breathing within the last week. He's always had a raspy purr and meow, but I've also only had him for a year - adopting him at the shelter last year at 17 years of age, so I don't know if he was once 'normal'. I also noticed that he sometimes coughs when he's drinking water, but other than that he's perfectly fine aside from the typical heart/ kidney 18-year-old cat stuff.... We have a vet visit tomorrow but based on the what I've read here I'm not expecting to find much. The vet we use is also a palliative care/hospice vet as we aren't into heroic measures at this point.

Thankfully my old man only seeks attention about twice a day so he doesn't purr alot but when he does I mitigate the breathing episodes by picking him up like a baby that you're burping and carrying him around and then setting him down somewhere else (his default is to go into bread bun mode and that doesn't help the breathing at all) so he has to 'walk it off ' and it kind of seems to bring his breathing back but it sucks that I can't love on him anymore. I do manage to get some kisses in while I'm holding him and walking around.

Reading these threads, it seems the most obvious diagnosis is probably a mass in the throat somewhere but since some of these cats have had this issue for at least a year It seems it's at least slow growing and regardless who knows if I'd have another year with my old man anyway. We'll take what we can get keeping his quality of life as our focus. Paws Crossed for all of us.