Patty M Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 Im so glad to see that I am not alone. Im going through the same breathing problems with my 17 year old cat. She eats; plays, cleans herself & is quite normal besides the purring that goes into the breathing problem. For some reason, it seems to happen for the most part at night. Have seen 3 Vets & have had bloodwork, but still no answers; except she has moderate kidney disease. I hope we all figure this out soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveMyCat Posted November 3, 2023 Share Posted November 3, 2023 As of today, I am no closer to a diagnosis. His lungs do not show fluid or congestion. His heart is slightly enlarged (on lasix) and he is getting a Covenia injection today. The antibiotics seem to help in the short term but oral Clavamox made him ill. November 14 he is going in for more bloodwork and scans of his throat to see if they can see and enlarged thyroid or mass. I will update then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddb29 Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 I read this post a number of times while trying to understand why our 15+ yo cat was having this trouble with not being able to breath while purring. Heartbreaking as she was such an affectionate old girl and It really reduced her quality of life to not have cuddles. It started for her mid-Feb 25. We did antibiotics, steroids, had x-rays, a bronchoscopy, blood tests... nothing showed up. Steroids helped keep her appetite up but a couple of nights ago, after a couple of days of barely eating, she brought up white foamy stuff, laid flopped on the floor, and her breathing was laboured. Vet found her tummy distended and she was in a lot of pain. Ultrasound showed she had a mass in her intestines. Unfortunately we had to make the awful decision yesterday to have her PTS as it didn't seem fair to put her through surgery and, probably, chemo. Maybe completely unrelated to the purr-breathing issue, maybe a secondary cancer related to something in the throat that the scans missed (or the throat was the secondary cancer!), but it could also have been the only issue and that her abdomen was slightly swollen for those last two months, then pushing other organs out of place and affecting her throat and lungs. We will never know for sure but I just want anyone else going through this to consider investigating further down the body as well. We found out too late to be able to try removing the mass. Heartbreaking as we feel 15 is not a ripe enough age for a cat. Wish we could have given her a few more years.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfnirvana1 Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 Dear ddb29 - I'm so sorry for your loss of your lovely cat. They leave such a hole in our lives. Thank you for your comments, they may well help someone else with their elderly cat experiencing the same issues. Best wishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayfeather100 Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 Crazy I have found this thread as my 19 year old cat just started going though this. It seems like it’s mostly older cats for everyone else too. So sorry we’re all going though this. My baby started having weird breathing when eating but only slightly, I brought him in and he had some slightly bad infected teeth. He got Convenia, it wore off he did a mouth breathe once, months later he didn’t do it but then he started breathing loud a lot and we gave him Convenia, it didn’t wear off yet and he started breathing with his mouth open and purring.sometimes ending in a sneeze. It’s awful to hear for sure. Vet did an ultrasound and said his heart and lungs are very healthy for his age. She thinks there’s a blockage like cancer in his throat or lungs. Idk what to think but he’s eating, wanting on his leash, jumping, running, etc. I think he’ll be okay but it’s hard to tell I’ll keep watching him. I want to help him so bad as he’s such a happy cat and loves life, he’s always purred as SOON as he sees me so it makes it even harder to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...