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Jillian Fouts | 6 years ago
I Have A Senior Cat Who Goes Into Labored Open Mouth Breathing When He Is…

I have a senior cat who goes into labored open mouth breathing when he is in a hard purr and also has wheezing and snoring but otherwise acts normal – eats, drinks, and is active for his age. The snoring is even when he’s not in a deep slumber and it can be an airy rattle if that makes sense and he has a little squeak when he swallows. I saw your video on the cat with a polyp and thought maybe this could be what he has except that he’s almost 17 so the vet suggested it probably isn’t since that’s more of a young cat thing but did suggest a scope and CT which will cost me 2500-3500 and he will have to be put under. In reading about breathing, heart disease can also cause breathing problems and since he has heart disease I would hate to spend all the money and put him through that to be told the scope didn’t show anything. I’ve also been reading about asthma, but my regular vet nor the specialist even mentioned that it could be that and from what I’ve read, it’s hard to diagnose. He’s a flame point Siamese and he has early ckd and some heart disease (stage 3/4 systolic murmur and hypertension), so I’m nervous about putting him under. Aside from these “old man” things, the specialist and my regular vet say his labs are spectacular. The specialist said when she is presented with a cat that has these conditions, they bloodwork and labs never look this good. So I certainly don’t want to put him down if he looks good but I also feel like he can’t be comfortable with these breathing episodes. One thing to note, when they did bloodwork a couple of weeks ago, his eosinophils were elevated which I have read can be linked to upper respiratory and asthma. Im putting the link to videos of the wheezing and purring to see if you’ve ever seen such a thing in a cat. I sure wish I had you closer by. Thank you so much!
Jill

Wheezing https://youtu.be/gaf7WCRzu80

Purr/breathing https://youtu.be/kqnd4YORenY

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    hello,

    i reviewed your videos, i think that it is appears as if the wheezing is in the oropharynx area. It also appears to be primarily it the inspiratory phase of the purring/breathing.
    There are internal medicine specialists who focus on this kind of clinical sign. I am not sure if there are any in your area though? I think the best place to start is at a feline specialists office. They tend to be more affordable and accessible. See if they can help start to rule out things before you jump into a scope.
    In my practice for cases like these a typical work up looks like this;
    1. exam,,, use your brain,, its your best diagnostic tool.
    2. radigraphs,, to look at the lungs.. lots of older cats have chronic lower resp disease,,, and unfortunately, we are also looking for signs of cancer.
    3. blood work,, a full cbc, chem, urine and t4.
    4. oral exam under anesthesia,, i look at the whole oral cavity, remove a polyp if i find one, flush the nares if the patient has had chronic nasal discharge, and then I also take skull rads, esp of the nose/nasal passages.
    if all of this fails to produce any helpful info endoscopy is the next step.. or CT, but endoscopy allows helpful info and you can do something (biopsy, etc) if you find something.
    I hope this helps..
    PS i agree about your theory and feelings about the corp practices..
    good luck,
    please keep me posted,, i would love to hear about how things turn out.
    PSS i do think that your kitty is a little old for a polyp.

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Krista Magnifico | 6 years ago
Nasopharyngeal Polyp Exploratory Surgery. Inky Was Suspected To Have A Nasopharyngeal Polyp And His Vet…
Treatment Cost (USD): $605.00
Inky was a rescued feral kitten. From the time his family found him he had what seemed to be an upper respiratory infection (which is very common in feral kittens). After multiple rounds of antibiotics there was little change in his snoring/snorting nasal noises. After doing some research they wondered if he might have a nasopharyngeal polyp? They asked their vet about the possibility? Their vet wanted to send them to a specialist for this. They could not find anyone locally to look and help them with Inky in a price range that was affordable.
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Krista Magnifico | 6 years ago
Edie Is A 7 Month Old Kitten Who Has Had Chronic Snoring And Nasal Discharge…
Treatment Cost (USD): $500.00
Edie has had chronic mucoid (yellow and thick), and making snoring/loud breathing sounds almost all the time. She was originally thought to have an upper respiratory infection, but after four attempts of treating for this she came to see me, Dr Magnifico, for a second opinion.
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  1. Gary Stokes

    Good thing it was a polyp! My cat was doing the same thing and no polyp was found.
    This went on for about 4 years and her vet kept giving her different antibiotics and nothing helped. I asked if they could do a nose culture.
    And they said no they couldn’t so like I said it went on for 4 years!! It wasn’t until moved back to Lexington SC from Nashville TN that her doctor in Columbia SC saw her. And I told her what was going on and what they said about they couldn’t do a culture! And she said sure they could have! And she said I’ll do one now!
    And she sent it off to be tested and it came back that she had pseudmonas!! It is resistant to most all antibiotics! That’s why nothing they had given her helped! But the good news is there was one antibiotic that it wasn’t resistant to it was marblefloxin ” zinaqun ” she but her on a two month round of doses and it cleared it right Up!!

  2. Gary Stokes

    Be very careful pseudmonas outbreaks in cats are running rampant in the United States in the last several years so if your car shows any signs of nasal discharge and whising and sneezing get him or her checked for a polyp! If no polyps them get them checked for pseudmonas! Pseudmonas is very Dangerous!! It can cause nerve damage! Nurolagical problems heat problems peralisis and even Death!!

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Pawbly | 8 years ago
Hello, My 18 And 1/2 Year Old Lab Mix Just Suddenly Lost About 50-70% Use Of…

Hello,

My 18 and 1/2 year old lab mix just suddenly lost about 50-70% use of his hind legs few days ago. The vet recommended MRI which was financially not feasible nor did I think giving him anesthesia given his age was a good idea. He sent us home with prednisone and to call back with updates. I took him to a vet acupuncturist but she said that probably won’t be very helpful. I’m going back tomorrow to see if I can convince her to do acupuncture. Boston has otherwise been a super happy and healthy dog (sans nerve sheath tumor surgery 7 months ago from which he has made 100% recovery).

It’s been 5 days and since I wasn’t told about crate rest, I allowed him to wonder/wobble short distances around the house to go potty and to/from bedroom and living room and he has fallen few times when his back legs gave out. Given his age, I just don’t think surgery is an option. If he doesn’t get better in a couple of weeks, is euthanasia pretty much the only option? How much time should I give him? I just hate seeing him in pain but my husband is on deployment and I really want him to hang on until he comes back as it was my husband who rescued our dog 16 years ago. He is currently on prednisone and tramadol. Please advise. I just cannot make any drastic decisions on my own right now but I also want to do the right thing by our loyal and loving baby. Thank you.

5 Responses

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  1. Jana

    Did the vet provide some preliminary diagnosis? Do they think it’s a disc injury or something else? For example, Jasmine had neck problems resulting in pain and mobility issues,while JD had similar symptoms from what was likely a brain/spine infection or cancer. I know of a number of cases where acupuncture help with spinal or disc problems a great deal. Might be effective to address pain regardless of what is happening. Which makes me wonder why your vet is hesitant to try.

  2. Linda Squales

    The preliminary diagnosis was disc issue, moderately advanced. But without mri I guess they couldn’t say for sure. I don’t know why the holistic vet didn’t want to give him acupuncture but I’m going back tomorrow and going to demand one. We did do cold laser but not sure if that’s doing anything. Given his advanced age I just want to know what the “right” thing to do is by a dog who has been so loyal through so many of our lives’ difficult moments. The regular vet (and I agree) that surgery is not really an option for a lab his age. But not sure if I want to give up on him yet especially before my husband’s return. Thank you.

  3. Krista Magnifico

    Yes. Jana. There are many questions I have about this case? That’s why I listed everything I could think of to look at.

  4. Jana

    Krista, wouldn’t acute onset make DM much less likely? Surely there would be some gradual signs? Jasmine was 9 when her neck issues started; one day she was fine and the next day she wasn’t. Though same thing happened with JD. He was perfectly fine, then started having problems with hind legs in the morning and by evening was pretty much unable to use any legs successfully.

    The upside of DM is that it is non-painful, isn’t it? So unless further issues crop up, either secondary or it ascends, the dog should be able to hold up until the master returns?

    http://dawgbusiness.blogspot.ca/2011/08/what-acupuncture-did-for-intervertebral.html

  5. Krista Magnifico

    Hello Linda,
    I think a few things should be discussed;
    First, I agree with Jana that it is really helpful to have a preliminary diagnosis to start the treatment options from. I hope that the vet did some basic diagnostics like full blood work (CBC, full Chem panel, thyroid (T4), urinalysis AND radiographs of the chest (3 view) and spine if they suspect IVDD. I also think a rectal exam is in order. I worry about the following.. many of which can be quickly and easily ruled out with the exam and diagnostics.. I am also very worried about DM, degenerative myelopathy as it is common in older labs and presents as ascending paralysis of the back legs. I also worry if it is one of the neuromuscular or muscular diseases that the prednisone might exacerbate or worsen or accelerate the peripheral (back leg) muscle loss. Also if a practitioner tells you that they are concerned a treatment option wont help my inclination is to believe them and ask for guidance to something that might.
    Try to get the vet to give you something for pain, especially if it appears there is any signs of joint disease on the radiographs. Labs are also very commonly struggling with old bad hips.
    Lastly, IVDD is unlikely in older dogs simply because the spine tends to bridge with spondylosis which makes disc disease less likely. A radiograph of the spine may help with identifying these.
    Please let me know.
    My advice is to speak to your vet about all of this and then get a second opinion.
    Good luck
    Krista

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Pawbly | 8 years ago
My 6 Months Old Cane Corso Just Got A Cherry Eye But He Just Had…

my 6 months old cane corso just got a cherry eye but he just had a surgery under general anesthesia a few days ago. are there any concerns if i did the cherry eye surgery these days meaning that he will take general anesthesia 2 times in just 10 days? and is there any possibility that the cherry eye might go on its own?

2 Responses

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    The cherry eye, or third eyelid prolapse can return to its normal position, but even if it does they typically re-prolapse. They are not an emergency surgery, so I would talk to your vet about the pros and cons of back to back surgeries for this specific procedure.

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JoAnn Sevey | 9 years ago
He Said That Surgery At Her Age Is Dangerous, She May Not Wake Up From…

He said that surgery at her age is dangerous, she may not wake up from the anesthesia. My dog scratched the tumor and its now a terrible looking open wound. I cant afford to take her to a vet, I have no income at this time. I know she has to be in pain & im worried about infection. Is there anything I can do to treat this ? Some type of topical med. or antibiotic ???

2 Responses

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  1. julie brader

    Hello JoAnne,  I realise your dog is 14 years old and an anaesthetic, as the Vet informed you may not be the ideal at her age….you cannot leave her like this.

    She has a large open wound on her stomach that is not only open to infection but must be extremely painful. 

    The tumour doesnt appear to be on a nipple but the underside of the top of her back leg? 

    You have to take her to a Vet urgently and you need to find the funds from somewhere to do it. Care Credit might be worth looking into…or perhaps you could borrow the money from family or friends. Your dog needs a Vet and she needs one now. 

  2. Dawn Ferara, DVM

    I agree with Julie and Krista