Can Anyone Help With These Symptoms?

CourageTheCat

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Hi,
This is a picture of Courage the Cat (we called him that because when we got him, he was afraid of everything). We got him on December 5, 2017 from the animal shelter. He looked really sad, and we felt so sorry for him! He was really thin, and he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. He now takes 2.5 mg of methimazole in the morning and evening. He also has oesinophilic granuloma which presents as a small, round piece of plaque on the middle of his lower lip.

But the thing that neither we nor his vet can figure out is that once a day or every two days he has episodes where his lower face becomes puffy. His breathing noticeably increases, and he breathes through his mouth.

IMG_9229.JPG


The second picture is how he looks when he has what I describe as an "episode." His eyes squint, and he almost looks like he is having an allergic reaction.

14). March 8, 2018.JPG


Curiously, the symptoms go away as soon as he eats. I give him a plate of canned food, and his breathing goes back to normal, and the "puffy face" goes away. His vet says she does not understand it. He does not seem to be in discomfort and has no itchiness, in fact he tends to purr continuously when he is having an episode. He is also much more affectionate (he is normally a bit aloof). Does anyone have any experience with something like this? We'd sure appreciate any help or comments. (I have plenty of more pictures and video of him).
 

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CourageTheCat

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He had them cleaned in December, and they removed his first left upper molar. Other than that, I think they're fine. And whatever he has suddenly becomes better after he eats. I think tooth problems would be more or less consistent.
 

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My first thought was an allergy, but eating shouldn't fix that. I'm as baffled as your vet. I wonder whether this could be related to the oesinophilic granuloma; suggest you ask your vet about that. What kind of canned food are you feeding him? Not the brand name, the form factor. Little chunks? Flakes? Pate?

Purring can have many meanings, from "I'm happy" to "I love you" to "I hurt, please help me." Cats tend to be extremely good at hiding pain; in the wild this would be a protection from larger predators, so the behavior is instinctive.

Margret
 

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I, too, would pursue possible symptoms of oesinophilic granuloma; however, as pointed out above, I have no idea why eating would make a difference. One other idea: Is there any ingredient in the canned food that could help to explain the improvement? Another question for the vet.

I do want to add about the purring - it can also be a self-soothing mechanism thing somewhere in between happy and hurting. So, he might recognize "something isn't right" and soothes himself by purring; but, hopefully, may not actually be in pain.

Hope more on this site can come up with some plausible ideas.
 

Margret

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What if this is a nasal allergy? Inflammation in the sinuses, which (at least in humans) run all through the area just above the upper jaw and under the eyes. The open mouth is mouth breathing, and eating (the action itself, not the food) causes some kind of idiosyncratic reaction that causes the sinuses to drain? Does this sound plausible to anyone else?

Margret
 
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CourageTheCat

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My first thought was an allergy, but eating shouldn't fix that. I'm as baffled as your vet. I wonder whether this could be related to the oesinophilic granuloma; suggest you ask your vet about that. What kind of canned food are you feeding him? Not the brand name, the form factor. Little chunks? Flakes? Pate?

Purring can have many meanings, from "I'm happy" to "I love you" to "I hurt, please help me." Cats tend to be extremely good at hiding pain; in the wild this would be a protection from larger predators, so the behavior is instinctive.

Margret
He eats pate, chunks, bits, shreds. I used to feed him Blue Buffalo and Weruva, but then he refused to eat them. I gave him Halo and Dave's, but finally the only thing he would eat consistently was Friskies. I hate giving him that because of the "meat by-products," but he refuses everything else. He only eats wet food, though, which is good because I think dry food is very bad for cats. My other cats eat the food without by-products.
 
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CourageTheCat

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I, too, would pursue possible symptoms of oesinophilic granuloma; however, as pointed out above, I have no idea why eating would make a difference. One other idea: Is there any ingredient in the canned food that could help to explain the improvement? Another question for the vet.

I do want to add about the purring - it can also be a self-soothing mechanism thing somewhere in between happy and hurting. So, he might recognize "something isn't right" and soothes himself by purring; but, hopefully, may not actually be in pain.

Hope more on this site can come up with some plausible ideas.
He eats all different kinds of "flavors" of cat food, and all of them provide relief for his symptoms.
 
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CourageTheCat

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How are his teeth? A bad tooth can cause facial swelling in cats.
He had them cleaned in December, and they removed his first left upper molar. Other than that, I think they're fine. And whatever he has suddenly becomes better after he eats. I think tooth problems would be more or less consistent.
 
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CourageTheCat

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What if this is a nasal allergy? Inflammation in the sinuses, which (at least in humans) run all through the area just above the upper jaw and under the eyes. The open mouth is mouth breathing, and eating (the action itself, not the food) causes some kind of idiosyncratic reaction that causes the sinuses to drain? Does this sound plausible to anyone else?

Margret
This sounds really perceptive. I will suggest this to the vet.
 
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CourageTheCat

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This sounds really perceptive. I will suggest this to the vet.
I've been thinking about this all morning. This is an incredibly perceptive answer. This is the exact reason why I joined this site---to find help and to find ideas that are so insightful! Thank you so much!
 
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CourageTheCat

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What if this is a nasal allergy? Inflammation in the sinuses, which (at least in humans) run all through the area just above the upper jaw and under the eyes. The open mouth is mouth breathing, and eating (the action itself, not the food) causes some kind of idiosyncratic reaction that causes the sinuses to drain? Does this sound plausible to anyone else?

Margret
I've been thinking about this all morning. This is an incredibly perceptive answer. This is the exact reason why I joined this site---to find help and to find ideas that are so insightful! Thank you so much!
 

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What if this is a nasal allergy? Inflammation in the sinuses, which (at least in humans) run all through the area just above the upper jaw and under the eyes. The open mouth is mouth breathing, and eating (the action itself, not the food) causes some kind of idiosyncratic reaction that causes the sinuses to drain? Does this sound plausible to anyone else?
I had sort of a similar thought. That the act of eating, is allowing something to drain. My thought was possibly the salivary glands. I'm pulling this out of my my own head, not based on something that I've heard happen before, but....What if when he salivates, it simply collects and does not fully moisten his mouth. Then the act of eating forces that fluid to come out or drain away, until it starts to collect again?
Margaret has an extremely valid point as well. Especially because of the open mouth breathing. I missed that the first time, when I thought about the salivary glands, but figured I would give my two cents anyway, because if any animal is going to give a human a hard time and find ways to be even more confusing it would be a cat!!!!lol!
Hope all is well, please keep us updated.
 
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CourageTheCat

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I had sort of a similar thought. That the act of eating, is allowing something to drain. My thought was possibly the salivary glands. I'm pulling this out of my my own head, not based on something that I've heard happen before, but....What if when he salivates, it simply collects and does not fully moisten his mouth. Then the act of eating forces that fluid to come out or drain away, until it starts to collect again?
Margaret has an extremely valid point as well. Especially because of the open mouth breathing. I missed that the first time, when I thought about the salivary glands, but figured I would give my two cents anyway, because if any animal is going to give a human a hard time and find ways to be even more confusing it would be a cat!!!!lol!
Hope all is well, please keep us updated.
These are great ideas! I will share the comments with my vet. Thank you so much!
 
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CourageTheCat

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He eats pate, chunks, bits, shreds. I used to feed him Blue Buffalo and Weruva, but then he refused to eat them. I gave him Halo and Dave's, but finally the only thing he would eat consistently was Friskies. I hate giving him that because of the "meat by-products," but he refuses everything else. He only eats wet food, though, which is good because I think dry food is very bad for cats. My other cats eat the food without by-products.
I feed Courage between about eight and ten small meals a day. Each meal is about a quarter of a cup. This starts at four a.m. when I get up to feed the other cats, and goes on across the day. When I get up in the middle of the night, usually around twelve or two a.m., I feed him again. I am trying to keep him from having a "puffy face" incident.
 

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The concept of blocked salivary glands is interesting.
I came across a (human) medical blog where an ER doctor removed a large "stone" from a salivary gland under a man's tongue. The discussion indicated that salivary gland blockages by cysts or very small stones were not uncommon.

[Note to self -- I've been spending WAY too much time surfing lately. :hellocomputer:]
 
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CourageTheCat

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We finally figured out what is causing Courage to breathe through his mouth. He ONLY does it when he purrs. One vet said she thought it was just a "behaviorial" thing, rather than something he has to do. But it could be something to do with the thyroid tumors. He has hyperthyroidism and takes methimazole every day. So it doesn't appear to be a health issue. Thanks to everyone who helped on this site.
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