Breathing strained when sitting on her ass

[Renne]

My cat has a habit of sitting on her ass when looking outside the window. One of her ancestors was a Scottish Fold, so she can sit like this, and it's rather unnatural, I think.

I noticed that whenever she does this, and even if I take her into my arms in a similar way, she starts to make (infrequent) snuffling noises, as if she finds it harder to breath. She also throws up sometimes (once a couple of weeks), and today I noticed that while sitting on her ass she made a motion to throw up but didn't. So I drew a conclusion that it's probably due to this unnatural sitting that she throws up sometimes after eating.

But I don't know how to prevent her from assuming this position! Short of barring window access to her, but that's too cruel, the quality of her life would rapidly deteriorate. She doesn't sit like this anywhere else, only when looking outside.

P.S. Actually she sometimes make such noises in other positions, as well Like her nose is full and she sniffles.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
I don't think the sitting is the cause, necessarily, but when you see this, you should be able to put your hand(s) behind her and tip her forward so her front feet come down onto the window sill and she ends up in a more normal position.

Is she overweight?

Does she eat too fast, causing her to throw the food back up?

Are you brushing her to reduce the hair she's ingesting if she's grooming, just in case the vomiting is hairball related?

Has she been to the vet lately in case what you're seeing is something else entirely?

 

[Renne]

Thanks for your reply. This will sound strange, but I'm not sure if she's overweight. From above, she's a slim cat, but from the side... She has that empty bag of skin hanging down from her abdomen that some cats have, it flaps around when she runs, and it makes her look pretty fat from the side. But since she's slim from above, I guess that shouldn't count as overweight? Do I understand correctly that being overweight could cause problems like the ones I've described?

I need to say that her sniffling noises in some positions happened from day 1 when I got her. It's been more than 3 years now. They're very occasional and I chalked them up to her awkward sitting positions, but I'm worried that I'm wrong.

We've been to a vet a while ago. I asked if we could check her for any breathing problems, but when the vet told me that it's going to require general anesthesia and putting tubes into her nose, I backed down... I wasn't sure if the problem is serious enough to merit such invasive procedures. I was told that there's no other way to check. So I thought I'd ask here and get people's opinions about how serious they think the problem is.

I can't rule out eating too fast. Usually she eats just fine, biting down once or even twice before swallowing, but that doesn't mean she eats like this at all times. 2 years ago we had a case of one particular cat food that she ate too fast and kept throwing up. I just stopped giving it to her, I guess it was too tasty As for hairballs, I brush her, and whenever she throws up, there's never any hair, just food.

 

[Furballsmom]

I guess that shouldn't count as overweight?

That bag is called a primordial pouch, and a lot of cats have it but it isn't an indication of being overweight.

From above, she's a slim cat, but from the side

She sounds like she's probably just fine, although being overweight and sitting like that would squoosh everything to the point I would think breathing might be a little compromised.
This might help
https://ontariospca.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Royal-Canin-Cat-Body-Condition-Chart.pdf

How are her teeth? If/when she needs a cleaning, you could possibly have the nose check done at the same appointment.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I was also going to talk about primordial pouch and give you a body condition chart, but since Furballsmom just did this, all I will do is add one comment. None of these blasted charts ever depict the primordial pouch, and I think they should, so keep that in mind when you check out the chart.

As far as the odd sitting position, could it be because of the position of the window and how sitting that way might help her to have a 'bigger', clearer view? There are various 'contraptions' you can buy to place on a windowsill, or even above it, to make the sitting area larger, and perhaps higher. It just all depends on your windowsill and the set up as to what might or might not work. If you can find a set up that makes that spot more comfortable, you might be able to break the habit of her sitting that way.

I am guessing the vet might have thought your cat has polyps or restriction in the nasal cavity/nasopharynx area, for them to suggest performing what could be a rhinoscopy - using tubing to view inside. It is a minimally invasive procedure but would require sedation. I wonder what is the reasoning for this instead of an x-ray, MRT, or CT scan to view the various passageways. While that might require a slight sedation to keep your cat motionless, it is not invasive in any manner. You might ask the vet about this. If it were thought to be more of an actual breathing problem, the vet could take an x-ray of her chest area (heart/lungs), which rarely requires sedation.

Throwing up a couple times a week is a bit excessive. Eating too fast usually results in regurgitation, which is when a cat vomits shortly after eating and it is mostly undigested. Throwing up hours and hours after eating is more likely to be related to digestive issues. Giving her food and water dishes that are elevated might help, as well as either buying a slow feeder or putting a golf ball in her food to make her have to slow down to eat around it.

All of what I am saying is pure speculation, but just some other ideas on what might be going on.

 

[Renne]

I looked at the chart, at the pictures drawn from above, and she might actually be overweight! Not much, not 'Obese', but the picture right after 'Ideal' that reads 'Overweight' looks right. She's free-fed, but I'll check how much she eats per day and start giving her less. One of the vets about a year ago actually mentioned that she was overweight, but I didn't want to believe him, thinking that it's just the primordial pouch and that he's a pretty bad vet for not knowing about it

If an X-Ray can be helpful, I'll definitely talk to the vet about it. MRT or CT is highly unlikely, such machines aren't present in animal clinics here. They aren't even present in human clinics that are state-run. I could take her to a private clinic if required, although I'm unsure if they know how to work these machines on cats.

Thanks for the window ideas. Indeed, I could put something there that'll make sitting-on-her-butt an uncomfortable position for her.

Sometimes she makes these noises even lying down in the bun position. Strangely, often it happens when she's peeved that I give her my attention (she's a grumpy cat). Almost invariably, almost if those were noises of discontent. Sometimes it happens when she sleeps, and once I shift her position, it stops.

As for throwing up, sorry but I think there's a misunderstanding, she throws up about once in two weeks, not twice in a week. It happens very quickly after eating, with food still undigested, and I think it's likely from eating too fast, indeed.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Oops, sorry - I misread the frequency of throwing up. Nonetheless, as I said, the elevated bowls and slow feeder approaches might still be the answer.

As far as a window seat - not trying to make it less comfortable for her but rather more comfortable! Perhaps, something like this -
ETNA Deluxe Cat Window Perch - Chewy.com, or maybe even a cat tree placed in front of the window.