Breathing

[Summercats]

Hi,
I have been scrolling through old posts but can't find this issue. My cat seems to have heavy breathing at times, such as if his lungs were congested. It is not scratchy just heavy. His breathing seems hard, kind of like he is purring but not. No cough, sneeze or watery eyes. He seems normal otherwise. Oh he does snore a bit and make noises when sleeping.

He is a mixed breed with a bit of a short face but not as short as a Persian.

Sorry, can't post a pic, now when I try there is no sizing or thumbnail option and it just tells me to select a file and then says too large after I choose my pic and that it cannot upload

 

[Summercats]

Bump, anyone?

 

[vyger]

If the file size is too big it will not accept the picture. So what you need to do is edit the picture with a photo editing program and compress it a little so its small enough.

 

[mazie]

It sounds like an URI. How old is your cat? Is he a kitten? Is his breathing labored? He needs to be seen by a vet. If you think he is in distress, you need to have him seen today if at all possible. That is why I asked his age. If you are dealing with a kitten, they are much more fragile and you would not want to take the chance of him not making it through the rest of today and night.

 

[vyger]

Breathing is generally considered to be a good thing. If a cat stops doing that then usually its problems are all resolved.

Sorry for the sense of humor.
Like all animals cats can get colds. They might even blow little snot bubbles. Like all things it can be a sign of something more serious but I tend to think along the line of my mom which was give it time to get well before you start thinking of doctors and hospitals. (There were five of us and not one of us died from waiting a few days to get better)

 

[Summercats]

His breathing only sounds funny when sleeping or purring. He is about 1.5 to 2 years old.
He has no nasal discharge. He had a bit of a runny nose about two weeks ago but just for a day or two. No sneezing unless from dust in the litter box. He is snoring beside me right now. So no worries that he is not in extreme distress, I just never had these sounds before in a cat. It may be the nasal passages are a bit smaller than normal.

Dunno about the file size, it is the same with all pics here I try to post. The first was ok, the second came out a thumb nail and trying to repost no joy. My pics are fine on other sites, I think there is a glitch that maybe does not like my device.

 

[vyger]

One of my cats snores pretty loudly. Its actually funny because unlike people its a a high pitch sound. She has no other trouble but often when she is sound asleep, she snores. It makes it easy to find her.
In people a lung infection or pneumonia causes a crackling noise in the lungs. I believe its from the tissue sticking together and pulling apart. It will also cause wheezing but that will come from the chest. You might be able to listen to his chest when he is breathing but it depends on how social the cat is. A stethoscope is really the best way. The treatment for a bacterial lung infection is antibiotics. For a viral infection it is just time and their immune system that cures it.

All that being said there are some pretty serious things that cats can get, one is called FIP. It's the result of a viral infection. There is a good video explanation from a vet here.
It's a bit depressing. And if that isn't enough to worry about here is a big article from PetMD about noisy breathing.
Noisy Breathing in Cats | petMD
So there can be a lot of things that go wrong but also it can be nothing.
I did a Google search and there is a lot of information about it, but again a lot of it is depressing.
If it was one of my cats I would keep checking to make sure it wasn't getting worse. I would also make note of circumstances that might cause it to happen. I would also try and get him to do a vigorous play session to get him a little winded to see if that causes him trouble. If he gets labored breathing after hard play then that would be cause to have him checked out. But remember I am not a VET and probably many people will disagree with me. Many of those people have easy access to vet service. The only vet near me is 65 miles away and is only open week days so its almost a 3 hour round trip for anything. Plus its expensive so I am a little more hesitant to rush my cats there.
Hope some of this helps.

 

[Summercats]

vyger

Thanks, I too have been trawling the web for info. He does come from a shelter where cats were kept communaly in various enclosures.
I did have a vet give a check up after I brought him home. Positives were his teeth were very good and his heart sounded well. Negatives his white blood cells were high and lymph nodes swollen, so hopefully he was just fighting an infection.

The video was useful. He is not breathing noticeably like the cat in the video, but it shows when sleeping, snoring, sometimes a bit whistley of a snore, or when he is excited and purrs at times.

 

[di and bob]

He may have allergies, which is very common, and if he acts normal other than that, it is highly likely. If he gets very sleepy, has eye, nasal discharge and sneezes, it most likely is herpes virus which is VERY common in cats, especially from shelters or where their are large concentrations of cats, and ends in about a week. I have two cats that are getting over it right now. It flares up at times, and Lysine which is available on Amazon or pet med sites is given to limit its progression. As long as any discharge is clear, an antibiotic will not work, but if it morphs into yellow or green and thick, or if wheezing or crackles appear in the lungs then you need to see a vet. They get lethargic and don't move around much, and their appetite may decrease with the virus. Some cats have shorter nasal passages and it will cause them to snore or breathe with noise. They learn to live with it, but watch them more closely as they will be more affected from allergies or colds. Coughs are not normal, what we may think of as a hairball can be a heart problem, but I have had many cats live for many more years with this condition and the right medication, so don't panic. What your cat has is highly likely to be perfectly normal, DON"T get caught up in the dramatics of the internet, nine out of ten times when you go there, a simple cold turns into cancer and a simple hang wound will need to be amputated. If in doubt call a vet, E-mail them a photo, or get hold of knowledgable people like here on the Cat Site!