Do you think my cat is flat-faced?

[Betuncay]

Hi everyone,

my 1.5years old female scottish fold started to have breathing problems this summer and as you can see she has a very small nose. We found that she has a mild hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and we started to take heart medication. She has no breathing difficulties now with the meds but when she runs or plays you can hear noises coming from her nose. Our vet also recommended us to have nostril enlargement surgery but anesthesia is also a risk with heart conditionAlso she is feline coronavirus positive and any operation can trigger FIP unfortunately…

Do you think she is flat-faced even though she is not persion? What would you do if you were in my situation?

I am very anxious and scared of anything might happen to her suddenly

thanks..

 

[fionasmom]

She is adorable, regardless of her issues. I have never faced this in a cat. While I have never owned the flat faced breeds of dogs either, a neighbor had a pug who literally sounded as if he was sucking in air with every breath; they moved, so I don't know an outcome.

Hopefully others will comment. Before considering any surgery, I would consult with a specialist or two. Do you have a cardiologist? Internist? How bad is the breathing now? Is it severe enough to do the surgery and if it seems improved now, why does the vet want to proceed with the surgery?

I have a young boy, 5 now, with HCM who was diagnosed at age 2. I am wondering why the HCM meds (plavix and atenolol?) have improved it so much and if that means that it is not entirely a breathing issue.

I would want a lot more information about this if I were you.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

She doesn't look extremely brachiocephalic, but the angle isn't great. She may be somewhat. Not as badly as a really flat-faced Persian, but a bit.

 

[Maurey]

BSH, and, as a consequence, SFS, are mildly to moderately brachycephalic if good type, though some poor type cats may be much more so — I’ve seen BSH with dished in Persian-like faces. Based on your photos, your cat may have mild to moderate stenoic nares, with her left (our right) nostril looking a bit worse off. If you have concerns, talk to you vet. If it’s the structure of her nose casing her breathing oddities, a minor procedure can help, or she may have a nasal polyp that needs to be checked out.

Unsure who told you that operations can trigger FIP in FCov carriers, but that’s not really how it works, she may get a kitty cold from stress, but stress won’t trigger the virus to mutate. The majority of cats are carriers of the virus in some capacity.

If she’s not been spayed yet, any procedures on her nose can be done same time as a spay procedure.

In your position, I’d want to have her looked at by a specialist, and decide from there. Realistically, stable medicated HCM isn’t a major contraindication for surgery in a young cat, if you go with experienced surgeons and anaesthesiologists fully aware of the situation.