Wheezing

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Shenandoah

Shenandoah

Member Since 2015
Hey all,
Not diabetes related, but it occurred to me to ask here since there are so many cat experts :)
Shenandoah has wheezed for years. The vet has done x-rays and stuff, and when they had her down for her teeth they did a little exploring for a growth or anything, but all looked clear.

It doesn't seem to be allergies, she's done it in multiple places across the country (moved from Virginia to Colorado 2 years ago), has done it across changes in different household products like laundry detergents and stuff, has done it across a few different dry foods and now FFC, has done it with a variety of litters. Nothing seems to have any impact on it.

She mostly does it when relaxed, and usually awake but resting. Occasionally she will in her sleep, but usually she's either snoring or quiet. When she was uncomfortable from the diabetes it stopped, I think because she was carrying tension. Now that she feels better it's back.

It doesn't cause her any distress. She's not experiencing difficulty breathing. There's just a wheezing sound with each breath.

Any guesses? At this point we have really just stopped worrying about it, as it's been 3 or 4 years now and has been looked at a few times by vets. It's not getting any worse, and the vets have said not to worry about it. But I thought I'd ask around here if anyone has experienced anything similar.
 
My cat has done this for 16 of his 17 years. No idea why. Lungs are clear, no problems, but he definitely wheezes, sometimes quite loudly, and he snores, as well. I always figured the two were related but I don't know this to be the case.
 
Because you said this was done "The vet has done x-rays and stuff, and when they had her down for her teeth they did a little exploring for a growth or anything, but all looked clear." I would not be concerned unless it worsened.
 
The vet did say they looked for polyps where they were able to see while she was under anesthesia for her teeth, and didn't find any evidence of them.
Looking at the symptom list on petmd, other common symptoms are nasal discharge and sneezing, and she doesn't have either of those.
So I don't think it's that in our case.
 
Shenandoah said:
The vet did say they looked for polyps where they were able to see while she was under anesthesia for her teeth, and didn't find any evidence of them.
Looking at the symptom list on petmd, other common symptoms are nasal discharge and sneezing, and she doesn't have either of those.
So I don't think it's that in our case.
Click to expand...

Hmm, then the only thing I can think of is allergies of some sort. Mouse has all the symptoms of the polyps, she's already had surgery once, but it didn't make much difference.
 
My Squallie has no other symptoms other than the wheezing, also. He's been checked by two different vets and they've both said his lungs are clear, no congestion, no head congestion either. Apparently neither of them knows why he wheezes but they aren't particularly worried about it because they can't find anything wrong.
 
Well, I guess if they can't find anything else wrong, maybe it's just the way his nose is developed, just the way it's grown over the years. I'd say with a diabetic kitty you have enough other stuff to worry about and maybe this thing isn't one of them. :cat:I've actually grown to be comforted by the noise Mouse makes when she's curled up next to me (sleeping on top of my head). :rolleyes: My husband doesn't understand how the noise doesn't drive me crazy, I just tell him "maybe it's because I'm already there "! Lol. :D
 
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Squeak has wheezed for her entire life and no vet has ever found a reason why. I just take it as one of her quirks.

When it first cropped up when she was younger, a friend of my mother's also had a cat that wheezed and she said it was due to a slight malformation in her respiratory tract. Her vet told her it was nothing to be concerned about - it was just the way that cat was and that's the attitude I've taken with Squeak. If she's sleeping somewhere out of sight, you just have to listen for a minute and you can usually track her down!
 
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