Sadie is moaning

She moans but she purs also so I know she is fine but why dos she moan? Her old owner was a pot and drug addict if that helps. Sadie is very friendly and purs and rubs agaist you even when she moans and she does it all the time.

Can you give us any more background on Sadie---her age, is she spayed, is this new behaviour?

Cats purr when in pain, not just when happy.

I would take her to a vet as moaning is not normal behaviour.

My mom wrote down stuff below.

We got Sadie almost a week ago. She is underweight, but not emaciated. She had a bad case of ear mites and fleas which were both treated by the vet.

She makes a very odd and nearly constant noise. The noise seems to be coming from the back of her throat. It is almost as if something is structurally wrong with her epiglottis. However, the vet did not note any abnormality. Her lungs are clear. The noise is like a constant groaning or growling-type noise. I even wonder if it might not be a self-comforting habit she developed early on. The other scenario is that it could be environmental. We know her former owner was a drug addict. I don't know what kind of drugs, but if it was something Sadie inhaled second-hand or something she got into, that might be an explanation. She seems to have some difficulty swallowing. However, that hasn't affected her eating. She eats well and has only regurgitated her food once since we got her. We know that she has some bad teeth. This is what made me think about the possibility of FIV, as I know that gum disease is one of the symptoms.

She also seems very wobbly, like she has a difficult time with her balance. Once again, there are a number of possible reasons in my mind: drug-related, weak due to a little bit of malnourishment, or the ear mite problem might have affected her inner ear.

Otherwise, she seems healthy. Her appetite is good, her nose and eyes are clear, her nose is wet, her lungs are clear. She likes to get attention. Putting her down is not an option!!

Did you explain to the vet that she does this all of the time? He/She may have just thought she was doing that because she was at the vet's office. It sounds like something is really wrong with her and she needs to see a vet.

The vet coulnt find anything wrong with her.

I would get a 2nd opinion. It certainly sounds like something is wrong.

we will when we get her shots in a few weeks. We are not putting her down!!!!

I see that Sadie is a tortie, from the pictures in the post header.

I know "tortie" isn't a breed but our, tortie, Kasey does a similar thing.

Kasey purrs but she will make a weezing or moaning sound when at rest, sort of like an augmentaion to purring.

I had her thoroughly checked out and everything is fine. There may be one difference from Sadie in that she can stop the noise at will, at any time, when distracted, petted, sees a toy, hears someone in the kitchen etc. If it were a respiratory problem or other health issue, I don't think she could stop the noise.

Originally Posted by Tiffany01

I even wonder if it might not be a self-comforting habit she developed early on.

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I think in Kasey's situation, this is what is happening, I rescued her from a location where she never knew what people were going to do with her, from one moment to the next.

Oddly, my wife had a visitor today that said they had a tortie that made some unusual sounds too.

I hope you can get it sorted out and all is well.

We are not putting her down!!!!

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Sweetie, no one is suggesting that!
You mentioned the vet couldn't find a problem at Sadie's initial exam. That's good news. If I were you, I would watch her closely until you get her back to the vet's office for her shots. It may help to keep a record of all her behaviours, even if you think that it's just normal 'cat stuff'. You haven't had Sadie for very long, so you don't know all her little habits; this could help the vet decide whether or not she really has a problem.

She seems to have some difficulty swallowing.

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Our Lucy was like that, too. She lived to be 21 and never had a problem eating or drinking. Like Sadie, the vet couldn't explain why it seemed as if she was swallowing "hard".

You mentioned Sadie has some problems with her teeth. You'll need to get those taken care of as quickly as you can; dental work isn't something you can fool around with, as it can affect Sadie's over-all health.

You didn't say if she had been spayed; has she? And how old is she?

I really wouldn't worry about the 'moaning' for now. She's been examined by a vet and deemed relatively healthy. If a 2nd opinion would make you feel better, by all means get one. This may just be a habit of Sadies, you really don't know her well enough yet to be able to tell.

Sadie is 7 yrs old and spayed.

Our Ella also makes an odd noise. I wouldn't call it "moaning," more like...well, we use the term "snorking." She has a very audible sound in her breathing. She was a Katrina survivor, so who knows what she might have been exposed to in that nasty water?

It would be nice if you could get a video/recording of her.

tats a good idea.

Hercules makes a weird noise when he purrs too. Its like a grunting piggy type noise. But hes been checked out and has nothing wrong its just the way he purrs. Fatman also snores like a piggy. My GiGi has this weird growly sound she makes when she is playing too...I got the weirdos out of the bunch lol...
I think you should just keep an eye on it to update the vet when she goes back for her shots but if it really bothers you get a second opinion as to whether or not it could be some type of infection or something. But then again too sometimes cats are just goofballs and dont stay in the norm of cats!

Originally Posted by libby74

Sweetie, no one is suggesting that!
You mentioned the vet couldn't find a problem at Sadie's initial exam. That's good news. If I were you, I would watch her closely until you get her back to the vet's office for her shots. It may help to keep a record of all her behaviours, even if you think that it's just normal 'cat stuff'. You haven't had Sadie for very long, so you don't know all her little habits; this could help the vet decide whether or not she really has a problem.


Our Lucy was like that, too. She lived to be 21 and never had a problem eating or drinking. Like Sadie, the vet couldn't explain why it seemed as if she was swallowing "hard".

You mentioned Sadie has some problems with her teeth. You'll need to get those taken care of as quickly as you can; dental work isn't something you can fool around with, as it can affect Sadie's over-all health.

You didn't say if she had been spayed; has she? And how old is she?

I really wouldn't worry about the 'moaning' for now. She's been examined by a vet and deemed relatively healthy. If a 2nd opinion would make you feel better, by all means get one. This may just be a habit of Sadies, you really don't know her well enough yet to be able to tell.

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My thoughts exactly, especially about getting the dental work done. though I do agree that the 'moaning' may be a self comforting habit she's formed duirng her awful life before you.

If she was tested and found negative for FeLV she very likely was found negative for FIV at the same time as the tests are done together.

Dental problems are often genetic or due to poor nutrition. Left unsolved they can cause kidney disease, among other things.

Learning a new cats habits is always difficult & it sounds like she had a bad past which makes it more difficult. My current foster (Tiger) is a tabby, tortie & I have found that if she is serious about eating she does not want to be touched. She grumbles while eating.

The thing that bothers me is that she is wobbly. That is generally a sign of an underlying medical problem. In no way does that mean putting her down, instead it means making sure any underlying issue is diagnosed & treated. Did the vet do blood work? Blood work is the best way to diagnose if there is something else going on. Tiger is wobbly, but that is because she was super malnurished & has Liver problems. The sooner you catch any problem the better the outcome for treatment.

she pukes up her catfood also but I think we are giving her too much IDK.

Originally Posted by Tiffany01

she pukes up her catfood also but I think we are giving her too much IDK.

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If it's right after eating, and it looks like she more or less chewed and spit it out, that could mean she's eating too fast.. Which may be a byproduct of her having a possibly rough life elsewhere - Maybe she's scarfing her food because she isn't confident she'll get another timely meal.

If not.. That could be a sign of something else. How often does it happen? Have you tried smaller portions, different food, etc? If it's happening with any sort of frequency, that sounds like a good reason for a call to the vet.

She gobbles it right down.