4 year old Male Cat making strange throat noises

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beagle

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Hello,

I am not sure when this started, but i have noticed for a while now that my cat has started to make strange grunting noises. I notice this when he is eating, when he is cleaning himself, and when he is sleeping.

The noise is somewhere between a groan and a growl. It sounds like a short lived snoring sound, and i think he makes it when he exhales. For instance it is always during the licking action, when he has his mouth open chewing on something big, and when he sighs when he is resting.

He doesnt really make the noise when he is lying stretched out on his side, but if he is curled up or sleeping upright but still hunched up he will sometimes make the sound.

It isnt all the time when he is sleeping, like persistent snoring or anything, it is more of a periodic sigh or if you poke/disturb him. He makes the noise when he lands from a big jump as well.

The noise is loud enough to be easily heard across a room, but it is not especially high or low pitched.  He never used to make these noises, and i guess i started noticing them a couple months ago, perhaps with it starting only when he was sleeping, or maybe when he was cleaning himself.

He is loudest when he is lying on his side and licking his shoulder area, so his head is tilted and extended.

Does anyone know what this might be?
 
paulinehurt

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Hi Beagle,

I am looking into your question with more depth in order to give you as accurate answer as possible. I have a couple of questions for you:

- Does your cat spend most of his time indoors or outdoors?
- Do you know if he has ever had the 'Cat Flu'?

Please review and let me know when you get time and I will try to answer your question as best I can and as soon as I can.

Cheers,

Pauline
 
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beagle

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Hi Pauline,

Thanks for responding quickly.

He is an indoor cat, but we take him out in the backyard usually every day for a couple hours. He does eat grass out there, including some tall grass/weed types. I dont believe he eats flowers though. He does drink from our ponds sometimes, although he has been doing these things for years.

I dont think he has ever had the flu. He used to get coughing spells, like some kind of asthma attack, particularly when it was colder out, but the vet said his lungs were fine i believe.

I'm not sure if this is related, but he also has bald spots on his ears. I made a thread about it a long time ago, but the vet doesnt know what has caused it. I still want to get him a blood test but he had a horrible time the last time the vet tried, and now he is very afraid of strangers.

Here is the thread in case they are connected: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/260118/4-year-old-male-abyssinian-with-small-bald-patches-on-ears

His ear troubles showed up about a year ago, and i am worried this new potential issue with the throat noises may be connected.
 
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beagle

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I cant find the edit button, so i just thought i should mention. That image site i used to host the pictures in the other thread apparently recycles addresses, so those links will probably display some random picture now. They used to show the bald patches on his ears. I can re-upload them along with some new ones if you want.
 
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beagle

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Does anyone know if stertor could match these symptoms? Or is stertor breathing not a transitory condition?
 
meandthegov

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Has he recently gained weight? My 1-year old cat started making some sort of grunting noise when he cleans himself in hard-to-reach areas. I attribute this to weight gain. 
 
jazzygemmy

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Has your vet ruled out a parasitic infestation? I'm not so sure about the throat noises, but the bald patches could be a symptom of ringworm...
 
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beagle

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I dont think he has gained weight, but that is a possibility, thanks.

As for the ringworm, the vet said it wasnt ringworm, but he didnt do any tests to determine what it was or to rule out ringworm, i guess it was just a visual diagnosis. Its been around a year now though, and the patches are still small. but there looks to be more of them. I hope to get him the proper blood tests soon. He doesnt seem especially bothered by them though, so i dont know what that could mean. They arent inflammed or sores, just bald patches. I was thinking it might be some benign genetic disorder, but i dont want him to lose all of the hair on his ears either.

I've tried for a long time to find any information about this on the internet, but i havent been find another case like this.

The main reason i was worried about the grunting noises is because i want to make sure he doesnt have some kind of throat obstruction like a tumor or anything. But he only makes these noises sometimes. I cant even reproduce the noise by  compressing his chest to make him exhale.

The other thing is he makes some weird but brief groaning/mewing noises if you pet or touch him when he is sleeping/just waking up, but i dont think its related.
 
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jazzygemmy

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My cat makes that same groany-mewing noise when I pet him and it wakes him up, too. That sound, I'm pretty sure is totally normal in some cats. Honestly, with both noises, I wouldn't be concerned if your vet isn't. Cats can make a LOT of different noises. I have three cats and they each have their own "custom" noises. Not that I am disregarding your concern, it's just that, for him, it might be totally normal. If he seems to be happy and healthy with no other symptoms, he's probably just fine :-)
 
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kazza cats

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Beagle said:
Hello,

I am not sure when this started, but i have noticed for a while now that my cat has started to make strange grunting noises. I notice this when he is eating, when he is cleaning himself, and when he is sleeping.

The noise is somewhere between a groan and a growl. It sounds like a short lived snoring sound, and i think he makes it when he exhales. For instance it is always during the licking action, when he has his mouth open chewing on something big, and when he sighs when he is resting.

He doesnt really make the noise when he is lying stretched out on his side, but if he is curled up or sleeping upright but still hunched up he will sometimes make the sound.

It isnt all the time when he is sleeping, like persistent snoring or anything, it is more of a periodic sigh or if you poke/disturb him. He makes the noise when he lands from a big jump as well.

The noise is loud enough to be easily heard across a room, but it is not especially high or low pitched.  He never used to make these noises, and i guess i started noticing them a couple months ago, perhaps with it starting only when he was sleeping, or maybe when he was cleaning himself.

He is loudest when he is lying on his side and licking his shoulder area, so his head is tilted and extended.

Does anyone know what this might be?
Click to expand...
 
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kazza cats

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Hi.I.ve just joined and read your post.my cat is 13.she has every single symptom that you have listed.did you ever find out the cause?
 
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