My Cat Breathes Weird When He Purrs?

Bahaha! Hekitty sounds like a crazy guy!

My worrying got the best of me... because he went from only making his open mouth purr OCASSIONALLY to making it every time he purrs. I booked him for a vet visit when I can afford it next Tuesday... I hope he is okay. I've been reading everything from heart failure to fluid in the lungs!!

The thing is - he is FINE not purring. He occasionally coughs and has tummy rumbles, but he plays heavily with toys... he leaps and lunges and does back flips! And he is obsessed with food. He drinks. He makes regular potty trips and poops.

I have been having anxiety attacks all week!

LOL...well, Hekitty is a gal, not a guy.  When you see it written, it looks as if it would be He-Kitty, a boy cat, but it is a play on the name of the Greek goddess, Hekate.  It confuses people all the time.  

We have GOT to get you relaxed enough to actually enjoy this cat!  May I suggest chamomile tea?  It works wonders on the nerves (in fact, cats can have it, but MUCH smaller doses...half a tsp rather than a cup!).  Valerian is even better, but it smells like vinegar and tastes like dirty gym socks.  

Let us know if the vet says anything startling.

I;m going to go have my own cuppa chamomile now.   It's been a tense day!

@Mamanyt1953  I'll second that, chamomile tea all round    

I hope the stresses of the day melt away  

Omg tell Hekitty I'm so sorry!! She is beautiful

Thank you guys so much. It almost seems like his purr is getting a LITTLE better. I'm still going to be taking him to the vet... just for peace of mind!!! You guys have been like my rock. Thank you SO much. I would be even MORE of a basket case without this group!!! I am going to think positive. I've been reading a lot of horror stories about vocal cord paralysis and heart failure... etc but Calvin is completely fine ASIDES from his purr. I don't know any cat who could LEAP and do backflips and be terminally ill... I hope I'm right!

I think you are right.  If he's doing backflips, it's just a quirk.  They have LOTS of them.

Guys some happy news. As of tonight... he is improving!! He hasn't done his weird purr since I've been home!! Not sure why. His mouth will still still slightly hang open... but it is NOTHING in comparison to how he was purring... even his purr sounds less wheezy!!

I am hoping he stays this way but we will see. I wonder why he is feeling better? I have added pumpkin and sensitive food to his diet... who knows.

He will still be going to the vet. But I am relieved

  Looks like we're headed in the right direction!  Don't forget to make notes for the vet so you don't forget a detail that might be the key to something.  Good idea to have a notebook for stuff like that in general.  I have one for Hekitty and one for me!  Um...not that we see the same doctor, you understand....

That's a great idea! I just made a bunch of notes in my phone I am hoping for the best.... stil worried! Lol.

He started doing his weird purr again... here's the weird thing. He did it the morning after I gave him his OLD FOOD!! When he was on the sensitive diet... his weird purr went away. As did his farts. Right after he ate his food I noticed he had farts again

Now I am really wondering if this could be a type of allergy or something!!

Have a look at the ingredients on his old food and the sensitive tummy food to see if there's any ingredients that stand out as different on the old food that he might possibly be allergic to.  

OH MAN!  And cat farts are the worst!  They just...DETONATE in a room!  Yep, sounds as if he has sensitivities to certain foods if not outright allergies.  @Brian007  has the right idea.  Compare ingredients, then you will know what to avoid!

Thank you guys!! I bought him the food that has been helping him... and started him back on it today. He will be visiting the vet tomorrow. Please keep him in your thoughts!! So nervous! But a little happier to think that I could've found the reason why he is off.

Wow!!! Had the best visit ever!!!! The vet was so sweet and said that her cat had the SAME PURR!! She checked his lungs and heart and his heart was beating SO fast because he was So afraid!! But he sounds good and she isn't concerned... she said it could be allergies but it could just be his gut as a growing kitten.

She also added that it could perhaps be an old respitory infection but she isn't concerned at all.

Hurray!  Break out the champagne!      I'm so happy for you both.  You sound so relieved    

I am SO relieved!! She gave me probiotics for his gut... but Calvin is pretty mad because he got his vaccinations and deworming today... but I'm SO HAPPY!

I just realized - I forgot to tell the vet about the POSSIBILITY of him swallowing a wire. You think if she thought he could have ingested anything she would've wanted to see inside his throat? I assume so!

That wire will be long gone by now, I'd have thought.  Presumably she listened to his chest, so would have felt around his abdomen too.  And, if it had scratched his throat or oesophagus, he most likely would have coughed up blood.  So, I think he got away with that!  Just remember to be extra cautious about leaving tasty bits of wire and plastic lying around.  As I mentioned, Dudley will nibble on my computer cable the second my back is turned, wee scamp!  

Absolutely! She did say he was so tensed up she couldn't really feel his organs. But she said that is normal when a kitty is very afraid of the vet... which he was!

I agree with @Brian007  that you have dodged that bullet.  If it were going to cause problems, they would be obvious by now.  A bit of advice...get a small spiral bound notebook and take notes of things you want to mention to the vet.  That can be invaluable.  Leave spaces to take notes on what the vet says.  I do this for both Hekitty and myself!

Great idea thank you guys so much!! I feel so relieved. She was a sweet woman too. He got all his shots done today so he's going to be a little mad at me but he was a trooper!!! I am excited for a good nights sleep WITHOUT worrying about Calvin!!