Cat's Breathing Change

This is my first posting here, so HELLO!

I have a question about my cat and I'm hoping to get a little advice or info. She's a 5 year old American Bobtail, in good health, no problems except for some gingivitis about a year ago (it was cleared up with meds and now she's fine). Her weight is good and we keep her indoors at all times. She's extremely active, loving, vocal, and happy.

Here's the problem. When she lies down, she grunts a bit and also snores when sleeping. No problems with that. However, recently it seems like it's gotten worse. The snorting, grunting, and snoring has gotten louder and her little stomach seems to be moving a bit quicker. Now, her breathing IS NOT labored...it doesn't seem like she's having difficulty catching her breath or anything. She doesn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort.

I mentioned this last year when I took her to the vet, but he said not to worry...but since then it just seems like it's gotten a bit worse and now I'm concerned.

She has an appointment at the vet on Monday for her checkup and I'll mention it to him when I take her, but I was just wondering if anyone else had any insight. Should I be nervous? Concerned? Anyone else ever had this happen to a kitty?

Thank you for any info!
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Welcome!

Twitch had really bad gingivitis as well. Hers couldn't be cleared up with medication, & she had to have all of her teeth removed. When we first got her, she breathed normally. As her teeth got worse, her breathing got different. She almost wheezes. The vet said that some cats can develop that from breathing differently with bad teeth & sometimes they breathe normal again. Twitch still wheezes. Does your kitties breath smell bad? Is it possbile her teeth have gotten bad again?

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Welcome!

Twitch had really bad gingivitis as well. Hers couldn't be cleared up with medication, & she had to have all of her teeth removed. When we first got her, she breathed normally. As her teeth got worse, her breathing got different. She almost wheezes. The vet said that some cats can develop that from breathing differently with bad teeth & sometimes they breathe normal again. Twitch still wheezes. Does your kitties breath smell bad? Is it possbile her teeth have gotten bad again?

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Hi there!

Well, her breath is actually fine and her teeth look well (I know that probably doesn't mean anything). It's interesting that Twitch still has the wheezing, though. I wasn't aware that could be caused by the gingivitis. I'm really hoping that's her problem, as well. Of course I've conjured up all worse-case scenarios in my mind about the possible cause.

Another thing I forgot to mention...she doesn't always wheeze or sputter. It comes and goes. And it seems to get worse when she purrs...she's a very loud purr'er. I've often wondered if the extremely loud and intense purr wasn't part of the problem since 9 out of 10 times, the strange breathing happens when she's in her full-on purr mode. But I have no understanding of how purring works or if that's even a possibility. Any ideas?

At any rate, thank you for replying. I'm so overprotective with my little girl that I tend to flip out over even the slightest problem!

I have been having that problem with Wellington. When I first found him he wheezed a bit, and grunted in his sleep but the vet said it was nothing. Then it slowly got worse, even though the vet said he could hear nothing in his chest. But finally I insisted on a chest Xray as I knew it was not right, and there was something showing. He has been on Doxicillin for two weeks now and it is getting better, though not completely cured yet. Other than a breathing noise - sometimes a wheeze, sometimes a grunt or half a cough, he eats, sleeps and plays normally. But having already nursed two of mine through serious URIs I am very glad we caught this one in time. I would get your vet to take it seriously and do an Xray.