Cat's frequent breathing habits and why I am afraid to put him under for surgery

[tml1991]

Quality might not be that good, but my cat's breathing patterns. My cat needs teeth pulled, but I am afraid to put him under due to his breathing and his heart arrhythmia last year. I missed his August 29th appointment due to illness. Lee-Lee has an appointment on the 27th, but I am still worried about him putting him under. He frequently breaths fast and somewhat noisy, and with that arrythima last year it makes me feel like the procedure will kill him. He however badly needs his teeth pulled. This situation has me so stressed and worried.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Given his background, I would think the vet would want to run an echocardiogram beforehand. That is actually fairly standard, especially in older cats who are looking to go under anesthesia.

You might need to consult with a vet cardiologist for additional guidance. Many specialty groups have a cardiologist on staff - and most vets can refer you to the closest one to you. Your vet can share all of Lee-Lee's records to help facilitate a consult.

 

[tml1991]

His breathing is often like this. Not all the time, but a lot of it. How the nearest cat cardiologist is hours away and how much he hates driving makes this even more stressful. Is the pattern of breathing he has in that video common? It seems unusual.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I think the breathing looks rapid - BUT the big key is to monitor the breaths per minute, which is only fairly accurate when your cat is very restful and calm, or asleep. You count the number of chest risings (or falls) for 30 seconds and multiply by 2. The typical norm is under 30, better to be closer to 25.

Can your vet do an echocardiogram? Maybe another vet in the area can do one, if not. If you can't go to see a cardiologist, will your vet consult with one via video?

 

[tml1991]

More of him breathing. One of these is of him asleep. Vimeo

 

[tml1991]

mp4: VID_20220920_211320.mp4

 

[FeebysOwner]

That breathing doesn't actually look too bad. And he isn't completely asleep, or he probably wouldn't be moving around any. Did you count the breaths per minute?

Did you ask the vet about an echocardiogram before surgery? It may be another vet in the area - not necessarily a cardiologist - that has the equipment. The echo could then be shared with a cardiologist for consult via email or teleconference, just to get a second opinion. Here are some articles with varying opinions about pre-testing, as well as testing during extraction.
presurgical-preparation-and-testing | VCA Animal Hospital (vcahospitals.com)
What You Need to Know About Anesthesia and Your Cat (pethealthnetwork.com)

 

[tml1991]

It was 24 breaths. Sometimes he also makes a raspy snoring sound. Not sure what that's about. In one of those videos he was breathing fast while awake, in the other when was nearly asleep it was only 24.

 

[FeebysOwner]

24 breaths per minute in a resting/sleeping cat is actually very good!! Checking their breaths per minute while awake is really of not much benefit overall - that is why vets always tell you to check it when they are asleep.

 

[Alldara]

tml1991 Will he have a heart monitor during surgery?
Magnus has a heart murmur and pre-snores before sleep. Sometimes snores. He did a dental and a toe biopsy while under and did great.

The vet did heart bloodwork for him beforehand and they used the heart monitor during surgery.

The bad teeth can cause severe pain and many medical issues, so it's a risk vs risk assessment for your cat.

 

[tml1991]

tml1991 Will he have a heart monitor during surgery?
Magnus has a heart murmur and pre-snores before sleep. Sometimes snores. He did a dental and a toe biopsy while under and did great.

The vet did heart bloodwork for him beforehand and they used the heart monitor during surgery.

The bad teeth can cause severe pain and many medical issues, so it's a risk vs risk assessment for your cat.

Was it a cleaning or extraction?

 

[neely]

Did you ask the vet about an echocardiogram before surgery? It may be another vet in the area - not necessarily a cardiologist - that has the equipment. The echo could then be shared with a cardiologist for consult via email or teleconference, just to get a second opinion.

I agree with FeebysOwner about consulting with a cardiologist. Sorry if I missed it but I did not see if you replied to her questions.

Another thing you may want to ask your vet is if they have a visiting cardiologist. Our previous vet had a cardiologist come to the office once a month. Also, is the vet performing the extractions a Board Certified Veterinary Dental Specialist? The reason I asked is because given Lee-Lee's health issues you may want to look into it for these reasons:
A board-certified veterinary specialist is a veterinarian who has completed additional training in a specificalized area of veterinary medicine and has passed an exam that assesses their knowledge and skills in that specific area.

Best of luck to Lee-Lee and you. Please keep us updated.

 

[Alldara]

Was it a cleaning or extraction?

Both. Magnus had extra baby teeth that never came out.

They also did extractions for our senior cat Nobel who was 14 at the time. We've been told he's they've heard murmur at our old vet, but that was believed to be due to stress as it always "went away" by the end of the visit. It really improved Nobel's quality of life more than I expected. I was terrified beforehand, but then I read about so many other elderly cats who have had it done and been fine.

I read loads of blogs before their procedures and asked my vet tons of questions from what I learned of other people's experiences.

Geriatric Cat With Multiple Health Issues Gets a Much Needed Dental Procedure

Miss Freddie is a precious 11½ year old cat who, despite multiple medical problems, takes life in stride. Find out what happened when this geriatric cat got a much-needed dental procedure.

www.ahna.net

I felt much more comfortable once I learned of the process and how many geriatric and senior cats get procedures with little to no issues. There's always a chance of something negative, for sure. But we tend to hear more about the negative outcomes than the positive, because those with positive outcomes are not usually on many places talking about it.