Sleep Apnea? Dyspnea?

[muffym]

Hello everyone!

I have a 2 year old neutered male, 5,1 kg (I put him on a feeding schedule, 3 meals consisting of a total of 50grams of dry food/day).

Last night I noticed something while he was sleeping. He would take a deep breath, exhale, and then for 6-9 seconds he would stop breathing. When he starts breathing again it seems normal, not as he is struggling.
This happens when he switches sleeping positions or when he hears something that disrupts his sleep.
I managed to make a video few minutes ago.

He is quite active, I've been playing with him for 30 minutes every day in the past 2 weeks and he also runs around like crazy from time to time. He lives with my parents while I am attending university and he doesn't get that much exercise so I tried to play with him more while I was home.

Now, should I be worried about the breathing thing? I tried to find some information online about sleep apnea and dyspnea, and when I read about dyspnea symptoms there was this one position "Standing or crouching with elbows pulled away from the body, and head and neck stretched out." that I'm familiar with.
He sits like that from time to time, but his neck isn't really stretched out. I thought it was just a weird position but now that I read that it might be something serious I'm starting to worry. Also he doesn't look like he has trouble breathing when he sits like that.

I wanted to know your opinion on this, it doesn't seem normal to me...
Edit: he woke up, looked at me, took a deep breath and stopped breathing again. So he was conscious, I think he only does this when he is sleepy/relaxed...
I added the video in my gallery, hope the link works

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
You're right, it doesn't seem normal. Do you have a vet you could talk to?

By the way, unrelated to the breathing, is there any chance you could start giving him some wet food, at least one meal a day? Walmart, Tractor Supply and grocery stores have canned foods that are decent and don't cost a lot.

 

[muffym]

Hi!
You're right, it doesn't seem normal. Do you have a vet you could talk to?

By the way, unrelated to the breathing, is there any chance you could start giving him some wet food, at least one meal a day? Walmart, Tractor Supply and grocery stores have canned foods that are decent and don't cost a lot.

He doesn't really like wet food anymore.
We tried Felix, Animonda carny and Gourmet; he liked them for a while then refused to eat them... he's been eating only dry food for 2 weeks so maybe now he'll want some wet food.
Its frustrating cause I took him to the vet yesterday to get his rabies shot and his annual shot and I didn't think about telling the vet to listen to his lungs or heart...
I am going to take him to the vet on Monday.

 

[Furballsmom]

I don't know where you are, but when my cat got finicky with his canned food I was able to get him eating again with a couple of brands from Walmart and a couple of brands from my local grocery store.
All the VERY best of luck to you with that, and on Monday! Let us know what the vet says, --I'm sending you all sorts of good thoughts!

 

[muffym]

This is the position I was talking about.
But he sits like that in front of his toy sometimes, waiting for me to play with him, so I don't really think I should be concerned.

Also, this is the food that he used to like, so I am thinking of ordering this again.
Smilla Tender Poultry 6 x 400g
The ingredients are listed too, and I think it's a decent product, isn't it?

 

[Columbine]

The position in that picture is definitely in line with some kind of breathing issue. You absolutely need to get it checked out. Show the vet the video you posted, too, so they can see what you're talking about.

Sitting with the neck stretched out like that is the easiest position for them to breathe in. You'll often see it in asthmatic cats during an attack, or in CHF kitties when they have fluid on their lungs.

Please note, I'm not saying that your boy has either of these issues. Many healthy cats will sit like that occasionally. Its just something that, combined with the odd breathing patterns when sleeping, warrants a vet visit.

As for food - have you tried him on Catessy? The jelly pouches (yellow box) seem to be as near to kitty crack as any food I've come across My guys go nuts for it, every time. Definitely worth a try if you want to get him back on wet food.

 

[muffym]

I sent the video to my local vet through a friend and I hope to get a response tomorrow.
I only tried Catessy treats but I am willing to try the wet food too, it's good for him to have 2 options.

 

[muffym]

We went to the vet. He listened to his lungs, he checked his eyes, his gums and he said there is nothing wrong.
He told me that 5,1 kg for a 2 year old cat isn't the ideal weight but all in all, everything seems fine.