Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

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Ruth B
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Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

Tiggy has got me confused and I'm going to see if you lot can come up with any answer.

I mentioned she went to the vets just under two weeks ago as she seemed to be making some odd noises when breathing and purring and at times her breathing seemed laboured and she seemed to breathing through the mouth. At the vets she displayed none of the symptoms but the vets gave her an antibiotic injection that they said should last two weeks. By Saturday she was fine and when she went on the Tuesday after the bank holiday there was no sign of anything wrong.

However by the weekend the symptoms were starting to return and she has had them for most of this week but apart from the noise she doesn't seem unwell. It hasn't been helped that both my OH and i have been down with bad head colds and a lot of how she sounds is similar to us when we get all that gunky stuff in the throat and are trying to breath and talk around it.

She occasionally gives the odd cross between a sneeze and a cough, but nothing major, her purr sounds a bit gurglely but the main one is she sounds almost like she is snoring when she is awake as if breathing is a bit difficult.

She isn't that interested in eating, we have tried her with Tuna, Chicken and a bit off a gammon joint today to try and temp her, when she was eating she again was making an odd sound, the best I can describe it was like some one eating with their mouth open.

I really am at a loss with her, if it wasn't for the lack of appetite and the noise you wouldn't think anything was wrong. I have been thinking she has a cold like we do and it is just a case of being snotty in the throat. The antibiotics should still be working but a cold is often viral so they wouldn't have much effect anyway, unless there was other things in the injections like steroids which might have helped. So far we haven't taken her to the vets again, my OH hasn't felt well enough to feel safe driving and I can't, so we were waiting to see if she recovered along side our own recovery, if she had seemed really ill we would have got a taxi.

I just thought I would come here and see if anyone had any experience with anything similar. After every thing we have been through this year, my paranoia is running high.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Kay »

could it be blocked sinuses, Ruth? Tosker's are permanently blocked due to a bone malformnation, either congenital or from a head trauma, and he makes noises similar to those you describe - his meouw sometimes turns into a croak, or even becomes a silent one

I don't think he has much sense of smell or taste, which could be affecting Tilly's appetite, though he does eat from the nearest dish when he's hungry - eating sets off bouts of violent sneezing which in turn leaves strings of mucus hanging out of his nose - but in himself he is well enough, and enjoys life

abs would improve things a bit, but only temporarily, so they are only used if he gets an infection (the mucus turns green)

one thing I have noticed which might help - he seems to cope better with small kibble than wet food, even though he has had most of his teeth removed - probably because he swallows them straight down, so no chewing required, and using his mouth means breathing through his nose, which results in the sneezing
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

Thanks Kay, I do think it is something along those lines, I get awful sinus problems when I get a cold, my dentist has warned me that they are big enough to give problems if I need any upper teeth extracting.

Tiggy is much better today, she had a fit of sneezing this morning, a string of 15 or 20 sneezes all at once and has sounded much better since, although she still makes the odd strange sound. She also went down and ate part about a third of a pouch of Felix afterwards. She has got herself a reprieve from a vet's visit for the time being, I do think she just had a bad cold, like we have had, and wasn't wanting to eat much and couldn't really smell what was put in front of her.

After the year I've had my paranoia is high and I couldn't help imagining all the worse case scenarios it could have been, particularly as I was under the weather as well. I think we are both on the mend together today.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

An update on this, and it looks like my paranoia wasn't getting things wrong.

Tiggy has been having problems on and off for the last two months, she would seem fine for several days then go all snotty again and sound like she has a load of catarrh in her throat, after a few days of this she will suddenly be fine again.

Today I noticed that not only was she seeming snotty again, i was noticing that she was sitting with her head slightly extend and I could see her contently swallowing, she then started pawing her mouth, as if she was washing it but just the sides of the mouth. I decided it was time to get her back and see if we could get to the bottom of it.

The vet has given her a good examination and ruled some things out, her lungs sound fine, her mouth appears fine and all the dental work she had done earlier in the year has healed well, there is no sign of anything under her tongue or obvious at the back of the throat. That being said she is very snotty and apparently it is thicker and not clear as they would expect from an allergy. So she mentioned two possibilities, a serious virus like cat flu or Herpes constantly re-occurring, she has been vaccinated but apparently if she wasn't when she was younger and had had cat flu it could recur now she is older, the other alternative is some growths in her throat too far back to be seen.

She gave us two options, a swap of the mucus sent off to identify the infection if there is one or an examination;of her throat under general anesthetic. The first while not cheap is easily done and won't stress her out too much, so she is back in for that tomorrow morning, and we should have the results by this time next week (I would imagine they have to grow a culture from the swap and then identify it when they have a large enough sample, my microbiology module is giving me images of rows and rows of petridishes). If it doesn't give results then we have to decide on whether to put her through the throat exam or not.

We have been given a powder to put on her food to help break down the mucus, I now just have to get her to eat the potted beef i put it in to try and tempt her, while stopping Saturn pushing his nose in and inhaling it. She is also getting antibiotics tomorrow that we will have to try and get down her and then get her to eat something or syringe water into her to make sure it doesn't get lodged in the esophagus.

Unfortunately a side effect of being so bunged up is she can't smell the food and she has lost about 200g, not much, but i don't want it to be the start of a slow decline and her wasting away.

Fingers crossed the swaps will be conclusive and a cause of tablets will get her back to her normal self.

It's been a rough year, I went dreading what the vet might say and fearing the worst, I know we aren't in the clear yet, but at least there is hope and something to try.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Kay »

Is the powder Bisolven? I have Tosker on it, and although he doesn't seem to detect it in food, I find cat milk the most reliable way to get it down him, especially as that is the only food I've found that he likes and Tiffany doesn't
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Janey »

One of mine used to take Bisolvon for mucus problems, it worked very well at thinning it as it was very thick. I used to sprinkle a bit in his water, it was fine if my other cat drank it as well. He was an oldie though so drank a fair bit and suffered most of the time with mucus and chesty coughs, we didn’t know his history but suspected he’d possibly had cat flu at some point. The other thing you could try is strong smelling food such as mackerel or some other strong fish and pates such as Gourmet ones, they love those, for softness on throat. The other thing is raising the food dishes so they can swallow better when snuffly etc. And a teeny drop of Olbas Oil on a tissue near where they sleep my vet recommended. Best of luck with the results poor love.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Lilith »

Have always found this useful - you just wipe bit round the cat's lips and it automatically licks it off.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nurish-UM-Past ... YEZ75NHN7R

Good luck Tiggy! Paws and tails crossed here! x
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

Thanks everyone.

Bisolven sounds right without going down and getting a magnifier to read the label. I mixed some more in with the potted beef and mushed it up more with a bit of warm water, and I managed to get a few bits into her mouth by holding her and rubbing it around the lips and teeth, no idea how much, but 3 hours later and she is really snuffling and sneezing so maybe enough to help her out. I've also put some in one of the Sheba fish sticks i had as that is a gloopy paste but she just turned her nose up at that, both are in dishes in the fridge so I can try in the morning to get some more in her, my hope is if it can clear her nose out a bit she will start to smell it and want to eat it. We've been advised to syringe a bit of water into her to wash down the antibiotic when she starts on that so i might mix the powder with the water and syringe it into her at that point if I can't get her to eat it in her food. A friend has also suggested cat soups so while i wouldn't normally buy them i might pick up a box tomorrow.

I would love to have a word with the researches who devise these medications and get them in a room with three hungry cats and tell them to get one specific one to eat the food with the medication on. I'm sure it would make a great video for Youtube.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Janey »

Cat soups may help if she likes them. The other thing I would say is, although warmed/room temperature stuff may be helpful when trying to get them to smell and eat foods, you want the opposite with medication i.e. so they can’t smell it. I used to empty an antibiotic capsule into some cool cat milk for my elderly cat when she had to take it otherwise I couldn’t get her to have it. I don’t think Bisolvon tastes of much though so it may just be loss of appetite if she’s not feeling too good.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

Well she has been back to the vets for the swabs to be taken this morning, and I think the vet must have given her a good exam at the same time, they took her into a bock room and left us in the waiting room. I'm not squeamish and can understand that to really check things out can make it seem like they are pulling the poor cat around, but I can understand that some owners could get really upset if they thought the vet was hurting the animal while they tried to see what is wrong, you can't explain to an animal that what you need to do might be uncomfortable but isn't going to harm them and the animal will react, so I can see why they do some things out of sight of the owners.

The good news is that there is still nothing the vet could find to say that it is anything more serious than a bad infection.

We now have the antibiotic to give her and I'll keep trying with the powder. I also want to give her a good groom and try and clean the nose area and her front paws up a bit, I think she has got dried snot on them where she keeps pawing at her mouth.

The vet also suggested having her in the bathroom with us when we have showers as the steam might help break the mucus up, I'll have to see how that one goes or if she just tries to dig her way out.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Lilith »

Ah, I've heard of that. A quick google suggests putting the cat in a carrier with a bowl of hot steamy water in front of it, and enclosing carrier and bowl in a large towel - obviously you'd have to be vigilant about time and temps here.

And I once read about putting the cat in a wire carrier above a bowl of hot water with friar's balsam oil - again you'd have to be vigilant etc etc ... Someone once posted about tea tree oil being toxic for cats but as far as I know friar's balsam is fine for them; I gave my TT oil away and bought FB in case the cats or I might benefit from it in a diffuser - another possibility?

Poor little love, I do hope you find some relief for her soon x
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

That almost sounds like a variation of Schrodinger's cat.

The vet did mention Olbus oil on a cloth near where she sleeps, I do have Eucalyptus oil that I use for my sinuses but she said Olbus was better and did mention that Vics is poisonous (I wasn't thinking of Vics, i just use the Eucalyptus oil on tissues to breath in), so we are going to get some Olbus oil for her.

I'm sure the main problem is that she can't smell what she is eating but if it is in her normal dish at meal times she will eat it as she is hungry. I've tried offering her the treats containing the medicine in a spare bowl and I wonder if she is wary that it isn't her normal food and can't tell what it is. I think Saturn got most of her morning dose.

The way it has kept coming and going the last couple of months, and after everything that has happened I have been getting really concerned and had just about convinced myself it was going to be something terminal, every time it cleared up i would tell myself that she was fine and there was nothing to worry about and then it would come back and I would start thinking the worst, I think i was getting to the stage of putting off taking to see a vet in fear of what might be said. I know it still could be more serious, but the vet did give the impression that there are no indications to point to anything more than a stubborn infection. After all I've been through this year I've dreaded that I might lose her as well.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

Well Tiggy is definitely feeling better, I'm not sure if it is the antibiotics, the Bisolven or the Olbus Oil, or just that after a few days it does seem to go away, the next thing is to make sure it doesn't come back.

I've had three days of success getting the tablets into her, but she is getting wise to it, today she saw me getting it ready and disappeared up stairs. Rather than chase her i left it on the table (hoping that no one else would eat it) and started to prepare tea. She soon came down to see what was going on so I grabbed her, then the pantomime started.
Me: You are having your tablet
Tiggy: Oh no i'm not.
Me' oh yes you are.
Tiggy: Oh no I'm not.

By the third attempt I am trying to push a mushy half tablet into her mouth.

The antibiotics break in half easily and she is meant to have 1 1/2 tablets once a day, I find it easier to give her three halves than trying to get a whole tablet into her. As I was advised to make sure she either had something to eat or some water syringed into her i have started to mix the pinch of Bisolven with the water so I know she is getting that as well, if only once a day.

i've tried the Olbus oil, a couple of drops on a tissue near where she is sleeping, then another couple of drops on another tissue close to where she has moved to, until there is a tissue with a couple of drops of Olbus oil on an pretty much any flat surface around the house. As I suffer from chronic sinus problems I wonder if it is doing me more good than her.

I haven't dared try having her in the bathroom when I have a shower I can just imagine the Psycho like moment as she leaps at the shower curtain claws extended, or goes onto the window sill and carefully knocks every bottle off, or peers around the curtain just as I'm soaping up my hair and the suds are flying, she gets a little bit of water on her and howls I'm left thinking about shampoo getting into her eyes, and then trying to get hold of her to check she is ok, wearing only long soapy hair. Not a situation I want to explain to the paramedics when they arrive.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

The good news is that the swabs are back with a positive identification of a bacterial infection, the bad new is that it is a persistent little thing and Tiggy will need at least another two weeks of antibiotics.

This is going to be a fun month now.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Mayday21 »

Hi Ruth Paws xd that Tiggy’s on the mend now that the issues been diagnosed. Ahh the antics of pill giving to cats. I’ve been sneezing too . me thinks sinus issues too. Keep us posted. Fusses to Tiggy. Btw I can’t have a shower without Harper jumping up on the screen & TC sitting on the loo scratching the screen as the water hits it. :lol: Fusses to Tiggy. Vivian
Last edited by Mayday21 on Tue Nov 06, 2018 10:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Janey »

Glad you’re getting Tiggy sorted, I hope she’s much better soon.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

Things are going fairly well, Tiggy is getting her antibiotics and I'm not getting too clawed up, she squirms to try and escape rather than attack me.

She has to have one and a half tablets once a day with either food or water afterwards to make sure they get swallowed fully or they might cause problems irritating the esophagus. As there is no guarantee that what I put down for her she will eat, I have opted to syringe a couple of mil of water into her after giving her the tablet or half tablet. The full tablet I seem to be able to get in her mouth better, then give her a bit of water, then try the half tablet, which normally comes out the other side, pick it up and try again, yesterday I got one and a half tablets out the other side. I know some animals have pouches inside their cheeks to store food, I didn't think cats were one of them.

There has also been a bit of confusion at the vets. When the vet took the swabs she started Tiggy on the antibiotics and gave us 10 days supply (15 tablets). When the results came through she phoned me to say the antibiotics would need to be a 3 week course, and to call in for some more tablets, as we had finished what we had the day before we rushed over to pick another lot up. They hadn't got the full course in but gave us another 10 tablets while they ordered the rest in. They mentioned there would be another 35 to pick up, but it didn't quite register at the time. When we finally stopped to think about it and do some sums, 15 + 10 + 35 - 60 tablets or 40 days worth. Someone, somewhere had done their sums wrong. However when I rang yesterday the vet we saw wasn't in, so I had to wait until today to get an answer and they have agreed that they prescribed 15 tablets too many. 45 tablets is still a 30 day course not a 21 day course, but a quick bit of googling with half remembered names has given a satisfactory answer.

She has a Mycoplasm infection, a blood parasite bacteria which then leads to other symptoms such as respiratory ones. It's common and normally in healthy cats doesn't cause a problem, but it is hard to get rid off, a 7 to 28 day course of Doxycycline is normal. As Tiggy did have an antibiotic injection (not sure what type) at the end of August that cleared it up for a bit before it came back my guess is that the vet has decided to give her the full 28 days worth of tablets (with a few to spare) to try and clear it once and for all.

I picked up a leg of lamb in the supermarket yesterday that brought a whole new meaning to shrink wrapped, I swear it got bigger when i got it out of it's packing, it was so big it wouldn't fit in my normal oval roasting tin. I think Tiggy will be getting bribed with cooked lamb for the next few days to try and make sure the tablets get swallowed properly. I'll have to find something else when that is gone.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by booktigger »

Glad she is taking tablets well, Lucy needs 5ml after her meds, she can apparently swallow a tablet and bring it back after 2ml of water! When my neighbour medicated her, I clearly forgot to warn her that, Lucy ended up having 15ml of water syringed, she brought it back twice after 5ml! Could you not give her both tablets before the water?
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

I could give her both tablets before the water, i just thought it might help her swallow them, I normally have to have a drink of water after each tablet and I thought it might make it a bit easier for her to do it that way.

Today she managed an even better one.
Full tablet inserted into mouth followed by a bit of water.
Half tablet inserted into mouth.
Half tablet put back in mouth followed by water
piece of lamb eaten
second piece of lamb not quite eaten in one go, lands back on the table with mushy whole tablet attached.
Lamb and tablet quickly reinserted into her mouth
Three more bits of lamb to hopefully be on the safe side.

Cats really are incredible at not swallowing something they don't want to.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by booktigger »

They certainly are! I'd do both before water to give less chance of it coming back up, but I find with Lucy that giving a minute between the tablet and the water reduces the chance of it coming back
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

Well it seems things aren't over yet.

We managed to finish the cause of antibiotics although I'm not sure just how many went down her, I still half expect to come across a little pile of half dissolved tablets secreted somewhere about the house. By the end of the cause and the first packet of Bisolven she seem fine again. By the end of the course it was becoming a battle, I had to grab her at irregular moments if she was expecting it she would just run and hide, i also noticed she seemed to be throwing up just before i was thinking it was time to try and get the tablet down her, I think stress was starting to take its toll.

A few weeks later just before Christmas the snuffles came back. I decided that I would start her on the second packet of Bisolven to see if that helped to try and get her through the Christmas period with out having to take her to the vets, I started her on the Friday before Christmas thinking if she didn't improve over the weekend I could ring Christmas eve and see if they could see her before the surgery shut. She picked up fine, Christmas and New Year passed with barely a snuffle. Then towards the end of last week she started messing around with food, refusing to eat what was on offer and playing musical bowls, Saturn certainly got a couple of doses of Bisolven, and the snottyness came back, which of cause meant she wouldn't eat as she couldn't smell the food.

So over the weekend I decided that she would have if whether she liked it or not, mixed with water and syringed into her. By this morning you wouldn't know anything was wrong. I bought a chicken at the weekend, cooked it Saturday and I'm now boiling the carcass to make a broth for her. All three are prowling around making me feel like the sharks are circling.

I've made another appointment to see the vet again tomorrow evening. I am starting to think there may be something more going on. I'm not sure if I could face another month of trying to get the antibiotics into her particularly when they didn't seem to last first time round. I also don't think it is worth putting her through having an endoscopy to check to see if there is anything in her throat that might be causing this, even if there was we wouldn't opt for the extensive surgery or treatment that might be needed. She about 16 or 17 so hasn't had a bad innings so I think we might just stock up on Bisolven and just accept we are treating the symptoms for however long it keeps working.

She has now jumped back on my desk and is trying to walk over my keyboard while i type like she is half her age and there is nothing wrong.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Kay »

Bisolven is quite cheap bought on line, but as it has to be chucked after 7 days, it needs to be - I have Tosker on it all the time, and it doesn't cure his chronic congestion, but makes it easier for him to sneeze out the build up of mucus - all over the floor and bedding, naturally

I add it to his water and he never seems to notice - and it doesn't matter if Tiffany gets some that way

He too used to improve with a course of abs, but it never lasted, so the vet stopped prescribing them, even though he has I think gradually got worse over the past 4 years or so - he has had a couple of xrays but the fluid filling his sinuses make it impossible to see if there is anything there that shouldn't be, so we soldier on - him sneezing and me washing his bedding every day

eating makes his snuffling worse, because I am guessing he breathes through his mouth normally, and he never grooms these days - but I think he finds smallish biscuits easier than wet food, probably because he can eat them singly without filling his mouth with food - I don't know if this corresponds with Tiggy's eating?
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

Interesting about the 7 day limit on the Bisolven, it was never mentioned to me and being a dry powder I just assumed it would be fine as long as the packet was kept dry, the first pack was in use for over a month and the second one has lasted a good two weeks, and still seems to be working fine. I think a lot of the drug companies are a little over cautious with instructions.

Tiggy is noisy when eating but still likes her wet food and likes any cooked meat even more. When the Bisolven is working you would hardly know anything is wrong, there is a slight odd sound at the end of a meow, but that is about it, miss a couple of doses and it comes back with avengeance, you can hear it when she meows, when she eats (if you can get her to) even her purr sounds gurgly. I noticed that the Bisolven was available on line but needed a prescription, I'm not sure how it works with letting an online company have a prescription, we will see what the vets charge and how things go. As far as putting it in her water goes, she doesn't drink alot inside, she likes the pond, I hate to think how much i would need to dose that and what it might do to the fish :) . I'll keep dosing the food and like you accept if one of the others gets the odd dose. The chicken broth went down a storm with both her and Saturn so I know she has had tonight's lot. There is another day's worth of broth in the fridge and at least 4 days worth in the freezer. Having to boil up the odd chicken carcass is a small price to pay if it keeps her going, and all the liquid won't do her any harm either.

It's heartening to hear that Tosker has managed for four years on it, it sounds like his symptoms and response to antibiotics are very similar to Tiggy's, so hopefully she will be with us for a good while yet, there have been times over the last few months when i did think we were getting to the final straight with her and i would be losing her soon, after everything else this year has thrown at me, i couldn't face the thought of losing her as well, though I know if I had to i would have called it a day rather than see her suffer.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Kay »

the packet says "any unused material should be discarded within 7 days" though no clue as to why - the use by date on my unopened packets is 08/2020 so quite a difference
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

I think they probably put it on to safeguard themselves when someone opens it and forgets about it and then uses it months later, a bit like the number of food products that say 'use within 3 days of opening', but if looked after correctly are fine for far longer. It is possible that it reacts with the air so is less effective once it has been open for a few days, but it certainly seems to have done Tiggy far more good than harm for far more than one week.

Interestingly the vet gave me over a months worth of antibiotics, but only 2 sachets of Bisolven so i'm not sure they are too worried about the time limit.

Of course for the paranoid out there, the time limit is purely so that you waste three quarters of the packet and keep having to buy new sachets lining the pockets of the drug companies.
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Kay
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Kay »

I must confess I put quite a bit more than a pinch in his water so I can change it every 24 hours so a sachet only lasts me a week

Interestingly I have been giving Tosker milk, which he loves, after reading it can help with chronic constipation, with promising results, and as Tiffany doesn't touch it I will put the Bisolvon in it in future
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

I admit i hate it when they say a pinch of something, the scientist in me rebels, just how big is a pinch. I probably err on the side of caution and don't put enough on which is why the sachets last so long. In the end if it's working and doing no harm I try not to worry.

I've just got the basket out of the cupboard, Tiggy took one look and disappeared off down stairs giving me the look that says 'you're not getting me in there'. Hopefully by 5.00 she will have relaxed about it being out.

No sign of snottyness in her this morning, and the bowls of chicken broth were licked clean so I guess she had a good dose last night, Saturn probably did as well as we had do dose two bowls or he would have just decided to pinch hers anyway, he would have had some and she wouldn't. He just instinctively knows what he should do, and when it comes to food everyone else is always getting something better than he is.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

Tiggy's been back to the vets, another antibiotic injection a good ear cleaning and another 4 sachets of Bisolven for her. Put a large pinch in her chicken soup after she got back and she has licked the bowl clean. I may spend a lot more time boiling chicken carcasses, but a small price to pay if it means I can keep getting the Bisolven into her easily.

When Saturn came through into the lounge while we were having tea we notice that he wasn't wanting to put weight on one of his front paws, we are both sure he was fine when we put the food down in the kitchen. I've had a good look and can't see anything wrong so hopefully he has just knocked it a bit. If he is still having problems tomorrow he will be going to the vets.

Looks like the cat basket is staying out for tonight.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Ruth B »

Well it looks like Saturn has managed to hurt the back pad on his front paw.

He wasn't limping as badly this morning and i noticed that he seemed to be keeping his weight on the front toes rather than the whole paw. i had a check and I can feel what feels to be a thin scab along the length of the pad which isn't present on his other paw.

He has had breakfast and now disappeared off out, it certainly isn't slowing him down. I'll check it again when he gets back and see if i can bath it with saline, if he has cut of scratched it the important thing is to make sure it doesn't get infected. Any sign of trouble with it and the carrier is still out.

Finding what I think is the problem is a relief.
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Re: Odd noise when eating, breathing and purring.

Post by Kentwood_Cat_Clinic »

I apologize if any of this has previously been mentioned. I work at a clinic specializing in feline veterinary medicine & have a kitty of my own with a similar presentation.

Some possible causes: upper respiratory disease, nasal polyp, rhinitis, environmental allergy, or a mass (less likely)

Please ask your vet about the following:
-Upper Respiratory Disease panel
-RAST (radioallergosorbent) allergy test
-Under general anesthesia: oral exam using a laryngoscope to look for polyps, skull radiographs, & nasal flush
-Referral for a CT scan (not inexpensive, unfortunately)

Without knowing the cause, starting medications is kind of backwards. But, if you can’t afford the above diagnostics, ask your veterinarian about chlorpheniramine, Cerenia nose drops, Famciclovir (antiviral), &/or course of FVR-P intranasal vaccines (newer treatment-not well studied). Sucralfate can also help with a potential sore throat (evidenced by hard swallowing) as any post-nasal drip can cause this.

Best of luck to you & your furry friend
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