Please Help!! Cat Can't Breathe!!!

[kt_luvs_kitties]

First off welcome to PT!!!!

I am so sorry about your Charlie. How devastating

With Tiger.. Seems like all that I thought of has been mentioned already.

BUT if you do think it could be moisture within the house maybe making him worse, instead of renting the RV for 200 daily, how about calling local vets/boarding facilities, and seeing if they have ionic air filters within their rooms. And then you could board Tiger for a few days, and see how he has improved? Just a thought. Prayers are being said for Tiger and his meowmie. I hope you can get this straightened out! Katie and kitties

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Also I forgot to say yes, I would love too hear/see the video. It is allowed.

[Emeraldgreen]

I went upstairs to see if I could get another video of Tiger but I lost my place at the computer- my hubby jumped on and said it was 'his turn'
The video I just took didn't really turn out anyway but I'll post the links to the other 3 videos of Tiger taken over the last few weeks. One is really dark but you can hear the sounds in it quite well.
I was thinking a similar thought too Katie. I called the vet today and asked them if they would board him for a few days. They said they could for 23.00 a day but that they only have people there from 8:00-5:30 and with the weekend upon us, there would only be someone popping in on Sunday for a brief time. I think I will see about getting my own ionic filter and then maybe see about boarding him for a few days as well during the week and see if any improvement is made.
The rumbly whistling sounds seem to be coming from his throat, right under his chin area, maybe a bit lower.
I have to say though that I'm really hoping it's a polyp because a fungal infection could take up to 8 months to treat and the meds seem to be taking their toll on Tiger and on our pocket book! Congestive heart failure would be horrible and laryngeal paralysis involves a specialized surgery that can have complications afterward with aspirating food and water. If I can find a vet who knows how to look for polyps and how to treat it, that would be awesome. I will begin looking tomorrow.
In the meantime, here are the three links of my Tiger. There are some other videos posted of my cat George in my group of videos. He has been having respiratory problems too but the vets haven't been able to make a connection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCxk1Gy4jsQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJKxCT1SJ48

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzDb9riUtt8

[Emeraldgreen]

I forgot to mention one more symptom which I think ties in with the polyp idea. Tiger's balance has been off. I mentioned this to the vet but it was thought that maybe that had been due to the debris build up in his ear or possibly to neurological issues in relation to fungal infection. But a polyp in an ear I think would definitely have an effect on balance.
Just now I did a bit of research on the net and found a site that mentioned that xrays have a low accuracy for the detecttion of polyps which would explain why the half dozen xrays they've taken haven't shown anything.
I'll see if I can find a vet with a ct scan. I had one done where we used to live on my cat George here in B.C. and the results are then sent to the university of Colorado (I think) and are examined by specialists there. It's expensive but I'm on a mission to save this guy. I'll just sell my car or something, he's worth it.
Lastly, and you guys might think I'm crazy but I was so desperate a few days ago that I contacted that famous pet psychic named Dr. Monica. You send her a picture and she picks a time to 'communicate' with your pet and then contacts you with the information she gets from 'speaking' with your pet. I know it's off the wall but 4 doctors later and no answers, I'm trying everything there is before I give up. Anyway, she said that he told her he cannot be stoic for much longer. He is feeling angry that he can't breathe and doesn't like the other cats seeing him this way because he is the 'top cat'. He said that the only way he could describe the way it feels is that he can't swallow properly and that it feels like half his throat/trachea area is working and the other half has a kink in it or isn't functioning.
I'm thinking about how you mentioned the polyp pressing on your pet Yodie's throat area Medusa and maybe that is what Tiger was trying to describe to Monica. If of course she actually communicated with him. Yikes, I've lost it. LOL

[Catty1]

There is a pet psychic that many people use here - her name is Nancy Efrusy.

Believe me, don't think you've lost it. She is amazing. No money up front, she is flexible and loves animals.

I hope you can find a vet to check on a polyp. Also - with your cat George having breathing problems...the only common tie might be the air.

That filter might be worth it - it would be nice if you could borrow one, as you don't want to spend any more money than you have to. Then, if it works, you can buy it.

BTW - if surgery seems necessary for some reason, check out www.imom.org They help raise funds for non-regular surgeries. Just info for you.

ETA: Just watched the videos...Tiger is just gorgeous! I love his sweet face - he looks like such a love!

I hope the problem gets discovered quickly...poor baby!

HUGS to him and to you!

[Emeraldgreen]

Thanks Catty1! I think he is very handsome too. I've had him for 11 years. I tried to attach his picture as my avator but it didn't work for some reason.
I'll check out that website you suggested regarding funds. Thanks for that.
I think I will go ahead and buy the filter because my other cat Jimmy who has asthma (he had asthma when I adopted him) would probably benefit from it. He is a really sweet cat and sadly was Charlie's best friend in the world. They were real pals and ate together and slept together and wrestled just about everyday. He is pretty lost right now. I've been giving him tons of affection but it's tough. Tiger is his number two guy which is another reason I've got to save him. I'm not sure Jimmy could lose two buddies in such a short time.
Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who would try using a psychic! LOL I'll google the psychic Nancy and see what I can find out.

[Catty1]

Here's the info!


[email protected] - Nancy Efrusy

She works from a photo, and her prices are resonable. She lives in the USA.

Lots of folks here on PT have used her, with great results.

Good luck!

[jennielynn1970]

Oh my ..... poor Tiger. Those videos really drive home the wheezing.

It really does sound like he's gagging on something. Poor guy!!

I hope you can get a CT scan or something and find out quickly what is wrong with Tiger. Listening to him just breaks my heart!

Big hugs to Tiger and to Jimmy... it's hard on animals when they lose their buddies.

[Emeraldgreen]

Thanks Jenn.
I'm off to bed so I can get ready for tomorrow. Lot's to do and to think about thanks to all of you. I feel so much more hope.
p.s. thanks for the email address Catty1.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Welcome to PT. I'm so sorry to hear about Tiger and about Charlie's passing. I just watched the videos and Tiger sure is a handsome boy. I hope that one of the vets will be able to find out what's causing this and that it can be easily treated. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.

I've used the pet psychic Nancy Efrusy and she's a very nice caring lady. I think she's on vacation right now though. If you e-mail her be sure to include Tigers picture and also your phone number. She likes to call you and talk to you by phone if possible. Good luck.

[Emeraldgreen]

Hi, just wanted to post an update about my cat Tiger. Today I went and picked up a Honeywell Ionizing Air Purifier that deals with mold spores, pollen and dust and stuff. I set it up in the room that Tiger sleeps in and within 10 minutes I couldn't believe the difference in the freshness of the air. It was such a change and I'm hoping that it will make a difference in Tiger.
I also dropped off another stool sample at my vet today that she sent off to a lab to see if they could find any evidence of any parasites or anything else. I thought she would just run a fecal at her clinic but she said that she wanted a second opinion.
I also spoke with her about chlor tripolon and she said it would be fine to give him 2-4 mg twice a day along with the prednisilone. She thought benedryl would be fine too but I had tried to give him that a few weeks ago and he wouldn't touch the food I had it crushed up in. I'm trying not to 'pill' him because of his sensitive throat and stuff. Thankfully, he ate up his wet food with the chlor tripolon with no hesitation.
My vet also suggested that I try using an asthma pump in addition to the prednisilone and then start weaning him off the pred. pills because they are more taxing on the body than the inhaler. So, I'm going to start that on Monday with a child chamber dispenser that has a mask thing.
If no improvement is made by mid week or towards the end of the week, I'm going to take him to a vet a few hours away who has endoscopy equipment small enough to look into his nasal passages and hopefully he can look into his ears somehow.
I called one of the only two vets in the whole province today who has a cat scanner and it's pretty expensive. The scan alone is 800.00 and then surgery if they find something will be above and beyond that cost. The other thing is that they are a 12 hour journey away for us and we'd have to hang around for 3-4 days once there and then head back and it's tough manage with our jobs. But who knows, maybe we'll end up there. Hope to get this solved without a scanner if possible though.
My vet mentioned that sometimes you have to wait for a polyp to grow bigger for it to start showing up and become visible. If there is one, I guess it's getting bigger each day so hopefully someone will find it if it's there. Thanks again to everybody for your help and suggestions.

[Catty1]

First- glad you aren't using Benadryl, because it is not compatible with Prednisone! (ask your friendly pharmacist )

Those filter machines are pretty amazing, aren't they? I hope Tiger starts feeling better...and your asthmatic baby too!

Jenn's cat - was it Jenn's? - had an ear polyp. I don't think she had to resort fo CT scans, though I don't know. Please ask your vet who might be able to have a look for it! They can be kind of...not good!

Of course, if the antihistamine and air restore his balance, then you will know it is sinuses and not a polyp...but try and get that eliminated from the list of possibilities ASAP.

[Emeraldgreen]

Mary said her cat Yodie had an ear polyp but I think she mentioned that it was so big that equipment wasn't needed to see it. In Tiger's case, if he does have one, xrays aren't picking it up (he's had 7 of those so far). The endoscopy that was done was just in his throat area and esophogus because they didn't have a camera that was 2.5 mm to fit into his nasal passage for rhinoscopy where polyps sometimes grow so I might be going to see a vet who will be able to do that for Tiger if the 'fresh air' experiment doesn't improve things. I don't know if they can use endoscopy equipment for the ears but my vet (the first vet we went to 6 weeks ago) said that she had gone looking for a mass or a polyp when he was under but her clinic doesn't have any endoscopy equipment so she could only see what she could see with her eyes and that's when she recommended we go to the next vet we saw who did have the equipment but as it turned out, not the smaller 2.5mm camera. This sure is a learning experience!
I definitely remembered what you had said yesterday about the Benedryl and kind of shuttered at the thought that I had tried to give it to Tiger a few weeks back but thankfully he wouldn't eat it. For some reason though both the pharmacist and the vet said there was no issue with giving benedryl with prednisone when I asked about it. But, the fact that you had said that they shouldn't be combined was enough of a worry for me to not even go that route, especially since there is the option of chlor tripolon which everyone seems to agree is safe. The dosage recommended by the pharmacist didn't match what the vet suggested which I found a bit un-nerving but I'm going with the vet's prescribed dose (2-4mg twice a day).
I just checked on him and he seems a little more comfortable than yesterday. Here's hoping that this has been a reaction to pollutants in the air. That is something we can definitely solve.
Thanks again.

[Laura's Babies]

My gosh! I just wandered over here to see if there was anything interesting. Your POOR BABY!! I can only imagine how miserable he is and how worried you are. I hope you can get to the bottom of it soon. Please keep us posted as to how he does and what you are doing. He is so handsome!

[Catty1]

I am glad to hear Tiger is more comfortable...the more comfy he is, the less 'stoic' he has to be.

It'll be interesting to hear what the antihistamine and clearer air is doing for him.

It the filter helping your asthmatic baby as well?

hugs and prayers!