Narrowed Trachea

[WitchyWoman]

Sending healing thoughts to sweet precious Dino.

 

[John Popp]

Dino slightly lost control of his bladder after he decided to eat a bit this evening. He later made his way to near his litter box and made a big effort to vomit without success.

Pretty lethargic until about 11pm and then suggested he wanted to play a little. He was alert and attentive, but operating at about 15% of his normal energy. I cut him off after about 10 minutes when the gurgling/raspy sound returned.

At this point I feel comfortable enough to go to sleep, and just hope he's feeling better in the morning. Definitely concerned about him losing control of his bladder, although it was more like a leak than totally relieving himself.

 

[DChap]

Prayers and positive thoughts for sweet Dino

 

[Patti]

Well I must say first off the description of the initial event sounds like normal cat coughing to me. I have a colony of cats in lifelong quarantine because of herpes but only one actually ever gets symptoms, and she sounds exactly as you described when she coughs. This does NOT mean I think Dino has herpes, only suggesting that for whatever reason he is coughing, the cough sounds normal (to me). Given the chest x-ray findings you might want to pursue the asthma/bronchitis possibility.

I'm not sure that the tracheal narrowing is of significance or not, would discuss that with your vet. Unlike Paige, I have not heard that this is a common condition in cats but the fact that she has heard this reassures me. The aerophagia suggests that he is swallowing a lot of air when he is eating - is he one to wolf down food?

The lethargy you describe is more bothersome to me than anything - was he sedated while at the vets? If not, then I'm not sure why he would be lethargic, unless he is just exhausted from the day's events. I believe the lethargy is what led to the bladder incontinence, so would not expect a recurrence once he is back to his chipper self.

In any case, please keep us posted - I look forward to hearing that he is back to his usual self and ready to cause havoc on the world!

 

[Eddies]

I'm just an owner..not a Breeder, but I want a scope; X rays miss soft things & small sores, I first thought collar(?), then saw bronchi/asthma... but kitty was eating when you first noted this (?) & with no history of asthma I would not go that route initially either...lethargy is never a good sign but the steroids could cause it along with thirst, the vomit attempt makes me want to check for aspiration; which could have caused the whole thing to begin with if he "wolfs down the food" like Patti said & gas in the belly is normal if he is using abdominal muscles to assist with breathing, goodness I want to get him a nebulizer treatment & see if it helps. Unfortunately, Eddie & Eiswein get too rough & Eddie grabs Eisweins throat sometimes making Eis cough loud & harsh...did your boys get too rough..., no way to know for sure. WAGs is right, too bad he can't talk... I so wanted to SEE that pic of the trach, is there a piece of meat/toy stuck right there... could cause all the symptoms here...what looks like constriction/swelling, bronchial secretions, cough, lethargy, inability to swallow correctly, air in gut, nonproductive vomit attempt...

 

[John Popp]

Thanks Patti! Thus far while retired for the evening he has had three episodes. Each time he starts his horfing which I guess you could say sounds like a progressive cough and then ends up hunched over, tongue extended as if he's trying to yak something up. So whatever it is he believes he can expel it without having success.

Also, Dino does not gulp his food, he is about the slowest most mechanical eater I have ever seen. When eating rabbit, he is always leaving two or three pieces bone that are 3/8th of an inch or longer.

 

[admin]

I am still thinking there is something caught in his trachea... It very well could be a bone....I'm so hoping Dino feels much better soon...please keep us updated! And as Eddies suggested, his lethargy may have something to do with the steroids

Paige
Owner, Savannah Cat Chat
Agato Savannahs
TICA Legislative Committee
SV Breed Section Committee
SV Rescue Coordinator

 

[John Popp]

I agree Paige, the more I roll over this the more I concur. Not at all ruling out the asthma bronchial thing, just that it's number 2 on the radar.

Anyway, here's the X-rays I have,

 

[Patti]

Wow, his trachea really does narrow quite significantly - again I have no experience with a narrowed trachea (at least not in cats) so can't comment on if, or how much this may be contributing to his symptoms. How is he doing today?

 

[John Popp]

Wow, his trachea really does narrow quite significantly - again I have no experience with a narrowed trachea (at least not in cats) so can't comment on if, or how much this may be contributing to his symptoms. How is he doing today?

Dino is seemingly doing a bit better today despite what I would call a rough night. We did visit the vet today and she persuaded me to forego getting him scoped as he is eating and drinking well. Not ruling it out just knowing that he has made good progress since she saw him on Thursday.

As far as the narrowed trachea goes, I really need to think that all through. It's already been becoming increasingly apparent that he doesn't tolerate a lot of bone, and his sorting out bone shards with rabbit suggests they are causing him some discomfort. No issues with the chicken bones, as they're a lot softer but still the frequency of ghost poops made up nearly entirely of calcium.

He's never been a big eater, and what I would call highly efficient with the food he takes on. Since Dooley arrived, he won't eat on the floor until Dooley is finished. Not wild about feeding him on the counter, but it's the only way I can monitor his food intake. The vet also noted that his weight is down over 2lbs since February. I knew he was somewhat lighter, but not that much and I think he shed a fair amount of weight this week.

Dino also has a pretty high level of anxiety when I travel these days. Certainly not much of a talker, he follows me and moans each time I near a doorway, touch clothing or unpacked my suitcase. So I'm sure that also played a role having elevated stress levels.

Additionally, Dino is a pretty needy guy and still dives for fingers to suckle. As much as we dissuade him there are times that he just has an insatiable want to get at them such as when you're reading a book or holding an iPad. Partially my fault as I somewhat reinforce the behavior as we can get his nails clipped in a matter of moments if I stick my finger in his mouth.

So still lots to sort through, and I basically got nothing as far as figuring out what's wrong.