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My cat has been having audible breathing noises for a few months. No open mouth breathing, just audible through the nose, on and off throughout the day. She’s developed some weird other noises especially while sleeping or falling asleep some snoring, random sneezing as well. She isn’t overweight or old.
We’ve tried antibiotics but it didn’t help. The vets are quoting between $2-10k for just imaging for polyps, not even removal, if they see any. It’s impossible to afford it. She’s eating and playing and acting normal otherwise. I’m wondering what it can be, is it likely polyps and if I don’t go into debt to see, am I going to make her like unliveable?
I’m wondering if I can even rent a car and come down to a cheaper clinic in the US (I’m in Canada) which may be cheaper than doing it locally. There are very few low cost vets here and they only work with people on welfare so it wouldn’t apply. There’s a huge gap between people who are on assistance and people who aren’t but still can’t a afford $10k in imaging.
I’m in desperate need to help my cat Kitt she is a 13 year-old Siamese cat who has been suffering from chronic constipation. The past five years it has increasingly gotten worse. It seems to be happening once a month now what can I do at home to assist her? I’ve changed diets numerous time, I’ve tried numerous supplements, laxatives- I’m at my wits end on how to help my poor cat. Are there any other suggestions to treatments I haven’t tried.
Hello,
In my experience constipation on cats is always secondary to something else. Either old wounds, like a fractured pelvis, an underlying disease, or diet.
Has your cat had a thorough examination, bloodwork and X-rays? Have your tried different diets, supplements and fluid therapy.
I hope this helps.
Hello! My cat Daisy (3y/o F, spayed) has been having upper respiratory symptoms, specifically, nasal discharge in one nostril, reverse sneezing, and congestion on and off since November 2024. She is otherwise acting normal (same appetite, energy levels, etc). She will go a day with these symptoms and the next day they’ll clear up, then come back again. I’ve taken her to the vet twice and the first time they said to just give lysine supplements (didn’t work) because she’s had a history of URI when I adopted her 2 years ago and the second time they said to give chlorpheniramine (which didn’t work) and then prescribed hydroxyzine (which also didn’t work). I don’t really know where to go from here if it isn’t allergies. Just wondering if you have any thoughts? Thank you!
Hello,
If this is only one side of the nose then I would worry about a potential foreign body or even a tumor.
When I get a case like this we talk about what our potential differential diagnosis is after an exam. We usually start with an antibiotic because an upper respiratory infection is the most common thing we see in cats. Then we talk about a different antibiotic or antiviral if the first doesn’t work. After that we start talking about either running diagnostics like an Xray, blood work, or sending our patient to an internal medicine specialist for a second opinion.
For people who are cost sensitive we try options of different medications or a nasal flush or head Xray.
My cat has a blockage. 5/27/2025 First vet, gave him a shot of Cerenia. Did not work. Gave me a list of things she was recommending to do, that was exorbitant in pricing. I could not afford. 2nd vet 6/4/2025 took an X-ray. Said he had a blockage & only alternative was surgery, which I cannot afford, or said to put him down. They Gave him an iv of fluids. I later came back asking for an anti-inflammatory in hopes of getting the inflammation down so he could pass whatever. They gave him Depo-medrol. Has not helped him. Can a laxative possibly help him? I am desperate at this point, because 12 days has to be extremely bad for him. He still tries to drink water. Just did 4 times & threw it up.
Hello.
I’m so sorry to hear about your cat. Please call everyone. Ask for someone to at least look at your cat. It sounds like he needs to be seen immediately
My daughter’s cat age 3 has thrown up 3 times in 5 hours. He’s a neutered male, indoors only. Proplan chicken catfood…. He is acting normal. However his throw up is thin bloody looking water (including a picture) I am calling the vet in the morning but right now I’m fighting with myself on whether or not this is an er visit issue. I know he hasn’t ingested anything poisonous. He is spoiled and has a lot of toys. Would love to know opinions please. Thank you.
Hello,
I’m not overly concerned with vomiting when it is an acute episode, ie a few times over a short period of time as long as the patient is acting normally otherwise. In some cases it can be a hairball or something else hat just didn’t agree with the stomach so vomiting is the bodies way of taking care of it.
Don’t feed or give water for a few hours to let the stomach settle down.
If your cat doesn’t vomit again and is still acting normally I think you are ok.if you cat is not acting normally, for example depressed or lethargic or cannot keep anything down 4-12 hours later then then it’s time to see the vet.
My cat Sassy who is almost 16 yrs old has a large mass on her back leg. Took her to our vet and at first she said it was a cyst. It never went down and it’s still there. I took her back to the vet and she did blood work to check her kidneys. Which are not good at her age. Vet said she would most likely die from kidney failure before that mass will do anything. It doesn’t seem to bother Sassy but she doesn’t like me touching it. She eats her can food well, not to crazy about dry food anymore but will eat her treats. Sorry I don’t have a picture of it right now but I can get one in the near future. What do you think of this? At her age I am worried about surgery. I don’t want to lose her to soon.
Thank you
Linda Karppinen
Hello,
The best way to understand whether or not a mass is a problem that requires surgery to remove it is to try to get an idea of what the mass really is. If I am concerned about anesthesia I recommend an aspirate. See if that is an option or go get a second opinion from another vet to help decide what to do.
Please help diagnose this cat.
My sister in law has a cat with a huge belly. I have told her multiple times that she should take it to the vet. She agrees but never does. I’m sure it’s because she can’t afford it. I would offer to help, but I’m sure it will be extremely expensive. I just had a baby and taking on this expense is also something I can’t afford right now. Every time I see this cat, I always feel bad for it. It looks miserable 💔
Hi Sandra.
I would struggle with your SIL’s deliberate neglect of her cat’s health. This cat absolutely needs to be seen by a vet – no one can diagnose this online, this cat needs hands-on exam, likely xrays/ultrasound, definitely bloodwork.
If she cannot afford to care for her cat, please encourage her to surrender the cat so the cat gets care.
My 11 year old Cat has slowly developed noisy breathing. For a long time it was bearly noticeable, then over time I noticed she was getting worse, a snoring/snorting sound when sleeping and occasionally after playing or running. A short time after that I noticed she was having trouble eating, specifically swallowing. That was when I knew somthing was definitly wrong. I callled my vet and explained everything, they got us in, the vet checked her over and said everything seems fine.. not an emergency. Told me it was potentially a polyp in her throat, but said they cant do “scoping” at that location and said I would need a referral to another clinic. This annoyed me because I explained the symptoms on the phone while booking and they didnt mention their limitations. So they charged me ($200) to basically tell me they cant help. Luckily my cats symptoms subsided a bit while we waited for the referral. Some days are worse than others. This is when I found Krista Magnifico’s video removing a cats polyp!! It made me feel so much better know it might just be that simple, hopefully. I finally got the call back from the referral, they said they need to do a consultation first before anything else ($330) then after that they would need to sedate my cat, do a CT scan ($3000) and if my cat needs surgery I would need to come back, sedate the cat again and surgery would be roughy ($4-5000) This was devastating to hear…. now I completely understand vet bills arent always cheap and working people need to be paid, but this seems excessive… Any advice is greatly appreciated. I dont know what do to at this point…
Hello,
In my experience polyps are unlikely in a cat this age. I would ask for a few rounds of either an antibiotic or anti inflammatory to see if these help. In cases where clients struggle with the cost of diagnostics we often try various treatments to see if we get a favorable response. You can also ask for a sedated exam to look for a polyp behind the soft palate. Like I do in the video.
I hope this helps.
I have a cat who seems to be having tooth pain. The gums are slightly red around the tooth and it’s discolored. Could we try antibiotics or maybe a simple extraction? Looking for options or the best way to help her. She is a rescue and we have a lot of cats. We already have 2 with liver problems that have costed us a lot of money. Any ideas or options are greatly appreciated!
How old is she? It is possible that the gums are simply inflamed. But in my experience, even if not much is visible above the gums the roots may already be severely affected (FORL). Antibiotics don’t really help with this, the tooth has to be removed. But only a vet can see that with an x ray.
I hope you find a good solution. I wish the best to all your cats!
Thanks! She is about 8. It’s definitely more than just inflamed. There is also some weird build up on the tooth. It’s definitely going to need to be removed unfortunately. Just hoping to find an affordable way to get it removed
A cat has a puncture wound up on his shoulder blade now limb and elbows swelling a couple days later
Hi Timothy – this sounds like an infection. Please get your cat to the vet if you haven’t yet.
Hello,
Without knowing more details I would say keep looking into finding a place that will help you affordably. I do t know why vetmed has gotten so unkind or unwilling to help people and pets like you, but there are still places and vets who will offer care to help patients. Please keep asking for help. I have lots of videos on polyps and I write a lot about them. In almost all cases I recommend a n exam under general anesthesia to look behind the soft palate. I also take skull X-rays and flush the nares if I don’t find one.
Polyps are most commonly found in young cats. It can be a life saving procedure to remove them. I charge about $500-700
Hi Krista,
Where are you located? If I were able to get to the States (I’m assuming you are there) would it be possible to book in with you? There are no lower cost vets here I’ve been looking for a long time and am willing to travel, at this point it seems likes my only option, or not doing anything.
Also – what about nasal polyps?