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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.
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.
Not sure if you answer this but had a question about our 5 year old cat. Since November she has been experiencing a fair amount of nasal discharge. We tried to rounds of antibiotics, a flush, and the vet searched for a polyp using a spade hook on her soft pallet while she was sedated. The vet was unable to see a polyp and the nasal xray didn’t show much either. A month later we saw no improvement on the nasal and over the past ten days our poor cat has been breathing terribly. When she is standing up and moving around it is clear her breathing is obstructed and it sounds like she is snoring. We have noticed a large decrease in her nasal discharge but her breathing is just awful. She is still eating and drinking as normal. We have been referred to internal medicine in St. Louis but aren’t excited to spend $2-3K for a CT Scan and scoping. Is it possible the poly behind her soft pallet has grown since they first looked for it or could a polyp be some where else? Do you think a CT scan us necessary or should the scope do the trick. We love our cat but are reluctant to spend $3K on her only to find out the couldn’t do anything to help her.
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your cat. I’m also sorry everything in vetmed is so expensive right now. It sounds like your vet has done what I would do for my clients and that the next step is a CT scan. You can certainly see if another vet will look for a polyp for you, but you may be back where you are now if that isn’t productive.
There are also CT scans available outside a referral hospital for a lower price (I don’t know if this is the case in your area), but the dilemma there is that this will only help diagnose. You may still need that IM vet to help with the treatment plan.
I hope things work out for your cat.
Dr Magnifico
Hello,
We have a cat who has been sneezing, making noise when breathing, and has had discharge (sometimes bloody) from a nostril. She has had these symptoms for several months and they seem to be getting worse. Our regular vet has treated our cat with antiviral, antibiotic, and steroid medications. The medications have not helped.They are not sure of the cause of these symptoms, but a visiting vet suggested our cat may have nasal polyps. We were referred to a specialist vet who suggested testing (biopsy, CT scan, X-ray) with a quoted price of $8,000, which is more than we can afford. We saw your video on nasal polyps and wanted to see if you are able to help us and our cat, Koshka. Thank you very much!
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your cat. I’m also sorry it’s so expensive to do these cases at referral centers.
If you have not looked for a polyp in the oropharynx yet I would start there. If you cannot afford the referral hospital and referral vet see if you can find a vet locally who will help. If you cannot afford find anyone locally I will do my best to help but I am not an internal medicine specialist and I don’t have a CT scanner. If the polyp can’t be found you may have no other options other than advanced diagnostics (CT or endoscopy).
Best of luck
Dr Magnifico
Colin to Dr. Krista : May I pick your Brains?
Dear Dr. Krista,
I’m writing to ask your advice about a stray cat I found last month. See images attached.
But first I want to thank you for the polyp videos you made, which were refreshing, as well as impressive.
One of my strays was snoring, so I was eager to pluck out a polyp hiding behind his soft-palate. (He didn’t have one, but I’m gratefully alerted for the future.)
Last month I found a stunted stray ginger cat outside a 7/11 in North Thailand, where I’m a self-financed Christian missionary.
Can you help me diagnose, and treat the problem?
At first I thought it was simply FVR / Calici and chronic snuffles.
But when I opened her mouth, she had only 4 teeth in her head!
Yes, she had calici tongue-ulcers, but little sneezing, no ocular discharge, and has been eating like a horse from day one. She’s happy and bright in herself, apart from the ugly sore nose.
Her mandibular Ln were big and hard, so I put her on antibiotic tablets, with a little dexamethasone (actually 2.5mg Prednisolone tab. daily.)
Then after a week or so I sedated her, and examined her mouth more closely, no observable polyps (drat!) but one of her molars was loose and covered in calculus, so I pulled that one out, and cleaned up the remaining molar and two premolars, otherwise the poor thing would have zero teeth.
There was of course gingivitis and pharyngitis, but pink, not red like “dragon-mouthed cats” on dcf.
For the last month I’ve given her a course of floxacilin (30 days) with amoxycillin, and tried all sort of creams on her nose and lower eyelids which. as you can see, are raw and sore.
Her Ln are almost normal now, +but that nose is no better+, and she tries to rub as though it is itchy.
(I made up creams mixing; 10% flours of sulphur, betamethasone, ivermectin, and vaseline)
There’s a temporary lessening at best, but no lasting improvement.
So what is your differential for her?
In NZ where I locummed, cat leprosy was common (Mycobacterium from mice and voles) so that was my diagnosis, but the floxacillin has made no impression.
I’ve trimmed her claws and taped her fore paws to stop her making her nose raw.
I’m stuck, and thought of asking you Doc.
I’d guess she’s 3-4 years old, confident, unvaccinated, entire, lived wild all her life eating left over fast food, and possibly DCF from neighbours.
Since October I’ve been feeding her raw chicken frames, tinned sardines, vitamin syrup, and no DCF.
She loves raw chicken :), and eats whatever I put in front of her and still looks for more.
Apart from her nose you would not think she was ill in any way.
Thanks for your advice.
Colin
PS. For some reason, Depo-medrone has been taken off the market here, not even local vets can get hold of it.
Colin Melbourne English missionary in Asia
https://www.born-again-christian.org/news/
https://www.born-again-christian.org/news/ไทยคริสเตียน/
https://www.born-again-christian.info/aboutus.htm
https://www.born-again-christian.com (Asian languages)
Hello!
Thank you for helping this kitty.
I am happy to help, but a few things are important to remember; I do not know all of the local diseases to your area. We live in very different places and animals get exposed to different diseases in different places.
Based on the history and response to treatment so far I think the antibiotic was warranted and may need to be provided every so often to manage secondary infections due to severity of the cats condition.
I also think that there is a chance this could be one of the following:
Infection (fungal or bacterial)
Immune mediated (pemphigus/lupus)
Or cancer (squamous cell, etc)
To diagnose these you may need biopsy or cytology. I would try to resist treating without some ability to rule something out. (Steroids and fungal infections can make things worse).
Please keep us posted. Very best of luck.
Krista.
Dear Dr. Krista,
Thank you for your quick response 🙂
Yes, I’m aware of the dangers of cortisone therapy, but living in the mountains, I’m limited to kitchen table surgery 🙂
I do also liaise with a kind local lady-vet, who supplies me with whatever medicines I need.
She too is stumped, and I’ve been here three decades plus +and never seen anything like it before.+
I tried mixing miconazole in with the various creams I concocted, like you concerned it could be a fungal disease. But I find flours of sulphur cures both mange and ringworm here, if applied gently and persistently enough.
Yes, the spectre of Squamous cell carcinoma looms, but she is remarkably bright and active.
Almost no sneezing or nasal discharge.
The “Rodent ulcers” that I’ve seen look different, and usually just the lips, and the ulcer has a thickened rolled edge: This one is different.
+Doc., have YOU seen anything like this before?+
I should mention, she had a lick granuloma on her hip, but that has healed now, with flea-bathing, and the steroids she’s been on. (I don’t like using fipronil, ie. “Poison your pet to poison its parasites”. Not a sound strategy.)
Can you ask around for me please if any of your colleagues have seen a nose like that, despite over a month intensive blunderbuss therapy? Feel free to post the images on a specialised dermatology group if you know of one.
Colin
Dear Dr. Krista,
Thank you for your comments. Your mention of locality sparked a line of new thoughts.
Most of my vet jobs have been in the tropics (Jamaica, Arabia, Singapore etc) where venomous creatures are commonplace (Toads, insects, scorpions, spiders, centipedes, and snakes).
I’ve seen Arabian horses lamed by a centipede bite, a rare Arabian Oryx die from a snake bite.
One characteristic symptom I’ve noticed in cats of spider bites is intense, frantic licking of the cat’s body. It is continuous until the toxin effect subsides after a few hours, so mild sedation is called for. It’s clinically distinct from the CNS effects of agricultural toxins.
This cat has lived around a 24 hour 7/11 shop, and the bright lights at night attract swarms of termites and beetles: Cats love eating termites, +but so do; scorpions, snakes, spiders, centipedes, and toads+ that live in drains.
Just this week, my other strays brought two live snakes as “love gifts”, one was a harmless Tree-snake, the other a 60cm Red-necked Keelback (small, but whose venom is nonetheless as deadly as the Banded-Krait’s!) (See attached snap I took of “Chatty” offering a cute-little Keelback present to me.)
https://thailandsnakes.com/red-necked-keelback-venomous-mildly-dangerous/
Doctor Krista, It’s possible what we are looking at is a cat recovering from a bite, or sting, on the left nostril by a snake, scorpion, hornet, spider etc.
I know from personal experience that such wounds provoke Type 4 cell-mediated immune responses, (cf. acute inflammatory antibody responses) and so are very slow to heal. (My neighbour was blinded in one eye by reaction to a Hornet sting.)
With neoplasia, I’d expect this cat to be inappetent and “ill”, but she’s bright, eating well, and purring loudly by my side as I type. So I’m leaning to the insect, arachnid, snake bite, or sting idea for now.
It’d be nice to have the luxury of lab-work and histology, if it were available and reliable, but I’m old-school trained, and content diagnosing on sensory data alone.
I certainly considered your Pemphigus differential, but she would have responded very well to the prednisolone 2.5mg/day according to this paper and others:
https://www.veterinary-practice.com/article/feline-pemphigus-foliaceus
Thank you for helping me brainstorm 🙂
I will update you on her recovery.
Colin
“Princess” : 15th. March 2025, five month update…
See attached snap of her after five months, off the street, and in my care.
“That nasal ulceration doesn’t look any better!” You reply, and I have to agree, it’s very frustrating.
She is still happy, bright, and eating every meal I present her with.
She’s tiny, but the Top-Cat of my six strays.
When stared at by another feline, she stares back silent & unblinking, and if eye-contact is maintained, she gives a paw-slap to the cheeky chappie, as if to say, “You do NOT stare at a Princess like that you commoner!”
The flea season has begun here in the tropics, so I shampoo her weekly, and rinse with Carbaryl 5% flea and tick powder. She enjoys the soothing effect of shampoo and warm water, and then after a rub down with a towel, frolics in the garden to dry out quickly.
The only medication I’m using is 2.5mg of prednisolone tablets every few days according to how irritated she is by the sore nose. A serous fluid runs from it occasionally, but isn’t continuous. She sneezes about 3 times a day, that’s all.
Now, to business;
My working differential has been Trauma/FVR virus at the top since I’ve ruled out; neoplasia, cat leprosy, rodent ulcer, etc. (see previous posts).
Now, with the passage of time, I’m almost convinced it is caused by FVR/Feline Herpes virus, primarily because of the photo you see on this article, it looks almost identical to Princess;
https://pro.dermavet.com/feline-cutaneous-herpesvirus-clinical-and-therapeutic-aspects/
Compare that with the pictures of her, I’ve already posted in this thread.
Notice particularly the tiny black specks around her mouth and eyelids. I’ve highlighted them in RED.
They have been a constant feature, which I previously confused with food debris/blood from eager gobbling of her raw chicken and sardines meals.
But now I’m pretty sure they are the cellular debris (eosinophils and monocytes from Herpes (FHV-1) infected epidermal and mucosal cells from her lips and eyelids.)
So finally, +there’s my diagnosis+ (I feel better already!)
Feline Herpes poses no danger to humans, and my other healthy strays will have developed natural immunity long before “they found me”.
So towards a better treatment… The article suggests;
Q/
Antiviral Treatment:
Famciclovir currently represents the reference antiviral in the treatment of FHV-1 infection. Its administration at a dosage of 40 to 90 mg/kg two to three times daily has proven effective in controlling clinical manifestations. The duration of treatment must be adapted to clinical evolution and can extend over several weeks. Monitoring of renal function is necessary during treatment due to the molecule’s nephrotoxic potential.
Other Options:
Other molecules can be considered in the therapeutic strategy. Azithromycin, administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg once daily for 10 days, has shown some efficacy. Topical treatments, particularly daily application of acyclovir or imiquimod used two to three consecutive days per week, can usefully complement the systemic approach.
/Q
Which sounds hopeful, but I can’t get those medicines here in the mountains on the Burmese border.
Please can you help with that Dr. Krista?
1) Famciclovir (Nephrotoxic warning noted. I’ll need several weeks supply.)
2) Azithromycin
3) Acyclovir or Imiquimod.
Happy to pay the cost and postage to finally get this precious creature better. (PM/email me for postal address, and how to pay you.)
Colin
Colin Melbourne English missionary in Asia
https://www.born-again-christian.org/news/
Here’s an update on what “Princess” looks like today, after 3 months in my care.
Desperate for progress last week, I sedated her; cleaned up her face, trimmed her whiskers, and extracted all her remaining teeth, (there were 8, not four, with their roots, see snap attached,) just in case it’s an atypical case of “screaming cat-mouth”. Which is caused by feeding cats dry cat-food, and packets of Monsanto pet-sludge, instead of what Carnivores were created to eat: Raw meat and bone in the form of whole animals and arthropods.
She’s still a happy pussy, and eats whatever is put in front of her; suffers occasional calici/FVR snuffles, has mild pharyngitis, but her mandibular LN are now back to normal size, +BUT that nose ulcer is no better,+ and no worse.
Again, I could not palpate, or see, any polyps in her mouth or nasopharynx, but I don’t discount the likelihood of smaller polyps in her anterior nasal passages causing this. Perhaps as reaction to FVR, sting, trauma etc.
She’s still head-shy, it’s as tender as it looks, but she likes to rub her face with her front paws, and on objects, as though it itches.
I’ve ruled out neoplasia because she’s so well in herself, and her lymph nodes returned to normal after an antibiotic course.
Demodex, ringworm, and mange are common in strays here, and they’re easily cured with gentle application of home-made flours-of-sulphur and ivermectin creams. She’s had all that routine therapy, so I discount those. This is distinctly different from such cases.
The black specs are food remains, not scabs.
My differential diagnosis is now, in order of likelihood;
Nose trauma/FVR that has caused tiny nasal polyps.
Insect sting, spider, or snake bite inside her oral cavity, or on her face,
“Screaming cat-mouth” (aka. Commercial “pet food” toxicity. She could have lived on pet food poached from neighbours’ pets.)
Atopic allergy. (She licks her body fur all over, in long sessions until it’s wet with saliva, despite bathing and de-fleaing her.)
Cat leprosy, (Mycobacterium from rodents.)
Rodent ulcer (Ought to have resolved by now.)
Leishmaniasis. (Very rarely reported but present in SE Asia)
Suggestions for therapy welcome 🙂
Colin
Update Feb 1st. 2025:
This is the state of “Princess’s” nose on Feb. 1st 2025 compared with when I found her in early November 2024.
An example of one of those many conditions vets struggle with!
She’s bright, happy, and still eating whatever I offer her, but I’m keeping her on mainly raw chicken, as the lysine in the meat is supposed to have some antiviral activity. Her alimentary system is working perfectly. She has no teeth, but still manages to make short-work of raw chicken frames I chop up for her! (I could make a video of her eating one to post here, but it’d be a big file, and may overload your forum software.)
No cough despite the seasonally cold weather here in the mountains. I let her sleep with me indoors.
I give her three day courses of Amoxycillin and predisolone crushed in her food, now and then, when she appears snuffly and bunged up. I also clean her nose daily, and it seems to be less tender now. You’ll notice her left nostril is almost fully occluded in the latest picture, a baby-sized cotton-bud clears it, but makes it bleed, so I feel bad hurting her.
She’s putting weight on, and her mandibular LN are only slightly enlarged. Not surprising considering what we see here.
She still licks her fur all over, somewhat manically, she’s often soaking wet with saliva when I pick her up, and of course this symptom subsides when she’s on prednisolone.
My differential has not changed, and I welcome good advice.
Colin
Colin Melbourne English missionary in Asia
https://www.born-again-christian.org/news/
Hello all,
Writing in with an agonizing and drawn out struggle with my cat Petra..
I rescued a feral kitten in 2022 who developed cryptococcosis the following year – confirmed through a biopsy.
She has the cutaneous and nasal form, and while we tried itraconazole for a few months, it did devastating damage to her nose.
Vet switched her to fluconazole 37.5 mg (at that time my cat was just over year old and weighed 3.5 kg) once a day… and the symptom relief was remarkable!
Within a month, her nose was much less inflamed and starting to look “relatively normal” again, and best part was she was no longer having difficulty breathing, no stertor or mouth open.
Her many crusty skin lesions and nodules under the skin cleared up miraculously!
But, the success was short-lived, because a couple of months later she developed a big bulge on her abdomen/side under the skin – which eventually erupted. She had had several of these nodules and lumps, that ulcerated last year but the fluconazole seemed to clear them all up. Until now. I was so disheartened, to say the least.
The crater-like ulcer got infected and our vet (RCVS licensed in UK) decided surgery was the best option.
We did this, and the vet found more ulcers which needed to be removed to patch up the skin. It was a horrific looking surgery aftermath when she came home.
Petra required to wear a cone for 3 weeks after her surgery so she couldn’t touch her healing wound. It got infected anyway, and this increased her “cone suffering” duration.
The impact of many vet visits, surgery, and follow ups while the vet checked if the wound was healing and if the stitches could be removed, was quite an ordeal for Petra.
She gets very stressed and is difficult to put in a carrier. I feel that the stress of cone duration + all the vet trips triggered an inflammatory response in her and her nose started showing signs of the fungus again. Inflammation, distortion and worst of all the stertor was back.
The vet increased her fluconazole dose to 75 mg a day (37.5 mg morning, 37.5 mg evening). This had no noticeable effect and her nose got more inflamed as each day went by. 2 months later and her nose is worse than ever and the tip is so inflamed. With the loss of scent and ability to breathe sufficiently, she’s become reluctant to eat more than half a tin of food a day. Sometimes all she will eat is half a tablespoon and then runs off, upset.
Petra’s vet wants to put her on a maximum dose of 150 mg of fluconazole, daily, before assessing her quality of life and potential euthanasia.
I decided to try homeopathic remedies first, while continuing 75 mg a day of fluconazole) but it doesn’t appear to be helping 3 weeks in.
I’m concerned about continuing vet interventions, because Petra is so stressed by them, and at 150 mg a day she will need to see the vet frequently and likely need blood tests. At 150 mg a day, it’s also a non sustainable chunk of my monthly expenses (taken from diminishing savings), and she is not my only cat or responsibility… this could go on for years..
If she has no positive response (symptoms relief) at 150 mg, the vet is out of ideas other than euthanasia. I live in Bahrain and the options for treating this fungus are very limited.
They have not seen it in over 40 years of vet practice, so this is a first time.
I love Petra and it’s been hell witnessing her struggle to breathe for over a year. That’s what makes me panicky and consider quality of life, if she cannot be cured or brought to a level of management where the fungus doesn’t impede her breathing.
I need advice from a community of animal lovers, vets, who can also understand and take into consideration her temperament and adverse reaction (inflammation) to vet visits.
I was really hoping the homeopathic medicine would help and the practitioner I found has many years of successes working with animals. It’s either the wrong remedy, or just going to take a long time. In the meantime, in my opinion, my cat is suffering and struggling. She takes gasps of air every so often and her mouth is slightly open while she makes a snoring sound as she tries to breathe through her blocked airway. She has lost weight as she eats much less now. She was 4.7 kg in April before her surgery. At the beginning of June she was 4.5 kg and now she is closer to 4 kg.
Also within the last 2 months, her eyes have gotten affected by the nodules. One above her right eye, under the skin and affecting the bone. The other is in her left lower eyelid.
During this whole ordeal, her right lymph node under her jaw has been the size of a golf ball.. and the left one also swelled up a few months later. But that side seems to have gone down.
Any help or advice on what to do.. would be very much appreciated.
Pics from most recent (today June 3rd 2024) to last year before fluconazole and way before, late 2022, when she was a kitten.
Hello,
I am so sorry to hear of your frustration over your cats case.
I am not able to give much advice on this case with specific details to treatment but I will add that I think seeing a feline practitioner (someone who just sees cats) and see if they can help.
I am sorry but I cannot advise a homeopathic vet on this case, it is too far advanced.
I wish you the best of luck
Thank you, Dr. Magnifico,
I have agreed to up her dose to 150 mg of fluconazole and it’s been a week with no improvements so far – except I noticed her drinking more water. Living on a small island, we don’t have any feline only vets, every vet here sees both cats and dogs. I really don’t want to elect euthanasia (which the vet said is an option) and the other end of the spectrum is my fear that she will suffocate eventually. It’s been so painful watching this unfold. Thank you for responding, about homeopathy. It is an added cost and couriers to get the medicine in. I have been desperate.
Hello,
I’m so sorry to hear that your cat is so unwell. I’ve luckily never seen ryptococcosis, but if it is treated with itraconazole or fluconazole, maybe ketaconazole is an option to try, too?
Thank you for trying so much for your cat and not giving up on her. You are both amazing.
Shiria
Hello Shiria, thank you for your kind comment. Petra is amazingly resilient.
Animals take on suffering without complaint so I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing at this point, if she won’t get better. I’ve read about ketoconazole but it seems like the least helpful of the two azoles for this condition, and it seems like it has more adverse effects too. I will look into it, though, I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing for her as she struggles to breathe and trials take time. It hurts to think of putting her down and it hurts to see her suffering without knowing what will help, or if anything will. At a certain point I ask if it’s selfish to keep her alive & suffering in the hopes something will help, over a year on.
Hello. An update for anyone in the future researching on behalf of their pet who develops this fungus.
A cure is possible, some cats respond very well to anti-fungal meds. My Petra did not. Initially, her nose cleared up very well and she could breathe much better, but the fungus returned with a vengeance a few months later.
She has been on Fluconazole for 11 months total:
(37.5mg – 75mg), and on 150mg for 3 months. 2 months into the higher dose, I found her with anisocoria (one pupil very dilated). It went away and came back over two days. One of her eyes is droopy (Horner’s syndrome). Yesterday I found blood smeared on her paw and couldn’t find a wound.
I took her to the vet, who opened her mouth and discovered the fungal growths are pushing through her soft palate (roof of mouth) and causing anatomical separation. Her nose is swelling up considerably and distorting again. It began regressing 6 months ago but was relatively stable, but now it’s increasing in size and doubling almost overnight. She has lost 1 kilo. The vet has recommended euthanasia, unequivocally. Petra is struggling to get air in, and while we hoped for a cure (with medication) that is not happening. It’s cruel to continue with no hope of quality of life and only more suffering, and the outcome if left would be suffocation.
We have decided to let my sweet girl go, while she is still mobile, eating, before she suffocates to death.
It’s been so traumatic, to witness this and I want to send good vibes to anyone in the future who is struggling with the same disease (mainly the nose – which causes so much suffering).
Hi Dr. Magnifico,
Our adopted cat (former stray cat, now 100% indoor) has always shown all of the signs of a nasopharyngeal polyp (about 4 years now). I didn’t know what it was until I saw videos of cats with similar breathing noises and eventually saw your YouTube polypectomy videos.
Three short videos of his breathing sounds (turn up your volume) follow:
Called our vet for a surgeon referral, but they’ll only refer for a CT scan ($2000) before they’ll refer to a surgeon. Surgeon’s websites all indicate that they will only accept appointments by referral from a general Vet, so I can’t just make an appointment for examination by a surgeon (which I’m happy to pay for).
Bottom line, looking for a second-opinion / consult (happy to pay!) on whether it’s really necessary to do a $2000 CT scan *before* being referred to a surgeon for (a probably $2000) surgery. I’d rather just have a surgeon put the cat under anesthesia, go in, look for the polyp, and remove it if they see one. Happy to pay $2000 for just that surgery, even if it turns out there’s no polyp.
Thank you in advance for any response.
Hello,
I am sorry to hear about your dilemma. You are not alone. I know that a lot of people are in the same position that you are.
I am not sure how vetmed got to this place. I am not sure why so few veterinarians are willing to go and look for a polyp that if it continues to grow will kill, by suffocation, its host.
The idea that every single one of these cats needs a CT is incorrect. What every single one of these cats is is to breathe. Some of these cats will have polyps in places that we may not be able to get our hands on,, these cases may need a special scope to access. For this reason the price of care may increase.,, but for all of the cats I have seen I think I have given them a second chance at breathing, and a second chance at life.
Call every vet in your area. Try every single veterinary practice that is single doctor (therefore privately owned) and every practice that has some old guy (or girl) working there. I promise that every veterinarian over 50 knows how to, and already has experience with this. They can help.
If you cannot find anyone please come find me.
I will do my best to help.
Dr Magnifico
Thank you, Dr. Magnifico!
you are welcome,,, if you find someone to help you affordably please let me know
Seeking Diagnosis/Treatment for Possible Nasopharyngeal Polyp in Cat
Our 5#, 18 mo old cat has been having breathing difficulty for about 6 months. We’ve been to two “regular” vets and one specialty vet. The “regular” vets have done chest x-rays and bloodwork trying to diagnose. We’ve been on multiple rounds of antibiotics, several steroid shots, and a few breathing treatments. The first vet suspected asthma, but none of the meds worked. The second vet suspected lung infection, but again, none of the meds caused any improvement. The cat is acting fine, eating and eliminating normally. No nasal discharge. Sounds like she’s snoring all the time.
We saw a specialist today. She determined that the cat isn’t able to breathe thru her nose much, if at all. We are waiting on lab results for a fungal infection. The next step she suggested would be for CT scan and rhinoscopy to check for foreign body, polyp, or other physical abnormality. I’m ok with sedated imaging, but their estimated cost for that is $4,000. I called MS State University Vet Clinic, and their estimate was also in that range. We’ve already spent hundreds trying to diagnose and treat this. I’m ok with spending more but not $4,000.
Can anyone suggest a vet in the Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi region that we can try?
Please help my rescue kitty with a polyp in his pharynx!
I recently took in a rescue kitty. He was treated for upper respiratory infection. However, it keeps returning and he always sounds like he is snoring. The vet he was seeing suspects a polyp. However, he isn’t able to remove it. I can’t afford to take him to specialist. Please help! I will travel to you to have him seen.
Hello,
I recommend that you call every local rescue and shelter to see if you can find someone who is willing to help you. There are many vets who will try and do this affordably. I am in northern Maryland. If you find someone close to you please share their information with us so we can pass it along to others.
We have a very sassy beautiful 12 year old orange female tabby named Nala. She has been perfectly healthy until about a year ago when she started to sneeze a lot (that rapid-fire sneezing that cats do) and she started to make a snoring sound when she breathes. We initially thought it was just allergies but it didn’t get any better after several months. We took her to the vet and he diagnosed her with herpes and prescribed Chlorpheniramine 4mg crushed in her food. I’ve been giving her this for at least 6 months now and she has not improved. The sneezing has decreased, but the “snoring” has not improved at all. Searching online, we found a video of Dr. Magnifico performing surgery on a cat that had a nasal polyp and we are wondering if this may be what she has. The symptoms all seem to be the same as what she has been dealing with. So we’ve been searching for a vet in our area that performs this type of exam and surgery, and we have found this to be very expensive ($2000-$5000). She is otherwise a very healthy girl, she eats, drinks, uses litterbox and plays and snuggles all like normal. She has lost weight, but now seems to be putting it back on slowly. Dr. Magnifico’s office is only about an hour away and we would absolutely drive down to be able to have her exam Nala and if it is a reasonable price, have her remove the polyp if this was the diagnosis.
Hello
I’m sorry for the delay. If you would like a consult I would be happy to meet you and discuss options. Please call the clinic and ask for an appointment. It is the best place to start.
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?