Open-mouth breathing when purring

Kitten's been happily OTJ since the middle of March. His energy level is better than ever, neuropathy is completely gone, and coat is looking sleek. When he got his diabetes dx we were told he had a heart murmur (that's all the info with have regarding that).

What we (DH and I) have noticed in the last couple weeks is that when we pet him and he starts purring heavily, he opens his mouth to breathe. He never used to do that before, so we're not sure if this is something normal or something we should keep an eye on. He'll keep his mouth open continuously, sometimes even "forgetting to close it" after the heavy purring stops. He doesn't start doing it unless he's purring - like, he wont just keep his mouth open while sitting on the sofa watching tv. It doesn't seem like he has difficulty breathing.

We waited quite a while to bring him in when he started showing symptoms of diabetes, because we kept blaming his behaviour on other circumstances, and now feel sooo guilty about. So don't want a repeat of that!

Am I overreacting? Or is this worth a vet visit?

Thanks!!!!

 

Did your vet recommend Kitten getting an echocardiogram done to check out the heart murmur? You should definitely have that done if the murmur is new; not present at the previous visit.

Edited to add... My laptop is still in the shop and I'm using my iPhone to type. Please don't blame yourself about Kitten's diabetes. I didn't even realize anything was wrong with Seasaidh until he had lost six pounds. One third of his body weight. I was working long hours at the time.

I have a heart kitty I am now taking care of so when I saw your post I had to respond. I hope Kitten doesn't have any serious heart issues going on but you need to get him checked out just in case. There are meds that can help if he does. Please keep us updated and I will keep you in my thoughts.

 

You're not overreacting; it's worth a vet visit. It could very well be his heart.

 

Thanks guys for the responses. No there was no mention of an echocardiogram when we last went. I was worried that it may be connected to his heart as well. Made an appointment for tomorrow morning, so will definitely bring it up.

Heather: Thanks for your kind words. I hope that its nothing serious - but its comforting to know that there is ways to help. Crossing my fingers for a good visit!!!

 

I'm so glad that you got Kitten in to see the vet today. I'll be hoping for a good visit for you. The vet may not have suggested the echo if the murmur was a low grade one, but the vet I go to suggests it for any new murmur. My cat, Spirit, had been a stray and when I adopted him he was so stressed out and high strung. He got into fight after fight with my other cats so we were regulars at the vet for awhile. He didn't have a murmur until one day he happened to tear a nail, almost completely off. That was the visit when he all of a sudden had a murmur. I never would have known otherwise. Turned out he has HCM and the doc said it was congenital. He's been very lucky so far and hes even going to have a much needed dental in a couple of weeks.

Crossing our paws here that Kitten's visit to the vet will be a good one.

 

Any update on Kitten? I've been keeping you both in my thoughts and I hope everything turned out ok at the vet.

 

So sorry Heather! I apologize for my delay.....

So it turns out that those echocardiograms are really really expensive! :shock: I was expecting pricey, but not that much...holy moly! :shock: So our vet said to keep and eye on him and note if he starts doing it more frequently to bring him in and we'll do one then. She was super nice and even said that she would help us with the cost if he started doing it more. He hasn't done it as much, but we are keeping a close eye....not becoming complacent at all, no worries there. We are planning on getting one done though...and soon...just saving up a bit in the meantime.

Thanks for your story about Spirit...it opened my eyes that sometimes we really don't know what's going on with our kitty's until an incident comes along. Hope the dental goes well!!

Thanks so much for thinking of us. So very sweet of you. :YMHUG:

 

It sounds like you have a great vet! That is wonderful that she'll work with you and to try to make the echo available. Yeah, those echos are pricey here too. $300 plus bloodwork and vax and Spirit's latest grand total was over $460. The estimate for his dental is worse. I am not looking forward to that (and neither is he, for that matter). Thanks for the well wishes for him. I didn't get Spirit's initial echo done right away because of the cost. I am very glad I did get it done when I did. In the past I had a beloved rescue kitty who died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart dz. I don't want to scare you but I don't want you or anyone else to go through the heartache and guilt I experienced with losing him.

It is terrific that you're on top of things with Kitten. He is lucky to have you.

 

Wait, 300 for an echo? That's soooo much better than here!! I was quoted 700 plus 13% tax!

You're definitely not scaring me don't worry....I know you're just telling me so that I understand that sometimes you can't tell the extent of what is happening just by looking at them, especially having gone through that yourself. So sorry about your rescue (((((Heather))))))