Hillary Israeli wrote:
In ,
bob and shel wrote:

*Jaq wrote:
*
* Please help if you know anything that might help us.

Without knowing a diagnosis, there's really not much to offer except best
wishes and hope that you can get to a veterinarian soon, because it sounds
like he has a serious problem.

*What you are feeling could be crepitus (also called subcutaneous
*emphysema), as someone else posted. It feels like little bubble wrap

Crepitus may be caused by subcutaneous emphysema, but it is not "also
called" subcutaneous emphysema. Crepitus is a crinkly/crackly/grindy/or
grating feeling or noise which occurs on palpation of skin or joints.

*cracking under the skin. What crepitus is is actually air bubbles
*under the skin caused by leaking of air from the lungs. i.e. a

Yes, that's one cause of subcutaneous emphysema. Another possibility is a
wound from the outside allowing air into the subcutaneous space, and then
healing over - sometimes this happens with a tunnel-shaped wound in my
experience.

Another thing that leaps to mind is an infection with a gas-forming
bacterium, totally unrelated to any kind of trauma allowing air into the
subcutaneous space.

Hopefully the kitty gets some help...

-h.

Yes, Hillary, thank you for clarifying this. I definitely worded this
poorly. I am aware that subcutaneous emphysema is not crepitus, rather
one of many possible causes of crepitus. Certainly crepitus can be
caused by a lot of other, and much more benign, things... such as
arthritic changes in joints.

Unfortunately in the scope of my job, the most common cause of crepitus
in the back (or chest/neck/face) area is due to a pneumothorax, or in a
few cases, a ruptured trachea (not such a good thing). At least when
the patient is in obvious distress, like the kitty is. I would assume
you might see a wider variety of causes of crepitus than I would, as I
care for humans. I think most people tend to seek medical attention for
themselves or loved ones a bit sooner than some seek it for their
pets... so generally we hope to see them before the infection (or
whatever) is so advanced that the patient develops crepitus from it.
Though not always. (Let me add that *I* think pets deserve excellent
and timely health care, and mine get it.)

I should have worded the post more appropriately. I did not mean to make
it sound like the cat had a pneumothorax, rather that it was a
possibility. The main thing I wanted to get across to the OP was that
this might be very serious and it might not be something he/she wants to
wait until morning before getting help. I hope the kitty is OK. I'll
be interested to hear a follow up.

Take care,
Shelly