Abbey Doesn't Purr Anymore

Abbey was diagnosed with chylothorax in early May, had her pleural
cavity drained twice, had x-rays and an ultrasound which indicated she
has fibrosing pleuritis (lungs are scarred from the chyle). Her
prognosis was not good at all.

She is still doing fine, fortunately. She is on lasix and rutin. She
eats, plays. acts perfectly normal except her breathing is faster than
normal (which is 20-40 respirations per minute). She actually is
usually 40-46 but will increase to almost 60 when she exerts herself.
When she is sound asleep it will drop to the high 20s or lower 30s. So
it's not horribly fast but it's more the way it looks, it looks like
she is diaphragm breathing, which she is.

But...ever since this all happened, we have not heard her purr. She
was sick for awhile so we didn't expect it. But now she acts normally,
rolls around on the floor, squeaks, loves to be petted and brushed, all
things where she would normally be purring. But she doesn't.

I know it's a mystery (another mystery on rpchb!) exactly what causes
purring. I was just googling it:

"It is not known how cats purr. One suggestion is that the vibration of
blood passing through a large vein in the cat's chest causes purring.
The windpipe, along with air spaces in the cat's skull, magnifies the
sound of the blood passing through the vein. An alternate theory is
that the sound is produced by the cat's larynx as its vocal cords open
and close."

It sounds like it may be impossible for her to purr because of her
lung/chest damage. Whaddya think?

Candace

Candace wrote:
Abbey was diagnosed with chylothorax in early May, had her pleural
cavity drained twice, had x-rays and an ultrasound which indicated she
has fibrosing pleuritis (lungs are scarred from the chyle). Her
prognosis was not good at all.

She is still doing fine, fortunately. She is on lasix and rutin. She
eats, plays. acts perfectly normal except her breathing is faster than
normal (which is 20-40 respirations per minute). She actually is
usually 40-46 but will increase to almost 60 when she exerts herself.
When she is sound asleep it will drop to the high 20s or lower 30s. So
it's not horribly fast but it's more the way it looks, it looks like
she is diaphragm breathing, which she is.

But...ever since this all happened, we have not heard her purr. She
was sick for awhile so we didn't expect it. But now she acts normally,
rolls around on the floor, squeaks, loves to be petted and brushed, all
things where she would normally be purring. But she doesn't.

I know it's a mystery (another mystery on rpchb!) exactly what causes
purring. I was just googling it:

"It is not known how cats purr. One suggestion is that the vibration of
blood passing through a large vein in the cat's chest causes purring.
The windpipe, along with air spaces in the cat's skull, magnifies the
sound of the blood passing through the vein. An alternate theory is
that the sound is produced by the cat's larynx as its vocal cords open
and close."

It sounds like it may be impossible for her to purr because of her
lung/chest damage. Whaddya think?

Candace

I was just looking at the yahoo photos. Cute kids! Marbles is cute.

Yeah, neat question too! Purring.

You know how when we get cold we shiver. This shivering makes extra
heat in us, it's why we shiver. Maybe it's along those lines.

Hope your kitty gets her purring back. Maybe she's still adjusting.

Mary wrote:

I was just looking at the yahoo photos. Cute kids! Marbles is cute.

Thanks! He's cute-looking and sweet to us but a PITA. He chases the
other 2 and they're afraid of him, a year later, so they have to be
separated. Closed doors are inconvenient and mess up the a/c flow this
time of year. Plus he's exceedingly vocal and whines and whines to be
let out into the other part of the house.

Hope your kitty gets her purring back. Maybe she's still adjusting.

I don't know, if it originates in the chest area, she may not. She has
permanent lung damage that cannot be reversed.

Poor little baby

Candace

"Candace" wrote in message
ups.com...
Abbey was diagnosed with chylothorax in early May, had her pleural
cavity drained twice, had x-rays and an ultrasound which indicated she
has fibrosing pleuritis (lungs are scarred from the chyle). Her
prognosis was not good at all.

She is still doing fine, fortunately. She is on lasix and rutin. She
eats, plays. acts perfectly normal except her breathing is faster than
normal (which is 20-40 respirations per minute). She actually is
usually 40-46 but will increase to almost 60 when she exerts herself.
When she is sound asleep it will drop to the high 20s or lower 30s. So
it's not horribly fast but it's more the way it looks, it looks like
she is diaphragm breathing, which she is.

But...ever since this all happened, we have not heard her purr. She
was sick for awhile so we didn't expect it. But now she acts normally,
rolls around on the floor, squeaks, loves to be petted and brushed, all
things where she would normally be purring. But she doesn't.

I know it's a mystery (another mystery on rpchb!) exactly what causes
purring. I was just googling it:

"It is not known how cats purr. One suggestion is that the vibration of
blood passing through a large vein in the cat's chest causes purring.
The windpipe, along with air spaces in the cat's skull, magnifies the
sound of the blood passing through the vein. An alternate theory is
that the sound is produced by the cat's larynx as its vocal cords open
and close."

It sounds like it may be impossible for her to purr because of her
lung/chest damage. Whaddya think?

Candace


Cats use their diaphram to purr conjunction with their larynx, she probably
can't purr because of her lung damage as you said, Her diaphram is possibly
out of sync with her larynx, one needs to compliment the others rhythm to
create a purr.

Candace wrote:
Abbey was diagnosed with chylothorax in early May, had her pleural
cavity drained twice, had x-rays and an ultrasound which indicated she
has fibrosing pleuritis (lungs are scarred from the chyle). Her
prognosis was not good at all.

She is still doing fine, fortunately. She is on lasix and rutin. She
eats, plays. acts perfectly normal except her breathing is faster than
normal (which is 20-40 respirations per minute). She actually is
usually 40-46 but will increase to almost 60 when she exerts herself.
When she is sound asleep it will drop to the high 20s or lower 30s. So
it's not horribly fast but it's more the way it looks, it looks like
she is diaphragm breathing, which she is.

But...ever since this all happened, we have not heard her purr. She
was sick for awhile so we didn't expect it. But now she acts normally,
rolls around on the floor, squeaks, loves to be petted and brushed, all
things where she would normally be purring. But she doesn't.

I know it's a mystery (another mystery on rpchb!) exactly what causes
purring. I was just googling it:

"It is not known how cats purr. One suggestion is that the vibration of
blood passing through a large vein in the cat's chest causes purring.
The windpipe, along with air spaces in the cat's skull, magnifies the
sound of the blood passing through the vein. An alternate theory is
that the sound is produced by the cat's larynx as its vocal cords open
and close."

It sounds like it may be impossible for her to purr because of her
lung/chest damage. Whaddya think?

I think you're probably right - that there's a very good chance that
it's a physical thing that she's not purring now.

Glad she's otherwise holding her own.

Cathy


Candace

"Candace" wrote
It sounds like it may be impossible for her to purr because of her
lung/chest damage. Whaddya think?

Candace

It could be, I don't know. I'm sorry she can't purr anymore, that sounds so
sad Glad she is doing well otherwise.

-Kelly

"Candace" wrote in message
ups.com...
Abbey was diagnosed with chylothorax in early May, had her pleural
cavity drained twice, had x-rays and an ultrasound which indicated she
has fibrosing pleuritis (lungs are scarred from the chyle). Her
prognosis was not good at all.

She is still doing fine, fortunately. She is on lasix and rutin. She
eats, plays. acts perfectly normal except her breathing is faster than
normal (which is 20-40 respirations per minute). She actually is
usually 40-46 but will increase to almost 60 when she exerts herself.
When she is sound asleep it will drop to the high 20s or lower 30s. So
it's not horribly fast but it's more the way it looks, it looks like
she is diaphragm breathing, which she is.

But...ever since this all happened, we have not heard her purr. She
was sick for awhile so we didn't expect it. But now she acts normally,
rolls around on the floor, squeaks, loves to be petted and brushed, all
things where she would normally be purring. But she doesn't.

I know it's a mystery (another mystery on rpchb!) exactly what causes
purring. I was just googling it:

"It is not known how cats purr. One suggestion is that the vibration of
blood passing through a large vein in the cat's chest causes purring.
The windpipe, along with air spaces in the cat's skull, magnifies the
sound of the blood passing through the vein. An alternate theory is
that the sound is produced by the cat's larynx as its vocal cords open
and close."

It sounds like it may be impossible for her to purr because of her
lung/chest damage. Whaddya think?

Candace

Sorry, I can't help with an answer to this. I think she's probably "purring
on the inside" though it can't be heard any more!

Hugs,

CatNipped

CatNipped wrote:
"Candace" wrote in message
ups.com...
Abbey was diagnosed with chylothorax in early May, had her pleural
cavity drained twice, had x-rays and an ultrasound which indicated she
has fibrosing pleuritis (lungs are scarred from the chyle). Her
prognosis was not good at all.

She is still doing fine, fortunately. She is on lasix and rutin. She
eats, plays. acts perfectly normal except her breathing is faster than
normal (which is 20-40 respirations per minute). She actually is
usually 40-46 but will increase to almost 60 when she exerts herself.
When she is sound asleep it will drop to the high 20s or lower 30s. So
it's not horribly fast but it's more the way it looks, it looks like
she is diaphragm breathing, which she is.

But...ever since this all happened, we have not heard her purr. She
was sick for awhile so we didn't expect it. But now she acts normally,
rolls around on the floor, squeaks, loves to be petted and brushed, all
things where she would normally be purring. But she doesn't.

I know it's a mystery (another mystery on rpchb!) exactly what causes
purring. I was just googling it:

"It is not known how cats purr. One suggestion is that the vibration of
blood passing through a large vein in the cat's chest causes purring.
The windpipe, along with air spaces in the cat's skull, magnifies the
sound of the blood passing through the vein. An alternate theory is
that the sound is produced by the cat's larynx as its vocal cords open
and close."

It sounds like it may be impossible for her to purr because of her
lung/chest damage. Whaddya think?

Candace

Sorry, I can't help with an answer to this. I think she's probably "purring
on the inside" though it can't be heard any more!

Hugs,

CatNipped

I'm sure she is, and that's a super sweet thing to say on a sunday
morning.

"Candace" wrote in message
ups.com...
Abbey was diagnosed with chylothorax in early May, had her pleural
cavity drained twice, had x-rays and an ultrasound which indicated she
has fibrosing pleuritis (lungs are scarred from the chyle). Her
prognosis was not good at all.

She is still doing fine, fortunately. She is on lasix and rutin. She
eats, plays. acts perfectly normal except her breathing is faster than
normal (which is 20-40 respirations per minute). She actually is
usually 40-46 but will increase to almost 60 when she exerts herself.
When she is sound asleep it will drop to the high 20s or lower 30s. So
it's not horribly fast but it's more the way it looks, it looks like
she is diaphragm breathing, which she is.

But...ever since this all happened, we have not heard her purr. She
was sick for awhile so we didn't expect it. But now she acts normally,
rolls around on the floor, squeaks, loves to be petted and brushed, all
things where she would normally be purring. But she doesn't.

I know it's a mystery (another mystery on rpchb!) exactly what causes
purring. I was just googling it:

"It is not known how cats purr. One suggestion is that the vibration of
blood passing through a large vein in the cat's chest causes purring.
The windpipe, along with air spaces in the cat's skull, magnifies the
sound of the blood passing through the vein. An alternate theory is
that the sound is produced by the cat's larynx as its vocal cords open
and close."

It sounds like it may be impossible for her to purr because of her
lung/chest damage. Whaddya think?

Candace

I don't know, Candace, but I'm just glad to read that Abbey is holding her
own. Many purrs that her quality of life continues to be good for a long
time.
Christine

On Sun 24 Jul 2005 01:00:32a, Candace wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav (news:1122181232.287246.65560
@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com):

snip

It sounds like it may be impossible for her to purr because of her
lung/chest damage. Whaddya think?

I'm sorry she isn't purring anymore! I have no idea but I just wanted
to say that Bonnie doesn't purr. She's the former feral. Otherwise,
she's affectionate in her way, loves to be pet, sits on my lap now
and then and lays on top of me when she wants me to get up in the
morning and feed her. Maybe the purr does come from deeper down than
the throat - after Shadow's throat was damaged he didn't meow, but he
purred up a storm. I miss that cat.

--
Cheryl

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited
breath."
- W.C. Fields