My cat Smudge has started weazing when he sleeps, very quietly. Is this because he is a bit overweight? Has anyone here ever had an overweight cat that weazed when it was sleeping? Do you think I should put him on a diet? Should I take him to the vet? His weazing isn´t loud, but it´s there the whole time that he is sleeping. I´m worried about him.

Tiffany kind of wheezes when she sleeps as well but she´s very thin now. She used to be overweight but never did it then, I think it just comes with age.. how old is Smudge?
It´s like a half-snore when she does it though so it might be different.

Smudge will turn 6 years old in a couple of months. It doesn´t sound like snoring though, it sounds like he has moisture in his lungs or his nose, like a wheezing / snuffling sort of noise.

Marcatmm, may I ask why your username is in the time line of my original post? I´m just curious, as it doesn´t seem to be any different from when I posted it, and I know that your username usually only appears in the time line of a post when you have changed that post in some way.

Yes, Muddy, you may certainly ask. When there´s a spelling mistake in the title of a thread, it´s edited by a mod so that it appears correctly when the thread is visible on home page. You will note that the spelling mistake was corrected only in the title, not in the post itself.

Oh! My bad... *blushes and looks sheepish*... I didn´t realise the title was spelled wrong. My spelling is usually pretty good, but there are still a couple of words which just plain baffle me. ^.^

I´m really worried. It almost sounds as though Smudge can´t breathe properly, but he doesn´t wake up or anything, so maybe it just sounds worse than it is.

Muddy, please take Smudge to the vet to have him checked out. It may be something or nothing. Viz wheezes when he sleeps but that´s because he buries his head deep in his fur and he is 14 years old, so could be an age thing! I told my vet who listened to his lungs and said he was a very fit cat for his age.
This could be the case with Smudge.

Muddy it could have a lot to do with his being overweight - the excess fat around his chest could be stressing his lungs when he´s lying down (so the wheezing might not be as apparent when he´s up and around). For that, and many other health reasons, it would be a good idea to help Smudge lose some weight. It´s probably also a good idea to take him to the vet and have his chest listened to just to be sure there´s nothing else going on, and also to work out a feeding plan for him.

You guys are right. I hope I can convince my parents to take him to the vet. They avoid the vet as much as possible, because it´s so expensive, and they don´t value Smudge´s health as much as I do.

Hey Muddy, maybe you can find a way to offer to help with the charge. Another way to look at it is that it´s cheaper to identify and deal with what might be a treatable problem now to avoid a larger, and more expensive, health problem later if Smudge´s condition gets worse. If he remains overweight he will almost certainly develop some serious and costly health problems. Good luck.

Thanks MichyD, I´ll tell my parents that. Also, I´ve found that constant, persistant nagging can work miracles! XD

I´m not sure if they sell it in South Africa but in pet stores here they sell a powder supplement that´s formulated for healthy cat weight loss. It provides all the nutrients they need with ingredients to help kitty slim down, it might be a cheaper faster alternative than saving to go to the vet.
I´m sure there are many products like this online but you would have to know what to look for in the ingredient when you choose one and unforunately I don´t.

Thank you, I´ll look into that. Hopefully there is a safe, inexpensive powder like that in my country.

Muddy, I would definitely take your cat to the vet if it is a new noise that you never heard before. Try to explain it´s sound to the vet and when it happens. You could even try recording it.

I recently had a cat with a similar symptom. But it resolved when I took her to the vet. So I don´t think the vet knew exactly what I was describing.

Good luck & keep us posted!

I´ll be sure to keep everyone posted, Fireheart438! I´ll let everyone know when I have convinced my parents to take Smudge to the vet.

Yeah, I realize that you don´t have the ultimate say in all this. It´s just that my wheezing cat passed away last night. Mind you, she was 20 years old, 5 lbs, and battling thyroid problems for the past 4 years. But it makes me want to urge others not to take any condition too lightly.

I will be hoping all works out fine.

Oh, I also have a cat who snores like a buzz saw and 2 who can´t purr...they make weird, raspy, throaty noises instead. So it is possible that´s the case with your kitty.

I dont want to worry you but a few of my cats and kittens wheezing pritty bad and they cant breath proply its asma and also my big male cat zendy wheezes at night when he sleeps but thats not his asmaa its just normal wheezing i dont think its a problem he isnt ova whaight he is bigger than your averege male cat tho twice the size infact i think that may be why he wheezes at night when he sleeps and even dyring the day when he´s awake he still slightly weezes just get muddy checked out by your vet if its realy bad.