Never buy a kitten from a parent that has needed surgery in order to breathe freely. Since you are likely to end up footing the same vet bill further down the line. It’s important to know this if you are considering buying a flat faced kitten. Some adult flat faced cats that appear to have good nostrils may owe them to surgery at an earlier point in their life. And we can infer a little more from work with dogs.ĭuring surgery, a vet removes small wedges of the dorsolateral cartilage which supports the outside edge of the nostril. Research into brachycephalic airway syndrome in cats is not comprehensive.īut fortunately there is some. Brachycephalic Airway Syndromeīrachycephalic airway syndrome is the collective name for all of the breathing problems above, when a flat face causes an animal’s airways to be obstructed. But we’ll come to other complications of surgery in a moment. This restricts airflow and is linked to respiratory tract infections.īrachycephalic airway syndrome is also linked to laryngeal collapse, which is potentially fatal.Ĭonstricted airways also make it harder for a vet to intubate your cat quickly and safely should they need surgery. Structures called turbinates, which should fit above their nose, end up protruding into the cavity at the back of the mouth. These three factors, combined with others, can have dangerous consequences for cats’ health. The Consequences Of Airway Obstruction In Flat Faced Cats There is even one recorded case of an elongated palate causing fluid to build up in the lungs of a young Persian cat.
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Instead of closing of the airway appropriately, the soft palate permanently blocks it, and stops the free flow of air. In flat faced cats, the soft palate – whilst normal sized – can be too long for the abnormally short space inside their skull. Their function is to close off the airway when cats swallow. The soft palate is the group of muscles at the back of the roof of the mouth. The veterinary term for this is stenotic nares. So the space for air to enter becomes narrow and constricted. This bunching up pushes the opening of the nostril. Closed nostrilsĪ common result of brachycephaly is that the facial features become smooshed together and bunched up. Too much tissueĪlthough a brachycephalic cat’s skull is shorter than it should be, all the tissues that usually fit inside a cat’s mouth remain regular cat size.Īnd there just isn’t room for them. The shorter their skull, the worse their breathing. The extent of their breathing problems is directly related to the extent of their brachycephaly.