Cat Breathing Noises are these normal ???  

Everyone with any cats experience of this can chime in.   Would love to hear what any veterinarians or vet techs think about this breathing and twitching?   Dr Wooten?

Hi! Welcome to the forum. It's great to have you here. Dr. Wooten and/or other vet moderators will be able to help you out soon. In the meantime, thank you again for being here. Your cat is beautiful! 

Hey Mallory!!!  What about your cats have you heard them snore or whiskers twitch like this before?

One more thing to add to the question should his head be elevated from the rest of his body during sleep?  Is there an optimal sleeping position?   Because sometimes he gets into weird sleeping positions!

Hi there,

Dr Woodnutt here!

I've just seen the video - firstly, what a cutie!

Let's answer your questions:

I would not be worried about your cat's snoring in these videos, nor the whisker twitch. Noisy breathing happens when the airflow is interrupted so that unusual vibrations occur - this can happen in your cat's nose, lungs, throat, or even just outside the nostrils. I suspect your cat's snoring in this video is positional. As you've said, if he sleeps in some weird positions, it's likely that the airflow through his nose is slightly abnormal. His nose may be slightly squashed, producing the sounds.

Despite this, I wouldn't mess with his sleeping position. If he's comfortable sleeping in strange positions, that's fine!

If his snore happens every time he sleeps, or if he shows signs of illness when awake, I would consider a vet visit. You can also measure his resting breathing rate (count how many breaths he does in a minute whilst he's resting) to reassure yourself that his breathing is normal - it should be below 30.

Hope that helps!

Dr J Woodnutt MRCVS

@murzbo thank you for the video - so helpful, you have no idea. To everybody who is reading these forums: videos like this help your veterinarian understand what you are talking about, so never hesitate to bring videos and/or pictures to your vet!

Now back to the question:

The twitching is totally normal. Your cat is having good dreams!

The breathing sound is, I agree, a little weird, but the cat seems to be resting quietly, pretty happy, and getting REM sleep despite the weird noise, so I would go with it. You do not need to adjust your cat's sleeping position. 

Hope that helps - THANK YOU for the question and the video!

@murzbo Yes, I have. Both of them twitch in their sleep and Wessie started snoring like this a few years ago. I've not gotten a vet's confirmation on whether or not it's okay, but I've always assumed it was just normal snoring and twitching just like a human might do.