Misty Blue, a 1 year old Persian cat, came to see Sam Taylor from our internal medicine department with breathing problems. Persians are brachycephalic cats, meaning they have a very short nose and narrow (stenotic) nostrils. These cats can have trouble breathing through their nose and Misty Blue certainly did. He was lethargic and had episodes of breathing through his mouth. He didn’t play much, which was such a shame for a very young cat. After investigations we decided to perform a ‘rhinoplasty’ or a nose job – and Francesco, our soft tissue surgeon, operated to open up the nose to improve airflow. Poor Misty Blue also had a bladder infection and was feeling very sorry for himself but when we saw him again for a re-check we were very pleased to see him breathing normally! With treatment for the bladder infection too he was a new cat, playing and annoying his dog house mate as kittens should. This type of surgery doesn’t help all Persians, but in Misty Blue’s case he has really benefitted.
