Meet Bailey - a Persian cat who recently came into us for BOAS surgery at our hospital Medivet.
Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) is a breed-related disorder effecting brachycephalic animals, which affects their day to day life (breathing, eating, sleeping, exercising, etc). It is most commonly associated with dog breeds such as bulldogs and pugs, however; certain cats can be effected too, such as Persians. Symptoms include: effort and noise when breathing, coughing, shortness of breath, sleep apnoea, sudden collapse.
Characteristic of BOAS are narrowed nostrils, elongated soft palate, enlarged tongue and reduced size of the windpipe. Surgery can be performed to widen the nostrils and shorten the soft palate.
It is very important to discuss BOAS with your vet if you do acquire a brachycephalic breed so you are aware of the implications to your pets day to day life, and if a surgery could be performed to improve their quality of life. It is also very important to consider having pet insurance with all pets, but especially a brachycephalic who may need this type of surgery.
Bailey’s main issue was his narrowed nostrils so these were widened during surgery. Within 5 minutes of him waking up from the anaesthetic we could hear the difference in his breathing (shown in the video below)!
