CPAP machine vs. Cat

Re: Snorebert Well done!

Re: PST You've sussed me out! Thanks for having a good sense of humor about all this. You've brightened up my Friday morning.

pst,
thanks for the humor. enjoyed that!

i have a cat and a puppy (10 months old)...and i would have to say Pepper (the pup) made all the sleep deprivation stuff worse simply by needing to relieve himself every two hours back when he was 9 weeks old! Untreated OSA and a new puppy....NOT a good idea! but i wouldn't trade the bugger for anything. and now I'm being treated and he can hold it longer! life is good!

cecil (the cat) doesn't bother me...sleeps at my feet...(don't have the heart to shut him out...he's already feeling upstaged and depressed about the puppy!)

sleepyt

Kiralynx wrote:

PST wrote:My reply is not really on point, so I apologize to Melne in advance, but I'm certain someone will have good advice. This has been bothering me for a long time, however. As I follow this site, I see a remarkable number of members with cat icons or cat in their user names. I conclude that most sleep apnea sufferers must be cat lovers. I have no problem with that -- I'm fond of the creatures myself, though I'm currently down to one resident cat and one visiter. However, this indisputable evidence makes it is difficult to escape the conclusion that CATS CAUSE OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA. Sorry to be the one to deliver the bad news.

In that case, how do you explain that the major symptoms of my apnea manifested after the last of my four cats passed away at age 18?

(I now have standard long hair dachshunds... as yet Bast has not answered the prayer for a cat-child who can cope with stubborn, intelligent, active dachshunds!)

I've thought a little more about Kiralynx's reply. (By the way, I'm sorry to have misspelled both your name and dachshund in that last post, Kiralynx.) As I mentioned in the last post, I also was diagnosed after my giant cat died. He was so big that he reminded my wife and me of a Holstein with his black and white coloring. We used to call him the cat-cow. Anyway, as you might imagine, my nights were spent in a state of hyperalertness lest he jump on me, as he sometimes did. Any cat hitting your chest is a shock, but it's especially bad with a megacat. With him gone, I suppose I began to relax more at night, and perhaps my pharynx relaxed with the rest of me. I was a bit choked up, as well. So, as an alternative theory, maybe it's not having a cat, as I suggested at first, or liking cats, as jdm speculated, but losing a cat that causes sleep apnea. I'll have to sleep on that.

PST wrote:My reply is not really on point, so I apologize to Melne in advance, but I'm certain someone will have good advice. This has been bothering me for a long time, however. As I follow this site, I see a remarkable number of members with cat icons or cat in their user names. I conclude that most sleep apnea sufferers must be cat lovers. I have no problem with that -- I'm fond of the creatures myself, though I'm currently down to one resident cat and one visiter. However, this indisputable evidence makes it is difficult to escape the conclusion that CATS CAUSE OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA. Sorry to be the one to deliver the bad news.

Very interesting!

I have three domestic cats. Two are completely uninterested in the machine/hose/mask. The third has tried to pull my mask off so he can stick his paws in my mouth (yuck!!). I used sungglehose covers from day one, and the hoses have held up for 90 days now. I'm glad the cats haven't been an issue.

For hose repair, consider Scotch 33+ electrical tape. It is a premium quality tape, and is a bit thinner than most other tapes. I swear by it for a lot of things besides electrical work. Available at most well-stocked hardware/home improvement stores.

Cats, especially the big ones, do cause obstruction to the trachea. It is almost always fatal, and the trachea ends up being eaten along with the rest of the animal

Cats may not cause sleep apnea, but they might cause other things. Domestic cats often carry Toxoplasmosis, which is supposed to dull the mind of anythinng that contracts it. It has been suggested by researchers that cats use this disease to make the prey more dull-witted, and therefore easier to catch.

This weekend, I will put CPAP to the ultimate cat test. I will be sleeping in the same room as a tiger! (Yes, the tiger will be in her pen, but she is always thrilled to have someone share her room with her!)

We cat people need SOME leg up on all those crazy monkey people! I'll look at it this way.... cats love monkeys, too....for dinner!

Sorry to burst your bubble PST... I don't have cats or dogs or any pets at all... I'm allergic to them.

No cat or kat in my name either.

I had to put Boris out of the bedroom and close the door last night. He tries to rip the velcro off the hose huggie, and a few times he's turned off the machine. Last night he was attacking the velcro and biting the glider strap on my mask. The last straw was when he laid down on the hose and nearly yanked the mask off my face. Needless to say my numbers were worse than usual last night!

My 2 cats are both unhappy about my cpap, even after almost 7 years. They are both 11 years old so were here 4 years before cpap.

They are actually afraid of it and everything connected to it, hose and mask. When I am wearing my cpap they will not come near. Before cpap, they both joined me on the bed.

When is just sitting there during the day - same thing. They have shown no interest in it whatsoever in all the years I have had it.

PST wrote:...this indisputable evidence makes it is difficult to escape the conclusion that CATS CAUSE OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA. Sorry to be the one to deliver the bad news.

Hi All

I have 2 cats, my young one called Bonnie, and my Older one called Dusty. Both ex-feral.

We run a co-operative household, some parts are mine, some parts are their's and the rest is shared. They do not interfere with any of my stuff, including all my apap stuff, which lives on the floor.

Now, to give a helpful answer to the problem I offer the following -

When I first got Bonnie she was an avid bird killer, when neighbors complained I tried a little machine, about the size of a cpap, which sticks in the ground, and when triggered send out a signal that cats do not like, so they back off. The machines did not do the job because one stupid neighbour was feeding the birds all over the place, and even with 5 machines I could not cover all that area.

Back to the drawing board and I found the cat bib, which successfully stopped Bonnie from catching birds, whilst still giving her the freedom to stalk etc. Last Christmas Day I took it off, and now she does not catch birds, and no longer needs it.

Now, if you had one of these machines set up next to your cpap machine, or one of the other devices on the link, whilst it is turned on the cat would not come near it. This is not a solution that I would particularly like, but it would probably work if all else failed.

The link to solve your problem is http://www.contech-inc.com/products/scatmat/

Apart from the CatStop, which I had, there are other solutions as well. No doubt one of them would work for you if that problem arises. Of course, the CatBib does not work for cpap machines or hoses

From the posts I see there are cats that cause problems and cats that don't - pretty much like us human beings. And we manage to find solutions to most of our problems, and live with the one's we don't.

And it could be that after a while, like Bonnie with the CatBib and birds, the device is no longer needed.

Hope this helps.

cheers

Mars

Edit - I have just read your original post again and see that I have not understood you properly. I have left my post as I originally wrote it it in case that can be useful to others.

If your cat causes you a problem, which it may not, then you can get small mats which would give a very slight shock when trod on by a cat. So the cat would stay away from that area. but would have access to the rest of your room. The link for this is - https://partners.radiosys.com:4449/OA_H ... tion=10840

Sorry to have misunderstood, or read too quickly, the first time.

Mars

Most cat owners have a cat carrier. Simply place the machine in the carrier and close it up. There is plenty of air circulation for the machine. During the day place the mask and hose in there too. Nice and safe.

Brenda

bdp522 wrote:...cat carrier...

And because they typically run when they see the carrier, no more interest

With ours, we tried a new carrier leaving it open for days with catnip inside...didn't work. Most of our cats hated the things. However, we managed to leash train 2: one would walk on the leash, the other was more like going for a cat drag unless it was in the direction their eyes and nose took them; they were easier to transport. All of the others hated harnesses, hated leashes...would lie completely unmoving and staring reproachly at the indignity of the situation .

For those without cats, think of cat going spread-eagle to avoid being stuffed inside with claws extended to full 6-foot reach dripping venom (I exaggerate but just a tad), hissing, spitting, bitting. We ended up with a carrier whose top could be unscrewed; we just hadda learn to be very fast and coordinated, one placed the cat inside on soft blankie, the other put lid on top without squashing the other person's arms/hands/fingers AND without letting the cat escape and hide in some weird place never hidden in before.

Try placing a regular carrier on the floor with the open door facing up.

Then just deposit the cat from above.

jdm2857 wrote:...Then just deposit the cat from above.

Not when they go spread-eagle and can't be squashed thru a smallish door

You don't squash 'em, you put them in (down, whatever) a-backwards so they don't see it coming, but do wear gloves if you can.

I think bdt522 got the real answer -- don't put the cat(s) in the carrier; put the machine in the carrier. Clever!!!