Phlegm & rattles with mouth open when purring

Our 17 yr old cat has a lot of phlegm that drips out of his mouth when he eats. Also, whenever he starts purring, he makes a loud rattling sound, has to open his mouth to breathe, and is so uncomfortable he paces around until the rattling stops. We can stop him by blowing at his mouth when he inhales or tipping him upside down. As a result he no longer wants us to pet him or hold him, which is awful for all of us.  He was hit by a car at the age of 4 and his head/throat is slightly askew. He's been on thyroid med for years, and had a large growth and half his thyroid removed 2 yrs ago; the rattling started 6 months later. Can you help?

[zodiacqueen]

Hi, he REALLY needs to see a vet ASAP!  The rattling chest, and fluid coming out of the mouth are signs of heart problems.  For more information on this, do a Google or Yahoo search on heart problems in cats!  You'll see the symptoms that you've just described.

Your cat sounds like he's suffering!  He's having a very hard time breathing.  Please don't wait and take him to the vet!

ZQ

[LindaTX]

Poor old fella :(  Do cats have adnoids?  Sounds like he has pressure on his sinus/nasal cavities.  When you turn him upside down it probably takes pressure off that area...but that's no solution.  Have you thought that possibly that tumor has come back.?  Has he had his thyroid checked lately?  Sounds like he's really miserable, surely you could get some answers by taking him in for a check-up  :)