Odd nose/breathing thing only when kitty is playing

[parkerra]

My tabby is 10 years old and in very good health. I also have a 3 month old kitten. The cats love to play together and they play hard. Think a cat version of WWE. The last couple of days when they play my tabby will stop and do this odd breathing/nose thing. It is several short, hard breaths out of her nose only. She does it very quickly, stops and she goes straight back to her wrestling match with the kitten. Imagine if you were to suddenly feel something tickle inside your nose and you try to quickly blow it out. That is what it looks and sounds like. She has only done this when playing with the kitten. She is very rambunctious when she is playing alone and she has not done it any other time than with the kitten. There are no other signs of possible sickness. I'm only worried because 1. it is involving her breathing and 2. I've had her for 7 years and I've never seen her do it before. I don't know if I should be concerned or if it is possible that this new behavior is part of their play or a way of communication for them. If anyone can give me any insight or suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks so much in advance. I've been looking around the forum after I joined today and there seems to be a lot of useful info on here.

[Susan]

My girls do something similar, although they're always shaking their head at the same time. Both of mine are long-haired and, to me, it always looks like they got some loose fur in their nose and are trying to blow or shake it out. If I were to bury my face in their fur, I too would get a nose full of fur and be reaching for the Kleenex! Could that be the case with your tabby?

[ibbica]

Our cats do this too, without the head-shaking... in their case, it's more of a 'chuff' than a 'sneeze'. They only do it when they're starting to play, so I've chalked it up to a display of some sort. At least for our cats, it seems to act as the equivalent of a dog's "play bow"... but it's hard to be sure.

[parkerra]

Thank you both for your help. Susan, I would think it was something in her nose but she only does it at that certain time. The kitten hasn't figured out how to retract her claws yet so I have wondered if Tweety is getting scratched on the nose and it causes her to do it. ibbica, the chuff sounds like what my kitty is doing probably. She has always been active but since we got the kitten she is going non stop. With her age I worry it's too much on her. Hopefully she is just playing and having a good time and enjoying having another kitty to play with now.