Respiratory distress in cats is scary. Written by Kaitlyn Arford — Medically reviewed by Dr. Erica Irish. Hearing your cuddly companion wheeze, cough, or noisily breathe with difficulty is alarming. Though rapid breathing can be the result of activity or excitement, it is often a sign of serious underlying conditions. Cats of any age and breed can experience rapid breathing.
Cats naturally breathe more rapidly than humans do. Cats take 15 to 30 breaths per minute while resting or sleeping while humans on average take 12 to Breaths should be quiet and include small chest movements. Count the number of breaths your cat takes while sleeping.
Use your smartphone to time 30 seconds as you count. Multiply the number of breaths by two to get the total number of breaths per minute. Kittens breathe rapidly for the same reasons adult cats do. Causes may be severe, like tumors or heart failure, or your kitten could be breathing quickly for a less severe reason like stress or nervousness.
Panting is heaving breathing with the tongue hanging out. Though panting is sometimes a sign of heat or exhaustion, it should decrease after a few minutes. Cats may also show open-mouth breathing by gasping, gagging, or gulping.
Sometimes, it can be difficult to know if your cat is breathing normally or having breathing difficulties. These symptoms can gradually increase over time or onset suddenly. These signs include:.
Rapid breathing is often caused by a serious underlying condition. The most common type of fast breathing is the pulmonary edema. This condition creates a fluid around the lungs. This is caused by a cardiac arrest. However, it can also occur with electrocution, cancer, choking and other systemic disorders. Kittens can also suffer from a fluid formation in the thorax region that is confined outside the lungs.
It happens in the area which is called as pleural space. When the fluid develops in this area, the lungs cannot expand as much is it should normally. The kitten will start to have a difficult breathing as fluid increases to fill the area. The pleural effusion can also cause by the following:.
Some kittens may suffer from nasal congestion making them hard to catch up breathe with the use of their nose. If this happens, the kitten may touch their mouth to breathe freely. It is the right time for proper home management in fast breathing cases for kittens.
Apply a warm water with the use of cotton balls to clean the discharge in the nose. Place them in a humid area like bathroom and start running a hot water.
You can also use a humidifier. If the kitten is experiencing loss of appetite and appears to be lethargic, take him to the vet for proper assessment. It is quite rare to develop upper respiratory infection for kittens but they can also suffer from physical obstruction in the airway making them breathe fast. One of the possible factors is called nasopharyngeal polyp or also known as a tumor. Kittens that have experienced trauma, fast breathing is a symptom that must watch out for.
Trauma can be a source of bleeding around the lungs or other types of internal bleeding. The vet may be able to diagnose the problem on a physical evaluation.
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