Is Your Cat Panting After Playing? 7 Things To Consider
Pet owners know that cats, like dogs, pant after putting in a lot of physical effort. So, if you see your cat panting after playing, it should be back to normal in a short time.
But it’s important to know that a cat’s panting can be a sign of a number of diseases that can be fatal if not treated.
That means that if your fluffy friend keeps panting a lot after the fun is over, it could be in trouble.
So you care about the health of your pet but don’t know what to do? You’ve come to the right place if that’s the case.
This article will tell cat owners everything they need to know about why cats pant and what to do about it.
Why Do Cats Pant?
Cats do, indeed, pant. On the other hand, cats don’t usually pant when they play like dogs do to cool off. When they do, it’s usually because they did something physical. It only lasts a short time, and they get better quickly.
The way a cat’s pants look is like the way a dog’s pants look. Cats can breathe with their mouths open and their tongues out, making louder breath sounds than usual.
Even though all cats can pant, some species are more likely to do so because of the way their lungs work or the way their fur looks.
Cats have very strong bodies, and they rarely breathe through their lips. So, when a cat is panting, we know something is wrong.
The goal is to look at the whole situation surrounding the episode of panting to see if it is caused by something “natural” or something “abnormal” that is caused by a medical problem.
Cats sigh for many reasons, such as:
- The powerful play happened not too long ago.
- A new source of stress, like a home renovation, a new houseguest, or a new pet
- Anxiety about flying
- The heat made them tired.
If you see your cat panting in any of these situations, you should tell it to calm down, sleep, or cool down. If your cat refuses to relax and begins to pant, you should contact your veterinarian right away.
When Cat Panting Isn’t an Issue
Most of the time, a cat’s panting is normal and nothing to worry about, especially if you know what it was doing right before it started panting.
Cats often pant when they are too hot, angry, scared, or have just finished a hard workout. After the cat has had a chance to settle down and calm down, the problem should be fixed.
Keep in mind that cat panting isn’t as common as dog panting in similar situations, but you should still tell your vet about it until you’re sure what’s going on.
Abnormal Cat Panting: What Causes It?
Unlike normal panting, aberrant panting in cats usually happens on its own or for no obvious reason.
It often doesn’t go away when you relax, take away the source of stress, or get out of the sun, and it’s sometimes accompanied by other strange things like coughing, feeling sleepy, and wanting to breathe more.
Cats of any age can breathe too fast or too slowly, but kittens and older cats seem to be more at risk.
One of the most common reasons cats end up in the emergency room is because they have a lung infection. Symptoms like excessive panting and other troublesome signs are often caused by a disease.
Your cat may act like it has something stuck in its mouth to let you know.
1. Acute Heart Failure
Cats, like dogs and people, can get heart problems that cause fluid to build up in and around the lungs. This is a sign of congestive heart failure.
Some doctors and cat owners are upset that many cats may have undiagnosed heart disease that causes a full episode of heart failure.
This is especially true for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
This condition is most common in the Maine Coon breed. It can make the dog have trouble breathing, pant, cough, have less of an appetite, lose weight, and, in severe cases, cause blood clots to form and spread to other parts of the body.
Oxygen therapy, diuretics (drugs that help drain pressure from the lungs), drugs that slow the heart rate so the heart can beat more effectively, aspirin to prevent blood clots, and other life-saving measures are all used in an emergency.
2. Asthma
Asthma is a lung disease that affects a huge number of people and animals.
Many cat owners are surprised to learn that their feline friends will also get this well-known disease.
Feline asthma is thought to be a disease that happens when a cat breathes in pollution and has an allergic reaction to it.
This makes the airways in the lungs narrow and makes it hard for the cat to breathe. From 1 to 5% of cats get it.
Asthmatic cats cough, wheeze, sigh, or breathe faster than usual; they may even throw up.
This condition can be mild or severe in cats, but it can kill them just like it can kill people when they have an asthma attack.
3. Infection Of The Lungs
In cats, respiratory infections in the nose, lungs, and chest can be caused by viruses, bacteria, and even fungi.
When these infectious organisms get into the respiratory system, the body’s immune system responds with a big inflammatory response to try to treat the illness. This leads to an asthmatic state.
A respiratory infection causes inflammation, which makes it hard for cats to breathe (either too quickly or too hard), cough, pant, and become very slow.
Depending on the cause, we try to clean these cats’ nasal passages by giving them oxygen, antibiotics, humidifiers, or steam treatments.
Viruses that affect the upper respiratory system, like herpes and calicivirus, can make it hard for young kittens to get better on their own.
4. The Infamous Heartworm Disease
Heartworm disease is most often seen in dogs, but cats can also get it if they get bitten by a mosquito carrying the parasite.
Heartworm disease in cats causes them to cough, pant, and have trouble breathing. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for cats, and the disease always ends up killing them.
We try to treat these cats with oxygen and steroids to reduce the inflammation caused by the parasite.
Talk to your vet about monthly heartworm prevention for cats to help your cat avoid getting heartworm disease.
5. Nervousness
Anxiety is a common reason why cats pant normally, but if it lasts for a long time at home or on a long trip, it can lead to irregular panting.
Talk to your vet about anti-anxiety techniques such as behaviour modification, pheromone treatment (calming hormones to keep at home or in the carrier), and anxiety treatments and calming aids if you notice signs of discomfort from panting, such as excessive grooming, inappropriate urination, hissing, hiding, and loss of appetite.
What Needs To Be Done Here
Overall, if your cat is panting after playing and you think something is wrong, you should call a local veterinary clinic right away to make an appointment.
Once the cause of the panting has been found, the vet should give you a description of the problem and suggestions for how to treat it.
When Should You See a Vet for Cat Panting?
If your pet suddenly pees for more than a few minutes and then coughs, has trouble breathing, or seems tired, this is an emergency that needs to be taken care of right away.
I always tell clients that it’s better to be safe than sorry. You can call the vet, set up a video call through virtual telemedicine, or come in for an evaluation.
Put together a safe, secure carrier for your cat that you can see through so you can take it to the vet or an emergency clinic.
To help them relax as much as possible, keep the car cool and play soothing music.
Call your vet ahead of time to let them know you’re coming so they can get ready to give your pet oxygen and take other life-saving steps if they need to.
Does your cat beg you to pay attention to it? Be sure that this doesn’t happen.
Keeping Cats In Good Heath: Recommendations For Novice Pet Owners
Because cats can’t tell people how they’re feeling, it’s up to you to take care of your fluffy friend. Want to make sure that your cat is healthy? If this is true, you might want to put these safety measures in place.
- Keep an eye on the temperature. Cats are sensitive to temperature, so keep your furball in mind when you set the thermostat. Since cats only pant when they are too hot, give your cat a cool blanket to lie on if you see him panting after playing. Turn on the fan to move the air around and help your cat cool down more quickly.
- Set up a schedule for deworming. Heartworm and the illnesses it causes in cats can be hard to deal with, but it’s easy for pet owners to keep the parasite away from their cats. All you have to do is make a plan for deworming your cat and stick to it.
- Check in on your pet on a regular basis: You should take your fluffy friend to the vet on a regular basis so that he or she can check on them.This would help you find problems early on and solve them before they got worse.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my cat panting with her mouth open?
A cat should breathe quickly and without much effort. Most of the time, your cat is sad if it is panting.
How do I know when my cat is tired of playing?
You shouldn’t play with your cat if it wanders off or gets sad, angry, stressed, or overstimulated. Many cats would rather play for a short time several times than for a long time once.
Is panting a sign of pain in cats?
If your cat is panting or breathing quickly and it’s not a hot day, he may not be getting enough oxygen.
If the panting doesn’t stop or is accompanied by drooling, being tired, or other signs of discomfort, it’s time to worry.
What to do if a cat is breathing fast?
If your cat is panting because of the heat, get it out of the sun as soon as you can and give it water.
Why is my cat breathing heavy and fast?
Tachypnea, or fast breathing, can be caused by low levels of oxygen in the blood (hypoxemia), low levels of red blood cells (anemia), or asthma.
Fluid in the lungs from a heart condition or fluid in the chest that covers the lungs can make a cat breathe quickly.
Final Words
Cats pant for a reason that has to do with how their bodies work.
If your cat is panting or breathing quickly and it’s not a hot day, he may not be getting enough oxygen.
If the panting doesn’t stop or is accompanied by drooling, being tired, or other signs of discomfort, it’s time to worry.
Please tell us in the comments if your cat has also been breathing or panting quickly.
Contact me:
(573) 204-3336
615 W Washington St #4
Jackson, Missouri(MO), 63755
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