Panting Cat!!??

So I'm totally trippimg out because I just found out that my kitten Zion PANTS like a dog!!!
I took him for a ride to the park yesterday. He was a little scared, crying and breathing hard. But then...he started to PANT!! His mouth was open, tongue sticking out and he was making those panting sounds! I was trippingghyt out!

IS THIS NORMAL!??

When they get hot and/or stressed, it's not unusual for them to pant. If it happened for no apparent reason, then I would be concerned...but on a car ride, or in a stressful situation I wouldn't be too worried about it.

They also do it when they're nauseous. I think cats are very prone to being carsick, Zissou always pants if she's sick or in the car too.

But yes, mainly when hot. They only sweat on the pads of their paws, so panting has the same function as it does for dogs.

Don't worry, but anytime you see a cat panting try to keep them cooler, because it's not a good sign.

My cat Ting pants when she plays with the laser toy. She gets so excited over the laser light she over does it. I just let her rest.

Thank you
Though I'm really concerned that Zion may have a behavior problem...
He panted again today, for no apparent reason. I moved my room around a little and it seemed as though he was bothered by that. He started getting really EXCITED, hiding then running to attack me! I was a little scared, I never seen him like this before. Then he started to pant...

Zion has been acting strage all day today.
He has been hiding for over 5 hours now. He is under my bed and won't get out. I have had guests over for the past 2 weeks, and he was fine with it.
Now it's like hes scared again!???

ARE THESE SYMPTOMS OF A BEHAVIOR DISORDER!??

I hope not.
I'm very worried..

PS: he always attacks me, NOT in a playful manner

Soleil pants if she plays too much - meaning running around too much. She will have to take a break, so she pops down on a cushion and pants away

Originally Posted by Pearla

Thank you

Though I'm really concerned that Zion may have a behavior problem...
He panted again today, for no apparent reason. I moved my room around a little and it seemed as though he was bothered by that. He started getting really EXCITED, hiding then running to attack me! I was a little scared, I never seen him like this before. Then he started to pant...

Zion has been acting strage all day today.
He has been hiding for over 5 hours now. He is under my bed and won't get out. I have had guests over for the past 2 weeks, and he was fine with it.
Now it's like hes scared again!???

ARE THESE SYMPTOMS OF A BEHAVIOR DISORDER!??

I hope not.
I'm very worried..

PS: he always attacks me, NOT in a playful manner

Click to expand...

It sounds to me as if you have a very anxious kitty, not a behaviour disorder really, more like a personality trait. The attacking you could well be redirected aggression - where something has made him afraid and he attacks you because he can't physically do anything about the percieved 'threat'.

If you have a search on the behaviour forums and on the TCS main site you will find plenty of articles and threads giving great advice about how to deal with aggressive behaviour.

But if your cat is that easily stressed and frightened, the best thing you can do is to keep his environment the same, and to maintain strict adherence to routines - because it's better to avoid him feeling that way in the first place. No more car rides except if they are necessary (such as to the vet), see if you can have a vet do home visits instead of taking him to them, try not to move the furniture round, feed him in the same place at the same times every day, and provide him with plenty of safe places to hide - cardboard boxes or tent-style cat beds, accessible nooks in bookcases, that sort of thing. And if he feels he needs to hide, just let him do so until he feels its safe to come out, don't try to get him to come out of hiding

All cats are much happier if they have no changes in their environment and routines, and it's especially important for a naturally nervous kitty.

My himalyan cat did that once. It was very hot & we were driving. I put car air conditioner on & then put a cold bottle of water next to him in his carrier. Soon, the panting stopped.

My 9 m/o kitten, Blossom, panted every time she ran around madly during the hot, humid days of summer. Now that its winter she doesn't any more.
When she was a baby & became mobile she would attack all our ankles as we walked through the house. She's not so bad now.
You could try a plug-in cat pheromone diffuser to help calm her down.

None of my cats, mine or previous fosters, had ever panted until Clarence. Clarence is my current foster and he will run around the house and just act crazy then starts panting, but only for a few seconds. I think he just gets over heated while doing his zoomies.

Whitey is the only cat in our house that pants. He only does it when he's excited during play time. Sometimes all it takes is just a lap and he's panting. I look at it as his way of telling me that he's having fun!

(PS, I do stop, I don't torture him. I give him a minute to catch his breath then we're right back at it.)

My Morty did this when we moved last summer. It was very hot and he was very stressed. I freaked out I thought he was having a seizure or something, but then he was okay after he calmed down. It took a couple days though.

One of my cats started panting last summer and I just attributed it to the heat but then this winter past I noticed he was breathing hard most of the time and took him to the vet's where, after a series of x-rays and an echo-gram (I think it was anyway.), it was determined that he has a mass in his chest cavity impinging on his breathing.
It has not been determined as cancerous and, since I am told any exploration in that area is extremely risky, probably never will be but diuretics and steroid injections have helped.
While I am aware that other instances in this thread are different I merely wish to point out that there are other reasons and mention that my cat is really noticable in his breathing/panting when he exerts himself or becomes excited.
Cat brothers