Panting Problem

Hi everyone--I've been out of the loop for quite a while (busy with my expanded household, due to the June flood), but have a concern about my son's year-old male cat, Blackie, whom he adopted some months ago: this kitty has a tendency to start panting heavily when he's played too hard or gets upset during a car ride (which he doesn't like). In this case, the condition appears to be hereditary, as his siblings do the same thing! I've never heard of such a thing, but would like to hear from anyone else whose kitty has the same problem!

Six-month-old Slasher pants after a few minutes of an intense workout with Da Bird. That's the only time I've seen him pant. It scared me the first time he did that, but I think it's normal.

My Cats did that when we moved from the Bay Area to here but it was a long drive and the A/C in the car broke.
I would call the vet.
Coco has done it but she has Asthma.

Niko pants, but only after strenuous exercise. He'll go crazy after one of the lure/fishing pole type toys, run himself utterly ragged, and pant for a few seconds to cool himself down. I put the toy away to make him relax for a couple minutes before I initiate any more play so he doesn't go overboard. Cats weren't built for stamina while running full tilt around the living room.