Open mouth panting after laser light play

Played with laser for the first time...for about 12-15 minutes. My kitten was overexcited and I stopped and wanted to get to a tangible toy play. But since we stopped about 15 minutes ago, she's been panting off and on with her tongue out. I called the local emergency hospital and the person on the phone said to bring her in because cats do not breathe through their mouths. Period.

I'm really scared. Should I give her time to calm down? She's cleaning herself and walking around looking for the laser light. And she's closed mouth, but still visibly shaking. It's been alernating between that and the panting. She's breathing close mouth more now....Should I take her in just to be sure?

Her sister wasn't quite as fascinated by the laser light and only played tentatively. I think I'm going to retiring this particular toy. Too scary.

Still breathing hard, but closed mouth for awhile now. She walks off when I try to place my hands on her, I'm trying to be calming.

Is this normal because she got over-excited? Or does she have some condition that I should have the vets check out? Even if it's not an emergency situation. I wonder if she's prone to asthma...

Both my boys pant when they've been playing very hard. I would guess it's from playing. Maybe offer her some water and see if you can help her cool off somehow.

Here's a link to an older thread on panting. http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52990

When my kitty was about 4 to 5 months old..he was running and playing and having a great time...he also seemed to pant loudly when he stopped to catch his breath. I asked the Vet about and she said that it was perfectly normal..he was just running hard for a little kitty. He's a fine, healthy 15 month old cat now and can run and play without a problem.

Maybe your little girl just needs to pace herself a bit. I hope she's fine soon!

Thanks everyone. She's no longer panting. And she even went after an ant on the wall. She was definitely way overexcited. She gets excited playing with the cat dancer too but the laser light was overdrive for her. We will not play it again or if we do, it will be at a much much slower pace. This was our first time and I thought she was having fun ;(

If she's fine for the rest of the night, I will not take her to the vet. But when we do go in for a visit or check-up, I will bring this issue up.

And Nova, I think she did over-play but I've got the AC on so I don't think over-heating is the issue. I just think I overdid excitement level. I tried to get her to drink but she's not having it. I will see if she will eat her usual midnight snack.

She's chowing down with gusto. Will continue to monitor...

My cats will open mouth pant with 2 toys - lazer pointers and Da Bird. I have to watch them and as soon as I see them start to pant, I stop and give them a break for a while. 15 minutes is a long time to play actively with a toy that they've never had before, particularly if they like it that much. Try 5 minutes next time.

Yes, missing common sense...We routinely play for about 30 minutes each night before my bedtime, so 12-15 minutes didn't seem too excessive which it obviously was.

She's laying down now, relaxing after her midnight snack and breathing normally now. I'm still too nervous to go to bed though. I keep the cats out of my bedroom so I don't sleep with them.

You have to think of it this way... what do you do when you have been exercising heavily? You are normally out of breath and having to breath harder. This is the same with your cat.

I have found that the laser pointer really gets my boys wound up good. They tear through the house chasing the light, they jump higher then with any other toy. There are certain toys that will give your cats a harder exercise session then others and the laser pointer can be one of them.

Normally I only give them about a 15 minute session with the laser pointer a few times a week. Jack and Max end up panting pretty good because they just don't know how to pace themselves while Bear takes a break when he starts to get tired.

My vet told me that panting while exercising is normal and to just keep these sessions short. He did tell me that if I ever see them panting for no reason, such as if they are just laying around or if it's really hot, then there can be cause for concern.

You should definitely talk to your vet about it regardless though. Just like with humans heavy exercise should be discussed just to make sure that there are no reasons for your kitty to not exercise hard.

its normal but not necessarily the best thing for them, so I end up waiting a few moments till they can catch their breath again and will start up play again.

Thank you everyone. Am touched with everyone's concern. I was a bit scared there! She's fine and stopped panting about 20 minutes after playing.

Originally Posted by tdonline

Thank you everyone. Am touched with everyone's concern. I was a bit scared there! She's fine and stopped panting about 20 minutes after playing.

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While panting is normal after play, it is only normal within the first minute of rest immediately after play. 20 minutes of panting sounds like a loong time! I mean was she panting with open mouth all this time? If not it's probably okay as long as you couldn't actually hear wheezing..If it was open mouth panting 20 minutes after play you may need to make an appointment with your vet and in the meantime don't use the laser.
Jake used to pant during those very first hot summer days of this year. I dunno how much of it was in my head but I also felt like he was a bit less active?? He hasn't panted at all since then or acted in any abnormal way. As a baby he used to breathe loudly but no longer does that either, he is now 7 months old. But I was freaking out over that and when I saw my newborn nephew he was breathing just like Jake as a baby, lol it must be common for all species.

Originally Posted by tdonline

Thank you everyone. Am touched with everyone's concern. I was a bit scared there! She's fine and stopped panting about 20 minutes after playing.

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Glad to hear it. Definately mention it to your vet in case there is a medical reason that your kitty shouldn't play so hard.

Kizzy has a very low grade heart murmur, so at first I worried about that. He plays with Da Bird, and gets panting just like a dog.... but he does start pacing himself.. instead of doing in the air flips (noone ever told him that his breed is supposed to be relaxed, not doing air jumps LOL), he will just lay there and swat at it... when he's done panting, he'll get back up and do more flips.

The 9wk old kittens I have, play with a dangly toy like DaBird, and very similiar...When they start panting, the one will lay down while the other plays...and then they switch.

But my vet ok'd the play with Kizzy's heart murmur because it is just barely a murmur....

No, no, she wasn't panting for 20 minutes. It was off and on and I'm only generalizing, but after 15-20 minutes, she stopped panting period. And the duration of panting tapered off. She would clean herself and pant. Look for the laser light and pant, etc.

But I will ask for a checkup on this issue when we next see the vet (barring any other episodes, if there's another one, we'll see the vet pronto).

Originally Posted by Momofmany

My cats will open mouth pant with 2 toys - lazer pointers and Da Bird. I have to watch them and as soon as I see them start to pant, I stop and give them a break for a while. 15 minutes is a long time to play actively with a toy that they've never had before, particularly if they like it that much. Try 5 minutes next time.

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Riley does the same thing with Da Bird and the Cat Dancer so he only gets those toys for a few minutes at a time.

My cats pant all the time when they get a good play session with the laser toys.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

My cats will open mouth pant with 2 toys - lazer pointers and Da Bird. I have to watch them and as soon as I see them start to pant, I stop and give them a break for a while.

Click to expand...

Mine do the same with the laser pointer and DaBird but as soon as they start to pant we take a break.

No more panting. I only use the laser for 2-4 minutes at a time and I keep it very low key, no crazy moves and in a small area. I think I made her run and jump the first time around. She's still nuts about it.

It's okay to make them run and jump. They need exercise, too. We just have to know when it's time to take a break because not all cats will stop on their own. Some cats will keep going as long as the toy is out regardless of how exhausted they are.