Cat Panting

Wondering if anyone has had similar experiences with their cats and if they received a diagnosis..

My cat has started panting (open mouth breathing with bright pink tongue hanging out) occasionally.  Usually after a lot of running but sometimes during rest.  He also has developed a VERY fast respiratory rate, even when at rest/sleeping.  Other than that, acting normally.

He's been to see a few vets.  He had bloodwork done, and it came back normal.  Negative for heartworms.  He had chest x-rays done, and there seems to be some disagreement between the vets - one says no chest abnormalities; another saw mild to moderate diffuse bronchial interstitial pulmonary pattern, which I was told could indicate either asthma or a bacterial infection.  All of the vets had said that his heart sounds normal and looked normal on the x-rays.

So far he has been on prednisolone for the past week or so.  It seemed to help somewhat the first 5 days - his respiratory rate went back down to normal, and the frequency of panting had decreased.  But for the past couple of days, his respiratory rate has gone back up, and still panting occasionally.  

Background: He is 10 months old.  Had a grade 1 heart murmur when he was first adopted but had grown out of it by about 4 months.

Did either vet recommend getting a cardiology consult? When my 11 month old had those same symptoms, this was recommend to me. Cats do pant at times after vigorous activity. But his panting when at rest would have me concerned.

I would ask for a sonogram to get a good picture of the heart and what it is doing.  I always like to start at the top of the test list.  that way you don't waste precious time that could be used for treatment.

We've discussed possibly doing an echocardiogram, but the vets don't seem to think it's a heart issue because his heart looked and sounded normal plus he did seem to respond to the prednisolone a bit.

Katluver, what was the result with your cat?

You mentioned that his respiratory rate has gone up again...on the prednisolone? I think a consult with a specialist is a good idea. Asthma itself can be lethal, and the possibility of a bacterial infection in that area is very concerning.

An update on my kitty:

He had had two instances of coughing before starting the meds. We saw a respiratory specialist who thought that the coughing and breathing fast were two separate issues and that the coughing was indicative of asthma and was treated well by the prednisolone.

The resp specialist also detected a grade 1 heart murmur when his heart rate goes up. Since he is almost a year old, he is going in for a cardio appointment in the next few weeks to get chest x rays and an echocardiogram.

In the meantime, I was told that the breathing doesn't seem to be a danger to him because of his posture during it--very relaxed and not indicative of a cat in respiratory distress.

For now, we are continuing with the prednisolone and also giving a dewormer and antibiotics just in case it's parasites or a bacterial infections causing the breathing issues.

Sorry I missed getting back to this post .

My Jack has been stable and his symptoms seem to have improved on their own. So we are on check ups every 6 months for now. When he was first seen, he had just come from the shelter, and so much was contributed to stress. There was also no cough involved. I am very curious how your guy makes out. Keep us posted.

ETP, I read your PM but thought I would post here as it may be helpful to others.

When I adopted one of my cats 4 years ago, she was about 6 months old.  A typical shelter cat who was very underweight and dealing with a severe URI.  She was given special care and spent some time on a ventilator.  After recovery, the first couple of months I had her, she had scary panting episodes.  Usually after some activity but nothing that should have sent a cat panting.

My vet recommended a cardiologist and my kitty got a full scan (really interesting!).   She came out with outstanding results and the cardiologist said that her little heart was the healthiest she had ever seen.  She recommended that I just wait it out as it was unlikely the panting was a serious issue since her ticker was in perfect health.  Some kittens pant and grow out of it.  Sure enough, within a month or so, the panting stopped and it hasn't happened again.  

The one time cardiology visit was $500.  That was tough but it did give me peace of mind and made it easier to wait out the panting episodes.  And I avoided other medical procedures and medications to fix a problem that eventually worked its way out.  I never did figure out why she panted. The only thing I can think of was the stress of coming to and adjusting to a new home.

Hi all.  Thanks for the posts.

We finished the prednisolone, antibiotics, and the dewormer.  He seemed to get a lot better on the antibiotic - panting very rarely and respiratory rate while at rest went back to normal.  However, he finished the antibiotic after a week, and then all the symptoms came back again.  So we put him on the antibiotic for another week, which he has now finished, and he seems a lot better now - still panting after heavy activity (rarely, though), but his respiratory rate while at rest has gone back to normal.

He had his cardiology appointment.  The echocardiogram confirmed a grade 1 heart murmur, but the cardiologist doesn't think his heart is causing the breathing issues, yay!  So we just have to monitor him and see if he still has the heart murmur in the next 6-12 months.

I was thinking that perhaps his asthma exacerbated whatever the cause of his panting was and caused him to pant more frequently and caused even his resting respiratory rate to go up.  But..what do I know.  I'm just glad that the vets seem to agree that he's not in danger, and there don't appear to be any serious health issues.  Hopefully he grows out of the panting.

Thought I’d update (after a very long time!) in case anyone had any similar issues with their kitties. The vets weren’t able to detect a heart murmur past age 2-3, and he hasn’t panted since, other than car rides which he is not a fan of. Knock on wood!!!