I think I just almost killed him!

My new kitty had an upper respiratory infection, and in addition to the antibiotics from the vet, I put him in his carrier in the bathroom with the shower running so he could breathe some steam... (had the carrier up on the toilet, not *in* the shower...)

I came back to check on him later and found him hyperventilating with his mouth open like a dog and drooling everywhere...

We're at the e-vet now and they say he's doing fine... sitting in a cage grooming himself waiting for the doctor and wondering why mommy's making such a big deal out of this, but... I feel awful! I put him in the bathroom with the steam on and left him alone struggling to breathe in too much steam or overheating or WHATEVER went wrong in there it was my fault and I should have put the fan on or left the door open and not run the shower so hot and checked on him sooner...

There are a lot of websites that say breathing steam is good for a kitty-cold... if you ever do that with a cat, please STAY WITH HIM/HER so you can stop it at the first sign of trouble...

Has anyone else ever had this happen with a cat? I just... it never even crossed my idiotic mind that it was dangerous, I thought the worst that would happen would be he'd be upset about being in the carrier...

Update: Vet says he's fine. Apparently open-mouth breathing is somewhat "normal" in a stuffy-nosed cat, especially in a hot steamy room. He'd stopped before we got to the vet, and purred his head off and made friends with all the staff while we were there...

Still... that was scary... we're not going to be doing any more bathroom steam sessions...

My Jack did open mouthed breathing when he had a cold.  As my vet said their no different to us with colds.

Keep him warm, and like the vet said a steamy bathroom will help

Oh dear, what a scare!  I remember feeling the same awful feeling when I saw my kitten panting with open mouth and tongue hanging out - the boy had been soaking up the sun on the verandah and got a bit too hot!  I was relieved to find out it was all very natural.

I hope your boy gets better soon from his cold.

My Swanie did the same thing with the breathing when he had a cold.  We were halfway home from the vet when he started and I totally freaked.  Took him back and the vet checked him - said he looked good - wasn't "blue," and that it was probably because he was stuffed up and having a hard time breathing.

I also put him in the shower with steam, but not in a carrier and I stayed in there with him.  Does he need to be in a carrier?  It could have scared him a little too, not being able to move around and all that steam?

Did the vet mention anything about Asthma?  High humidity such as steam can be awful in a person or animal that has asthma. I know for me when it is super hot here with high humidity, I have a more difficult time breathing.