Rapid shallow breathing, but health normal?

fluffscruff

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I see my 6 month old kitten have rapid shallow breathing even while she's just laying around, I've counted anywhere from 80 to 100 breathes per minute. I've taken her to the vet a couple of times (they're sick of me) and had an x-ray done. She had started coughing while purring over a month ago, but that went away right after I started vacuuming my place more (maybe she's just allergic to dust?). In her physical exams, her lungs are clear, her heart is good, her gums are pink, and her x-rays look completely normal. The vet said it could be asthma, though her x-rays don't indicate it, or that it could just be the heat of the summer. But that if I was really curious, I could go to a specialist where they can do a biopsy. Should I be concerned or try to dig more into this? Is there anything else I could be doing besides going to a (expensive) specialist? Her energy and appetite is good, and her health checks out. I just get paranoid that she may be in pain and I'm ignoring it.
 
 
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feralvr

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It doesn't sound like she is in pain at all if she is acting normal, energetic and eating well. I don't think you are being overly paranoid either and should not hesitate to call your vet or feel that you are bothering them!!! If so, I may look to another vet!! The rapid breathing and then you mention a cough - could also be a heart related issue. Did the vet mention this at all? I did have a cat that had this issue but the coughing progressed and became much worse before diagnosis was made. I wonder if an ultrasound would be in order to get a closer look? Is it hot where you live and do you have A/C? Might your kitten just be overly warm? If there was just one or two coughs that day and none other, then I would not worry too much. If the coughs persist along with the rapid breathing then further testing would be indicated, I think. :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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mosimom

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Same thing happened to my cat. X rays showed mild inflammation in the bottom lobe of one lung. She was put on antibiotics. Vet thought it would go away on its own without antibiotics, but wanted to be safe. It has since happened 5 more times within the past year. There seems to be a few triggers that would bring on the rapid breathing.......leaving windows open and/or frying bacon. She must have allergies to outside pollens and nitrates used to preserve bacon.
She has been symptom free for 5 months since keeping the windows closed and frying bacon outside on the grill. Wouldn't hurt to get an air purifier either...you would be surprised how much dust in takes out of the air in your home.
 
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fluffscruff

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It has been pretty hot this summer so I've been leaving the windows open, but when even that doesn't help the heat, I keep the AC on. I've tried to keep the temp at low to mid 80 degrees at most. But yesterday wasn't all that hot, and I still noticed her breathing rapidly while she was lazing about on the table at night. The vet had said that my kitty's heart is within the normal range/size, and the radiologist said it looked normal in the x-rays. It looks like her heart sounded regular during the physical exam with the stethoscope, too. But I don't know what kind of things show up in x-rays and what doesn't?

I see her coughing maybe once every 1 - 3 weeks. I suspected that she was getting into some dusty hiding spots and tried to get really thorough with the vacuuming and that seemed to help right away (an improvement from when I noticed she was having short coughing fits twice a week or so).

I'll ask the vet about what they think about an ultrasound. And I'll definitely look into an air purifier! Thanks everyone.
 

mosimom

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Once they start breathing fast, it doesn't just go away. Keep the AC on for a week with the windows closed and keep your cat inside. Don't want outside pollens in the house. Get rid of the dust bunnies, vacuum, buy air purifier and run it 24/7.

If this doesnt bring kitty back to normal, then I would look into a food allergy, asthma, or anemia.
 

milo24

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I know this is a few days old, but have they tested her for heart worms? My cat was breathing about that amount per minute, I took him to the vet and everything was healthy (although we didn't do an X-ray) ....but the blood test for heart worms came back positive. My cat was also coughing occasionally, but after we put him on steroids, he stopped doing that. 
 
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fluffscruff

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No, they haven't tested her for heartworms. Would the x-rays have been able to detect it? (Or is it less detectable in certain stages?)
 

milo24

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I'm not sure. I think X-Rays do detect adult worms in the cats' lungs (feline heart worms go to lungs, not the heart), but since your cat is so young, the worms might not be full grown yet and might not be detectable on an X-ray. I'd ask your vet if they looked for that in the X-ray — it might be worth getting her tested just in case so you can start treating the symptoms if it is heart worms. 
 
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