Mom cat breathing in short, shallow breaths?

Hi!

I have a mom cat and her 4 week old litter of five kittens.

Mom was dumped in a parking lot and has been living there with almost no human interaction for at least 3 years, and she's still a bit scared, but purrs when petted, etc.

She is in my pantry and sits on the upper shelves of the pantry while the kittens are on the floor. She still nurses them but 4 of the kittens have started eating solid foods.

I've just noticed she keeps breathing in short, shallow breaths through her nose - I can hear the breaths. She was not doing this earlier. Otherwise she appears to be fine - she's alert and hungry and wanting to be petted. It might be a little hot in the kitchen/pantry but not too hot.

Should I be worried?

Has she been to a vet at all since you got her?

How hot is it where you are?

Is it constant, or only when she's nursing the kittens? If it's constant, a visit to the vet is definitely in order. If it's only when she's nursing, it might just be from the exhaustion when she is being fed from, seeing as she probably doesn't have as much milk now that most of the kittens are eating solids. Still, though, if it keeps up the entire time and not just for a short while, it's best to be on the safe side and see a vet all the same. She might have a respiratory infection.

Thanks for replies! I am so relived that she seems to have stopped the weird breathing and otherwise seems fine. It was about 78 degrees today and I live in an upstairs appt so it's pretty hot, but they are in a cooler area of the apartment and I have a fan near them but not directly on them.

She went to the vet for an emergency visit (she was injured when the person who caught her was trying to catch her) and they checked her over then.

I think I will take them in soon to see the vet anyway - it's not too early to move them around, right?