cat breathing fast and heavy.....

[kittenpowerpow]

I took my cat to the park this morning like i always do. It usually really nice and quiet. Well a really big loud truck came by 2 times and he got really scared and tried running away. He was wearing his harness and i didnt let go of leash. I took him back home. He began to pant(which i thought was a normal reaction to beong scared.) But now he wont eat or drink his water and his breathing is really fast and heavy...is he just still worked up from early or should i be worried that its something else. Im freaking out right now because hes never actted like this. :/

 

[stephenq]

@Kittenpowerpow

I'm very worried for this cat.  This is extremely unusual.  If its stress then I've never seen a cat stay stressed out with these symptoms for this long, so i'm concerned that there is a medical issue going on, and rapid breathing and heartrate in a cat is not a good sign.

Normal breathing in a cat at rest is about 20-30 breaths per minute and over 40 is a bad sign.

Heart rate is about 140-240 but a resting cat will be at the lower end.

This website includes instructions for measuring breath and heart rate.

http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/clinsci/wing/firstaid/vital.htm

How long has it been since this event happened?

Can you get to a vet today?

 

[kittenpowerpow]

I can take him to my emergency clinic i dont have money on me at the moment. It happened around 12ish. He is sleeping now his breathing looks like its slowed down a bit but hes twitching in his sleep. Idk if my clinic offers payment plans or not. :/

 

[kittenpowerpow]

Could polyps cause this breathing reaction? Ive been thinking he might have them. He snores when he sleeps and he hacks sometimes after he drinks water...im waiting for my paycheck to come this tuesday and planned on bringing him to the vet.

 

[stephenq]

If he's sleeping then I'd say he is past this and is ok. Polyps are possible, a routine vet visit could look for those.

 

[kittenpowerpow]

Oh okay good. Yeah he seems to be doing better now. Im just a worried mama. Lol my fiance kept telling me that he looks fine. I think what made him worse was it was really loud near my house for some reason today. Constantly hearing ambulances anf police sirens landscapers. Lol i super appreciate you answering me. It helped me calm down a lot.