If your cat is breathing fast, even if it’s only for a short period of time, then you need to know that they could be incredibly sick. Cats are great at hiding signs of being unwell, and while they may be completely healthy, in my mind, a cat who is breathing quickly of heavily should be seen as a potential emergency.
- Heavy and fast breathing is always a bit of a worry in cats. Cats are great at hiding signs of being unwell and so it might only be noticed that they are struggling when they are almost on deaths door - this is not an exaggeration!
- Breathing heavily can be a sign of a number of different things including: Normal (physical exertion, fright), pain, lung disease (e.g. asthma, cancer), fluid in the chest (e.g. due to heart failure, liver disease, and trauma), infection (a cat bite to the chest is a common cause), air in chest (caused by e.g. lung pathology, trauma), chest mass (cancer, diaphragmatic hernia), anemia (caused by bleeding or red blood cell destruction).
- About 30% of Maine coon cats have a genetic mutation that makes it likely that they will develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This makes heavy breathing even more significant in this breed
- Any cat that is breathing heavily should be checked over as a matter of urgency, if they are “panting” then this is a potential emergency. Keep your cat quiet and handle/move/stress as little as possible. Stress can result in respiratory arrest and death. These cats can really be on the very edge of survival
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