Do cats breathe faster when they sleep?

Índice Show

What you can do before an emergency veterinary hospital appointment
How To Tell If A Cat Has Breathing Problems
How To Measure Resting Respiratory Rate
What Causes Laboured Breathing?

panting is only one of the three types of rapid breathing to watch out for

Hearing your cuddly companion wheeze, cough, or noisily breathe with difficulty is alarming. Though rapid breathing can be the result of activity or excitement, it is often a sign of serious underlying conditions. Cats of any age and breed can experience rapid breathing. If your cat’s breathing irregularly, it’s time to seek immediate veterinary care as this is a potentially life-threatening issue.

Cats naturally breathe more rapidly than humans do. Cats take 15 to 30 breaths per minute while resting or sleeping (while humans on average take 12 to 16). Breaths should be quiet and include small chest movements.

If you think your cat is not breathing normally, it’s time to determine their resting respiration rate.

Count the number of breaths your cat takes while sleeping. A breath counts both one inhalation and one exhalation (when your cat’s chest rises and falls). Use your smartphone to time 30 seconds as you count. Multiply the number of breaths by two to get the total number of breaths per minute. That’s your cat’s resting respiratory rate.

What about fast breathing in kittens?

Kittens breathe rapidly for the same reasons adult cats do. If your kitten’s respiratory rate is higher than 30 breaths per minute, irregular, or shallow, seek veterinary care, just as you would for your cat. Causes may be severe, like tumors or heart failure, or your kitten could be breathing quickly for a less severe reason like stress or nervousness.

If your cat’s respiratory rate is higher than 30 breaths per minute, it may be time to seek veterinary care. If your cat is breathing faster than 40 breaths per minute and it doesn’t go away with short rest, call your vet.

Watch this video to learn how to count the resting respiration rate of your cat.

Tachypnea is rapid breathing that is abnormally shallow.

Dyspnea

Dyspnea is difficult or labored breathing.

Panting

Panting is heaving breathing with the tongue hanging out. Though cat panting is sometimes a sign of heat or exhaustion, it should decrease after a few minutes. Cats may also show open-mouth breathing by gasping, gagging, or gulping.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to know if your cat is breathing normally or having breathing difficulties. These symptoms can gradually increase over time or onset suddenly. These signs include:

Open mouth breathing (panting)
Coughing
Loss of Appetite
Blue or Purple Gums
Noisy Breathing
Difficulty Breathing
Lethargy/Fatigue
Rapid or shallow breathing
Wheezing
Heaving Chest
Breathing Abdominally
Blue or Purple Tongue

Rapid breathing is often caused by a serious underlying condition. Potential causes can range from allergic reactions to illnesses to injuries. Breathing difficulties can be caused by:

Asthma
Heartworm
Injury or Trauma
Pain
Allergic reaction
Pneumonia
Nervousness/Anxiety
Upper Respiratory Infection
Anemia (low red blood cell count)
Respiratory infection
Pulmonary edema
Heart failure or heart disease
Heart murmur
Tumors
Fluid build-up
Foreign objects blocking windpipe
Pleural effusion

If a cat is panting after a walk, exercise, or exciting adventure like a vet visit, it could be a sign of excitement, stress, or exhaustion. This is normal. Let your cat cool down in air conditioning or a cool location and give them plenty of water.

If your cat is having difficulty breathing and there’s no obvious cause, it may be time to call the veterinarian.

What you can do before an emergency veterinary hospital appointment

There are a few steps you can do before taking your cat to an emergency vet appointment. Make sure your cat’s airway is clear. Check for objects stuck in the throat without sticking your fingers in their mouths. Wipe away any nasal discharge.

Avoid stressing your cat by chasing or restraining them. Since anxiety and stress can cause rapid breathing, it’s important to keep your cat calm.

If your cat has difficulty traveling, ask your vet how to safely transport them to the office.
How vets treat rapid breathing in cats

Treatment of rapid breathing will be customized to each cat based on their health history and the underlying condition causing the problem. You will need to go over your cat’s health history, talk about when symptoms began, and any incidents that could have caused this problem.

Vets will first observe how the cat breathes and listen to their chest for any evidence of a heart murmur or fluid buildup. They will check the color of your cat’s tongue and gums.

Vets will determine the underlying cause through blood work, endoscopy, and other methods. Vets may use x-rays or ultrasounds to examine the heart and lungs to identify any tumors, foreign objects, or fluid build ups. If it’s a suspected heart issue, vets may run an ECG (electrocardiogram).

Cats may get medication or antibiotics, either by mouth or intravenously. If the cause is due to an infection or pneumonia, vets may prescribe antibiotics to fight off the infection. If the cause is allergies, vets may prescribe antihistamines.

Severe rapid breathing problems will require a stay at the veterinary hospital. Vets can constantly monitor cats while they administer oxygen, fluids, or medication. Vets will sometimes offer oxygen via a face mask in an emergency. Hospitalized cats will receive oxygen in an oxygen cage.

This DVM speaks about breathing problems and how veterinarians handle cases of respiratory distress at animal hospitals:

In many cases, cats can make a full recovery from rapid breathing as long as immediate veterinary care is taken. Some conditions may require ongoing care. Future veterinary appointments, specialized care, or medication may be necessary.

Updated November 20, 2021

One of the saddest things I see are cats with breathing difficulties. That’s because they’re almost always brought to the vet too late. In fact, by the time their owners notice, they often don’t survive the car trip.

Here I’m going to give you a very simple trick to recognise when a cat is struggling to breathe. If you do it successfully, your cat will probably be OK.

How To Tell If A Cat Has Breathing Problems

Unlike dogs who are regularly exercised, cats can hide respiratory distress for a long time. But there’s one thing they can’t hide: the fact that they are breathing faster and faster.

A sleeping or a resting respiratory rate greater than 30 breaths per minute is almost always abnormal. This is usually the earliest and most sensitive sign of breathing problems. The problem is that it isn’t natural for cat owners to notice.

This is often the only sign. However, sometimes you might also see:

open-mouth breathing
noisy, raspy or wheezy breathing
frequent coughing or hacking
obvious chest or stomach heaving
upright, tense posture

Cats with breathing trouble usually can’t breathe when lying down. The picture above shows the typical posture of such a cat: hunched and upright, not relaxed.

In contrast, even young healthy cats can have rapid or heaving respiration, or even breathe with their mouth open. However, this should only happen for a few minutes after vigorous exercise, and never at rest.

How To Measure Resting Respiratory Rate

The trick is to understand that the rate of breathing changes with activity or stress. Therefore, it can’t be done just any time and you need to know what to look for.

Resting Respiratory Rate should be measured when your cat is at their most relaxed. They need to be unstimulated and preferably even asleep. This is when they are breathing at the slowest they can, and this is what you measure.

Now count the number of breaths over 60 seconds. Most cats have a normal value between 15 and 25, but this can be higher in hot conditions.

If you can’t see your cat breathing at all (but they are alive!) then the rate should be OK. Cats with respiratory issues usually have more laboured or heavy breathing which is easier to see.

What Causes Laboured Breathing?

These are the most common three reasons for a cat to be consistently breathing faster than 30 breaths per minute:

heart disease
chest infections
asthma

They all need urgent attention, but they all can be treated.

I’m not expecting cat owners to watch their cats breathing every day, but whenever you suspect a problem it’s a great thing to do. For certain cases (like cats with heart murmurs), it’s something I ask owners to do as an early warning.

By spotting a subtle increase in your cat’s respiratory rate, you’ll take what would have been a dire emergency and make it just another health problem.

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here. The information provided here is not intended to be used as a substitute for going to the vet. If your pet is unwell, please seek veterinary attention.