My cat is breathing fast and sticking out its tongue. Is it serious?

Hello, I’m sorry to hear about Toby. As a general rule cats should not pant after exercise. It could be a sign that Toby has underlying respiratory disease, such as underlying asthma or an infection. I would recommend having him seen by your veterinarian so that they can perform an examination and work up, they will likely recommend performing chest X-rays. Hope this helps!

Asthma is the # 1 cause for these symptoms. However, it could also be pain from the lower GI tract, underlying heart disease, pleural effusion, or any other lung disorder. If this continues for more than 3-6 hrs, or if Harley seems to have labored breathing and isn't oxygenating well (blue tongue, open mouth breathing, etc), then its best to take him in to your vet for bloodwork +/- chest x-rays to help diagnose the underlying problem and get him on the proper treatment. I hope that Harley feels better soon! Best wishes and take care.

I would recommend taking DoReMi to a veterinarian as soon as you can. It is not typical for cats to pant unless they are in extreme pain, very stressed, or in respiratory distress. Some common causes of difficulty breathing include heart disease, feline asthma, and pleural effusion (or fluid outside the lungs in the chest cavity). Even if he is just experiencing stress in his new surroundings it is much safer to have him checked out by a veterinarian than to wait until his breathing is worse.

I would be very concerned for cardiac disease or infectious disease (pneumonia) based on those radiographs. With a temperature of 35 C (95 F) that is absolutely an emergency situation. You can see panting with cardiac disease when pulmonary edema begins to develop, which is when fluid is present within the lung tissue and does not allow for adequate gas exchange to occur. I recognize that this was posted 3 days ago, but if Sasi has not been re-evaluated by her veterinarian she needs to be ASAP to determine a treatment plan and if further diagnostics are indicated (echocardiogram, airway wash, etc.).

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While panting and open mouth breathing can be due to nervousness to some extent, this most likely signals a respiratory condition such as asthma, heart disease, among many other possibilities. I highly recommend you consider taking Fluffy to your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They will likely recommend starting with an exam and chest radiographs. Hoping for the best! Good luck and have a great day!

Thank you for asking this question about Luna. Just like people cats can become tired and breathe heavy after exercise. However, if this is a new behavior, or if she has never had a good thorough physical from a veterinarian then I would be more concerned. You may want to consider making a video of an event and having an examination from your veterinarian. This would give you peace of mind if all is normal or may be an important early find if there is a problem. Best of luck and I hope she does well. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

rapid breathing is not uncommon in kittens but if he is breathing fast with an open mouth it is definitely not normal, at this age it is usually caused by aspiration pneumonia (milk aspiration to the lungs). in such a case you would need to take them to the vet in order to get it checked and treated ASAP.