Why is my cat breathing heavily but still eating, playing, and acting normal?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Heavy breathing is certainly abnormal in cats. It can be seen with conditions like asthma, heart disease, bronchitis, pneumonia, among other possibilities. This is usually concerning in cats and warrants a visit to a veterinarian as soon as possible for further assessment and possible treatment. They will likely going to perform thoracic radiographs, among other diagnostics dependent on the results obtained. Treatment would be dependent on the findings. Good luck and have a good night!

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 definitely be concerned about this. Without actually seeing the incident or knowing a little bit more about your kitty, it's difficult for me to tell you what this might be. That being said, what you are describing definitely sounds like episodes of feline asthma or some other inflammatory / obstructive pulmonary condition. If your kitty is an older individual, the chance that this is something more harmful like a respiratory cancer or infectious process would be higher. In very young kittens, I would always suspect upper respiratory infection over any thing else until proven otherwise. An x-ray is usually good enough to diagnose feline asthma though in some cases it can prove challenging. Hope you and your vet can figure things out. In the meantime, I would tune down the playtime.

Breathing more heavily than normal is often an early sign of illness in cats, so I would definitely encourage you to take Prince to the vet for a check up as soon as you are able to. Often, we see this in cats with heart disease, fluid in the chest cavity, or even certain types of cancer. They may not show any other symptoms of a problem until their illness gets much worse, so it's always best to have this checked sooner rather than later. Your vet can listen to Prince's heart and lungs to check for any obvious abnormalities, and may also recommend chest x-rays to look for some of the problems I mentioned above.

My best guess based on what you have described would be that he may have feline asthma or a nasal polyp. I do think you should take him to the vet for an examination. I don't think it's an emergency unless he is really having trouble breathing but try to get him in as soon as you can. Here is a link to an article about asthma a well as polyps in cats. Hope this helps. ( https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/feline-asthma-what-you-need-know ) ( https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/nasal-polyps-in-cats )

This presentation may be due to a respiratory or cardiac problem. Sudden onset is usually compatible either with feline asthma or a cardiac issue. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is immediately essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Your English is good enough for me to understand what you are saying! I'm wondering if he could have a respiratory infection causing him to breathe faster than normal. Or if it's hot where you are, that could be a cause. Put him in a cool and dark room with plenty of cold water to see if that helps. If his breathing doesn't improve over the next 24 hours or he starts open mouth breathing, take him into a vet right away. I hope this helps!