Why is my cat opening her mouth with a small sound or panting?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Kopol. That is odd behavior for a cat to display. Is he tasting something bad during these episodes? A new food for example? If not, does he pant or breathe with his mouth open? This can be a sign of respiratory distress in a cat. I recommend that he sees his veterinarian for an examination. He could possibly be painful. Based on these results, blood work may be recommended as well. A thyroid disorder can cause a cat to meow more frequently. I hope this information helps!

Your cat may have laryngitis, which is an inflammation of the larynx or "voice box". Signs of laryngitis include hoarseness and/or loss of voice. The most common causes of laryngitis are excessive vocalization and chronic[ coughing](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/coughing). Both put strain on the vocal cords. Laryngitis can also be due to other underlying medical conditions such as throat infections, [allergies](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/feline-allergies/), tonsillitis, [pneumonia](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/pneumonia-1/), tracheobronchitis, foreign bodies and rarely tumors. Since it has been three days since your cat's symptoms began, I recommend having him evaluated by your veterinarian to check for throat infections or other sources of irritation of the larynx. You may need to feed a soft, bland diet and keep him as stress free as possible during his treatment and recovery.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Missy. I recommend that you seek emergency veterinary care this evening. Open mouth breathing is a sign of respiratory distress in a cat. The respiratory infection could have spread to her lungs resulting in pneumonia or she could have another problem. Heart disease and fluid in the chest can also cause this breathing pattern. I hope this information helps. Good luck.

That sounds odd. Cats don't normally act like this. I am concerned she is distressed, is experiencing pain in her mouth or is experienced altered mentation. Since she can't talk and tell you what is happening, I recommend to have her examined right away. An exam is needed to begin narrowing down the potential causes. I hope this helps.

No, panting in cats is never normal. I see that Tammy is quite young, but issues like asthma, heart failure, or toxin exposure could all cause signs of respiratory distress. On occasion, significant stress can trigger panting in some cats, but oftentimes there's also an underlying disease process. I strongly recommend taking Tammy to your vet or an emergency vet right away for evaluation. They'll need to perform a physical exam and will most likely recommend chest x-rays to try to get to the bottom of this situation. I hope that everything goes well for Tammy!

Hi, and thanks for your question. This sign is often secondary to an upper respiratory tract inflammation/infection or possibly to a pharyngitis (inflammatory, allergic, infective). A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. 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!

If Yoshi was able to meow before and now can't, then yes I would be concerned as that can be a sign of a respiratory infection. If he's always been like this, then I wouldn't be concerned as some cats do have silent meows. Have Yoshi seen by a vet if this is a new behavior in him.