Why does one of my Maine Coons pant when outside in warm weather?

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!

You can try keeping them indoors with a fan or increasing the shade they have. Sometimes doing slightly cool water by placing a few ice cubes in their dish is helpful as well. If they start having any sort of nasal discharge, become week are they have pale or discolored gums they need to be seen by veterinarian immediately.

Hello! Cats are very stubborn nose-breathers and hate panting. This means they usually only pant if they are in severe respiratory distress. This, associated with the drooling and being outdoors makes me very concerned that she could have been suffering from severe heat distress or heat stroke. Sometimes cats can also hide signs of heart and lung disease until they are truly struggling to breathe, and this could be exacerbated by heat by as well. I would recommend taking her into a vet to be seen. They will likely recommend bloodwork and x-rays to start evaluating her major organ function, check for signs of infection, and evaluate the heart and lungs. I hope you find this helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

If he was really racing around after the toy last night, more than usual, it could explain his exertion, however, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get him in to see your vet for an exam just to be safe. You said Obi is a big cat, so there may be some Maine Coon in his background, and they have a greater risk for some heart conditions.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. When cats pant or breathe with their mouths open, this is abnormal and concerning. Given the information you provided about the Merlin's heart murmur, I am worries that he could have significant enough heart disease to cause heart failure, which leads to the build up of fluid in the lungs. This makes it very difficult for cats to breathe, especially after exertion, and can be life-threatening. Alternatively, cats can pant when they are severely overheated, which is also very dangerous. I would recommend keeping Merlin quiet (no running or playing) until he can be seen by a veterinarian. He/she will want to do a full physical exam and take x-rays of Merlin's chest to look for heart enlargement and/or fluid in the lungs. There is a blood test available called an NT-proBNP that can detect heart failure in cats as well. I hope this information is helpful!

Yes, this is a concern so I do recommend having Walter seen by a vet for it. While it could be the heat, I can't rule out a medical condition causing the panting without seeing him in person. Give his vet a call today to make him an appointment. Best of luck.

You're right that it can be normal to see short periods of panting after active play or other exercise, especially in young cats. But, this can also be a sign of heart disease or other problems. If your kitten sometimes pants, it would be best to have him examined be a vet to make sure that his heart and lungs are normal. If no problems are found, then you'll know there is no need to worry :)