Do cats pant?

[Samantha Puppy]

I had Kirin going last night with the feather-on-the-end-of-the-rope toy and after we were done, he was walking around the house with his mouth open and tongue out, and it sounded like he was panting or wheezing or something. It stopped and I haven't seen him do it since, but I had never heard of a cat panting before. He's not overweight, he gets plenty of exercise (what with 3 other kitties plus a dog), so I don't know what it could've been.

[King Spartacus]

I've only met one cat that panted, but he was perfectly healthy! (We mentioned it to the vet, and he laughted and said "yes, cat's can pant") He used to pant everytime he got excited.

Sylvie, KS' mom

[kuhio98]

Yeppers, Halo is a major pant-er. The girl will play with the feather wand until she's exhausted. We have to lock it up so she can rest. The first time she did this, we were quite concerned about her panting but the vet said she is healthy.

[Laura's Babies]

I have seen them pant too and it worried me too at first.

[Chilli]

Yes, like the others said Khaith pants when he over-excites him self. Usually on car rides to the vet.

[JenBKR]

Belle doesn't actually pant, but she walks around with her mouth open sometimes...it does look kind of strange!

[grybai]

Panting can simply be caused from overexcitement, (when we moved Uabassoon's cat Corkscrew home from my house he kind of hyperventilated and started panting like crazy. He eventually calmed down and it was no problem).

They can also pant simply if it's too hot, and it is one of the first signs of heatstroke. So if the cat doesn't stop panting and exibits any of the following, it may be a good idea to get him to the vet:
-Anxiety, possibly demonstrated by pacing
- Increased heartbeat
- Respiratory distress or hyperventilation (Breeds with flat noses may exhibit this earlier because of compromised airways.)
- Dark red gums
- Lethargy
- Increased internal body temperature

[catmandu]

MOOSE,THE MAGNIFICENT PANTS,ALTHOUGH,NOT AS MUCH,AS WHEN HE WAS OVER 20 POUNDS.
HE,IS A RELATIVELY SLIM,FOR HIM,14.5 POUNDS,AND HE STILL PANTS A BIT.
BUT HE VESTS,A LOT TOO,I HOPE IM NOT SHIRTING THE ISSUE!

[kittycats_delight]

There was a thread in Cat Behavior about this Here it is. My Vixen pants too and she is perfectly fine.

[furrykidsmother]

When Fluffy was a baby, she would pant whenever she played to hard.