Cat Panting

[k9krazee]

Okay, this sounds like a stupid question but is it normal for a cat to be panting? I have never seen a cat that does this but Jasper pants all the time, his little tongue hanging out and everything. The house is cool and he always has fresh water available, should we be worried about it?

[kittycats_delight]

You Jasper look like he has some turkish angora in him as does my vixen. And my Vixen pants all the time too. My vet said Vixen was perfectly healthy. But excessive panting one of the signs of a heart defect. I was worried about that with Vixen excessively worried so I had her checked just in case and nothing. I am sure it is the same for Jasper. Have you had Jasper neutered yet? If yes and he has been under anistetic then I would say 9/10 he has no heart defect. I would take him in for a check on it anyway though. Just to easy you mind and to be sure.

[Cataholic]

I am curious about this. Mind you, all my cats are the run of the mill DSH or DLH, so, I know nothing about breed specific characteristics, but, is panting in felines truly 'normal'? My cats have panted, but, only in distress. So, I don't want to make you worry more, but, this kind of alarms me. Tell me more, Kittycats...

[kittycats_delight]

I don't know exactly but my Vixen has some turkish angora in her and none of my other cats are panters. She is big time. I was terrified as my friend had told me of her DSH that panted and they found out it was a heart murmer or a hole in the heart I can't remember which. She had scheduled a neuter for her boy when her boyfriend's mom suggested mentioning the panting. Red flags went up from the vet as it is not normal. He postponed the neutered and told her that they needed to run an EKG. It was en expensive test cost approximately $300.00 but this test found the heart defect. The vet suggested not doing the neuter as putting the cat under anistetic could be deadly. So actually this cat is on meds now as to keep him calm and not cause added stress that could cause him harm. When she told me about this I panicked as Vixen is an excessive panter. She was due to get spayed and there was no way I was having her put under anistetic without knowing if there was something wrong. The vet did the the EKG and ultrasound, blood work the whole nine yards all came back perfectly normal. He said some cats do this. It is rare and it sometimes comes from particual breeds. AS Vixen is not a pure breed anything he could only speculate that it was probably that she had one of these breeds in her genetic make up and that is why she does it. Not all turkish angora's do this but apparently there is a defective gene which causes it. And it can occur in any cat. He told me that the best thing to do was what I did and get her tested to make sure it was not a heart defect as 9 times out of 10 that is what it is.

[Cataholic]

Wow. Thank you for the information. I hope that your kitty is always perfectly fine!

[ginagt]

My Calico used to pant, it turned out to be a symptom of asmtha. With medication she is fine and no more panting. I would have your kitty checked out at the vet to rule out any medical problems.

[k9krazee]

Thanks, we will definately have the vet take a look at him. He is neutered and went through the anastesia with no problems. I was wondering if it could possibly be asthsma (sp?). He also has a really quiet and strained meow, could these two things possibly be related?

[ginagt]

The panting could be a sign of asthma, I don't know for sure about the quiet meow, my kitty with asthma as a loud meow. Let us know what the vet says.

[BigCharles]

Could also be a sign of fever. Lamoni would sometimes come in panting. Usually this was when he needed a "rear end alignment". Long hair, runny stools ... well you get the idea. Sometimes he was so bad even he could not stand himself.

We thought that was the cause of the panting. He would also pant if he came in from eating something disgusting like a slug, bug, or other nasty thing that crawled in throught the cracks in the garage wall.

Tiurns out that the bad smell of himself was giving him an anxiety problem and that was causing a fever. Now cats will spike high temeratures just on a sudden noise. Sustained for very long and they can't cool down the inside well.

If this last more than, say, 48 hours or the ears are hot to the touch, then go to the vet for a check up.

[AvaJoy]

I'd like to share my experience with feline panting.

My Chazmayne kitten (about 6 months old) panted when he played. He loved leaping and doing aerial acrobatics when enticed with a teaser wand toy. I never had a cat that panted, and upon investigating this symptom on the internet I was very scared at his possible diagnosis . . . cardiomyopathy. When I had taken him to vet for his initial exam she detected a murmur only upon compression of the heart. She was not concerned and went ahead with his neutering, which he came through like a champ.

AFTER that was when I noticed the panting, and insisted upon a referral to a cardiologist. He did an ultrasound to the tune of $500.00 and determined that there were no cardiac defects and stated that "sometime kittens pant when excited and playing". I no longer am concerned and his panting has diminished, although it could be due to the fact that I don't play too long or hard with him anymore, as he is nearing his first birthday and so not QUITE as rambuctious as he was when younger, but he is still a pistol . . . to his benefit he is also a looker and someone inquired if I would be willing to part with him and I said sure if you want to reimburse me the $500.00! Lol . . . just kidding as I am way too attached to him . . . yeah, by my purse strings! Again, I'm just joking as I regard my cats (all 8 . . . gosh, I need to update my Avatar) as my children and could NEVER relinquish any of them.

Well, I hope your kitty has a positive prognosis like Chazmayne, and the panting is nothing serious.

[heidiv]

I have a 14 week old kitten and when ever she gets excited she starts to pant should I take her into the vet and have this looked at? I would do anything to avoid a huge problem when she needs to go in and be spayed. Thanks for the heads up I am going to call the vet tomarrow and find out.
Thank again

[AvaJoy]

Yes, definitely take your kitten to the vet! The only positive test for cardiomyopathy from what I understand is an ultrasound of the heart. If your vet suspects there may be a problem, don't hesitate to ask for a referral to a vet that is a specialist in cardiology because they are capable and have the training and experience to read the test results and therefore leave no doubt as to diagnosis. It is expensive, but to me it was worth having the peace of mind in knowing my cat's condition. I hope your darling will be found in good health!

[JenWhite]

I had my three boys nuetered on Tuesday, and after reading this thread I had labs ran on all three of them. Two of them pant when they get nervous(the gardner)/overly tired from playing. The vet says they are all healthy!! So, maybe sometimes our furry four pawed friends are just 'panters' I hope your kitty is healthy and just a panter too!