Kitten Tachypnea Without Other Symptoms

Hello all! I am new to the site, and would appreciate any and all feedback that you all can give me! One week ago I picked up two Bengal kittens from a great breeder. The ride was 3.5 hours from my house, so the ride was fairly long back to my home with them in the car but they did really well. The two kittens are Leo (17weeks old) and Harvey (14 weeks old). I'll attach some pictures They are "brothers from other mothers (and fathers)" but love each other dearly.

Since coming home, Leo's breathing has been elevated more often than not at 60+ BPM and only sometimes slows down to ~42 BPM. Even while resting he will have tachypnea. He has a normal appetite, bowel movements are regular, and he is still playing and not at all lethargic. He doesn't seem to be struggling breathing, it is just fast with his abdomen falling and rising quickly. Gums, ears, nose and lips aren't blue. He is up to date with all vaccines and got a rabies vaccine about 3 weeks ago. He was checked by a vet three days ago and was told that his heart did not have a murmur and they could not hear any fluid in the lungs. They said that they could do an X-Ray, but that is was not likely that there was anything wrong. They prescribed Amoxiclav for him and Harvey due to Harvey's Upper Respiratory Infection (which is a whole other story, but totally manageable). Both kittens seemed to adjust to the rehoming really well, but I am still really worried about Leo's elevated breathing. He doesn't seem at all deterred, doesn't pant, and is his normal self other than the breathing issue. Have any of you ever had this issue before? What happened to your kitties that did? I was told by a different vet over the phone that it is not abnormal for some cats to have intermittent elevated respiration without any underlying cause, but I am concerned that he is usually breathing like this. I might be an overly-concerned first-time cat mama, but I'd rather get as much input as possible before jumping the gun on a $170 X-Ray because of my own paranoia. Reading all of the horror stories of others who had kitties with HCM, FelV, FIP, FIV, and so on have me so worried.

Thanks in advance, fellow kitty-lovers

P.S. - Leo is the lighter one and Harvey is the darker one

Hello,
they look adorable!
I understand your concern. Did you count the exact resting breathing rate? Ignore any other rate: playing, exploring, eating and purring. They simply don't matter, especially in a young, active kitten

Noirele said:

Hello,
they look adorable!
I understand your concern. Did you count the exact resting breathing rate? Ignore any other rate: playing, exploring, eating and purring. They simply don't matter, especially in a young, active kitten

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Thank you so much, Noirele! I love them so much already, I couldn't bear not doing everything in my power to help them! I bought probiotics per the breeders suggestion and I also bought L-Lysine to put in their food as well. These products will arrive tomorrow. I also thought that it might be environmental so I bought an air purifier to help with any dust particles as well as a humidifier for Harvey.

As for the exact sleeping breathing rate, it is hard for me to tell when he is fully asleep, because in one video that I took when his breaths per minute was around 40 BPM he seemed to be in a deep sleep. Other times when I think that he is sleeping he will have a higher breathing rate around 60 BPMs - maybe he is not actually fully asleep yet at those times? He will occasionally twitch when he is breathing fast like this, which I can tell is definitely him dreaming (I had a cat when I was growing up and he lived to 19 years old who would dream and twitch his paws and whiskers while doing so, so I know what to expect when kitties are dreaming). I'll try to catch him at a deep sleeping state and count his breaths then. Thank you for the tip!

40 BPM sleeping is not so bad in kittens. And yes, the breath a lot faster when they are dreaming and twitching. Try again when he is sleeping quietly. I know, it's not easy!

Hi and welcome!
A vet once told me that a high breathing rate in kittens is rather common.
I have fostered a few kittens in the last year or so, and three of them had very high breathing rate, and by high I mean in excess of 100 bpm, up to 170 on a couple of occasions. I also made videos of those belly going up and down quickly.
I reported all these events to the vets, and showed them the videos, and though they checked the kittens thoroughly, they didn't find anything.

All those kittens were adopted out, now they are at least 1 year old, and I know they are still fine.
I do hope yours will be just the same.

I have had this concern with an adult cat before (constant slightly elevated breathing rate, which the vet later told me was fine because cats can differ from each other and still be normal). I had a x-ray just to ease my fears, and she was fine. It was well below $170, in fact only $40 for a single chest x-ray. I’m not sure if these kind of prices are normal where you are at, but it may be worth calling a different clinic (or clinics) to see if there’s any cheaper option?

In any case, 40bpm while at rest doesn’t sound too high for a kitten, especially in the absence of other symptoms. You could wait and see if there’s any increase in bpm, and opt for a chest x-ray during a regular checkup (not sure about your vet, but mine throws in a free x-ray if you pay for a blood panel during a checkup).

Antonio65 said:

Hi and welcome!
A vet once told me that a high breathing rate in kittens is rather common.
I have fostered a few kittens in the last year or so, and three of them had very high breathing rate, and by high I mean in excess of 100 bpm, up to 170 on a couple of occasions. I also made videos of those belly going up and down quickly.
I reported all these events to the vets, and showed them the videos, and though they checked the kittens thoroughly, they didn't find anything.

All those kittens were adopted out, now they are at least 1 year old, and I know they are still fine.
I do hope yours will be just the same.

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Thank you so much! His breathing seems to have slowed down to a more normal level (still more elevated than Harvey) but definitely not as quick as it had been last week. I'm thinking that it might have been due to anxiety of being rehomed. Thanks again for the vote of confidence, it makes me feel much better that I'm not the only one who has had a kitten with a higher elevated respiratory rate

solowars said:

I have had this concern with an adult cat before (constant slightly elevated breathing rate, which the vet later told me was fine because cats can differ from each other and still be normal). I had a x-ray just to ease my fears, and she was fine. It was well below $170, in fact only $40 for a single chest x-ray. I’m not sure if these kind of prices are normal where you are at, but it may be worth calling a different clinic (or clinics) to see if there’s any cheaper option?

In any case, 40bpm while at rest doesn’t sound too high for a kitten, especially in the absence of other symptoms. You could wait and see if there’s any increase in bpm, and opt for a chest x-ray during a regular checkup (not sure about your vet, but mine throws in a free x-ray if you pay for a blood panel during a checkup).

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The vet that I went to for their first check-up seemed exceptionally high too... My parents' vet charged $60 for an x-ray and an examination was $40 and she is a phenomenal vet. The problem is that I moved and live 4.5 hours away from them, so going there isn't an option. I'll try to look around and find a more reasonably priced vet in my area that is also reputable (such a struggle to find a well-rated vet that is not charging inane amounts). Thanks for easing my fears