Hi all, my almost year old cat has been having minor issues with breathing since he was around 4months old, but sparingly.
It’s rare when it happens and has only happened thrice, and first happened about a week after I got him. I was playing with him when he was around 4 months old, when all of a sudden he hunched over and started breathing very heavily, I’ve owned cats before and I initially thought it was a hair ball, but this was air he was trying to inhale. I chalked it up to us playing too hard, and him being too young to know when to stop and pace himself. He stopped after about 10 seconds, and went on with his day like it was nothing. Now he pants after chasing our other cat around after a few minutes.
When we play for only a few minutes, albeit intensely, he starts to pant, which I know is not normal for cats, so I calm down the play to something else and he stops. I can also hear him breathe occasionally , like when he sleeps he snores sometimes like he's stuffy, and his meow is awfully guttural, and always has been since I got him. It’s like his meow is broken into two syllables, a mm-and then a break in between like a harsh, —kkow like he’s struggling to make it smooth. Other times though his meow is just fine, especially when wanting food.
Other than that he eats, drinks, plays with our other cat, poops,pees all perfectly normally. I’ve learned to just take it easy with play, and the two cats play fight very normally, and he doesn’t pant.
I suspect asthma or a long case of a very minor uri (since in his records he had a case of an upper respiratory infection as a kitten) but does not have runny nose or squinty eyes, but I also know it could be heart worm or lung related. I start a new well paying job in October, so I plan on taking him then when I have the money, but I’d love to know if this is an emergency or what, if it is, I want to get him checked out ASAP.
It’s rare when it happens and has only happened thrice, and first happened about a week after I got him. I was playing with him when he was around 4 months old, when all of a sudden he hunched over and started breathing very heavily, I’ve owned cats before and I initially thought it was a hair ball, but this was air he was trying to inhale. I chalked it up to us playing too hard, and him being too young to know when to stop and pace himself. He stopped after about 10 seconds, and went on with his day like it was nothing. Now he pants after chasing our other cat around after a few minutes.
When we play for only a few minutes, albeit intensely, he starts to pant, which I know is not normal for cats, so I calm down the play to something else and he stops. I can also hear him breathe occasionally , like when he sleeps he snores sometimes like he's stuffy, and his meow is awfully guttural, and always has been since I got him. It’s like his meow is broken into two syllables, a mm-and then a break in between like a harsh, —kkow like he’s struggling to make it smooth. Other times though his meow is just fine, especially when wanting food.
Other than that he eats, drinks, plays with our other cat, poops,pees all perfectly normally. I’ve learned to just take it easy with play, and the two cats play fight very normally, and he doesn’t pant.
I suspect asthma or a long case of a very minor uri (since in his records he had a case of an upper respiratory infection as a kitten) but does not have runny nose or squinty eyes, but I also know it could be heart worm or lung related. I start a new well paying job in October, so I plan on taking him then when I have the money, but I’d love to know if this is an emergency or what, if it is, I want to get him checked out ASAP.