Dogs pant up to 300 times a minute to cool themselves, but if you see your cat panting it may be a medical emergency — and your alarmbells should be ringing. While sometimes it can just be from extreme anxiety, it can also be a sign of respiratory or cardiovascular problems, warranting an immediate call to the veterinarian.
So what do you do if you see your cat panting?
Exactly, call your vet.
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Picture by maastrichtaktueel.nl
My Angel was panting just before he died of a heartattack, Dianda. I’ll never forget his look in his eyes and the panting, you know directly that there is something very wrong, but it was too late to call the vet
I’m so sorry to hear that.
Was he an old cat?
Angel was 13 years, far too young
You’re right, that’s pretty young. Most cats these days life 5 years longer.
I’m very sorry to hear tho.
I’ve seen my cats breath open-mouthed before… kinda looks like panting… but not as aggressive I imagine. My kitty is really sick right now. She’s lost a ton of weight and sometimes it looks like she’s breathing too hard (by the way her sides pump in and out) but hubby says he doesn’t think her breathing looks any different. But, anyway, if cats don’t pant, how do they cool off?
Ah! Maybe I should have added that in the post. I blame my lazyness!
Cats cool off by sweating through the pads on their feet/their paws.
And they try to cool themself down in the summer by increasing the amount of grooming. They lick their fur, and leave saliva on their fur as they do. When the saliva evaporates, they cool down.
We can also help our cats to cool down during the hot summer days, by using fans, wet cloths. etc. Maybe that’s a good idea for a blog post this week.
Thanks for the idea!
Told ya I’d come up with something
You’re right!
I’m an accidental genius. ;P
Accidental Genius you will be from now on!
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