is my cat just tired or is it asthma?

Question

i excersice my cat with his mouse toy. i notice that when he plays really hard he starts to exhale loudly throught his nose/whisker area. he does this about once or twice really quick and then is back to silent again. is this a sign of cat asthma or is this just him panting?

i get worried so when i exercise him, i try not to make him play too hard, just moderate. when i can see his heart is beating faster, i stop and tell him to breath and then i start exhaling as an example, and he actually mimics it! i found that helps him calm down his heart rate.

is this normal for cats when they play hard or is it a sign of asthma? im gonna ask the vet next month at his vaccine shots...but Any insight into this would be appreciated thanks.

Answer 1

It is possible that your cat does have asthma. Something else you need to consider to is that he might have allergies. I'd recommend at least calling your vet well in advance before the appointment just to make sure it couldn't be something more serious. Here's a website that might help you out in searching for the answer:

http://www.shelterpetsink.com/cat_asthma2.htm

Answer 2

Asthma would have the cat stop suddenly, lay down and pant with completely open mouth with the lips pulled back, staring at nothing. The gums would be white or very pale pink.

We had one who had this, she was put on prednesone for 2 months, and it cleared everything up for her.