Cats get colds and can sometimes even suffer from more severe breathing problems. If your furry friend is experiencing this kind of difficulty, you should make an appointment with the vet to find the cause of his congestion and have him treated. In addition, it would be useful to be able to understand if it is difficult to breathe, learn to make it easier for him to breathe and learn more about the respiratory problems that most commonly affect cats.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Identifying Upper Respiratory Problems
Step 1. Watch out for nasal secretions
They are quite common in cats. If they are present, they could be mucosal or mucopurulent in nature, which is a combination of mucus and pus. They are often yellow or green in color.
- Some cats with nasal allergies may produce clear, watery discharge from their nostrils, but they can be difficult to spot if the cat licks itself regularly.
- If you notice a nasal discharge, take a closer look at whether it comes out of one or both nostrils. If it is bilateral (from both nostrils), it is more likely to be caused by an infection or allergy, while if it is unilateral (from only one nostril), it could be caused by a foreign body or an infection in a nasal orifice.
Step 2. Pay attention to sneezing
When people have a stuffy nose, they usually get rid of the mucus using a tissue. However, cats cannot do this and, therefore, the only way they have to clear their noses is by sneezing.
If you notice your cat sneezing frequently, you need to make a vet appointment to pinpoint the cause. This could be an allergy or an infection, but your vet will examine the mucus to determine for sure
Step 3. Identify the cause of nasal congestion
Cats often suffer from nasal congestion due to rhinitis (inflammation of the nasal mucosa that leads to mucus production), infections (including viral diseases such as the flu) and foreign bodies introduced into the nose (such as a blade of grass smelled by the nose). animal).
- The most common causes of nasal and sinus congestion are viral infections. These viruses include feline herpesvirus (FHR) and feline calicivirus (FCV). Symptoms include swelling, redness and severe watery eyes along with oral ulcers and salivation. You can protect your cat from these viruses by vaccinating them, giving them regular boosters and keeping them away from cats that look sick.
- These pathologies cause breathing difficulties due to the mucus that accumulates in the cat's nose. Just like people with a cold, mucus blocks the nasal passages and complicates breathing.
Method 2 of 4: Identifying Lower Respiratory Tract Problems
Step 1. Measure the cat's respiratory rate
Respiration rate is defined as the number of breaths per minute. When this is normal, it fluctuates between 20-30 breaths per minute in a cat. If you have a problem, you can tell by both the rate (number of breaths) and the way you breathe.
- There is some margin for error in the normal respiratory rate. For example, if a cat has 32 breaths per minute and is in good health, it is not considered abnormal.
- However, you should start worrying if you notice that your breathing rate is around 35-40 breaths per minute or if you are wheezing.
Step 2. Notice if you have difficulty breathing
If normal, breathing movements are mild and difficult to detect, so there may be some problems if the cat seems to be breathing hard. When he is wheezing, he moves his chest or abdomen excessively as he inhales and exhales.
- To understand if he is breathing normally, it is best to stare at a point on his body (perhaps a spiral of hair on his chest) and watch how slowly he rises and falls.
- The belly muscles shouldn't move when the chest fills with air. It is not normal if the belly expands and contracts during breathing, if the chest "swells" in an exaggerated and visible way, making large breathing movements, or if the belly moves while breathing.
Step 3. Pay attention to the typical position of dyspnea
When a cat has difficulty breathing, it usually adopts the "air hunger" position: it sits or crouches by bending its paws and moving the elbows away from the body, with the head and neck extended forward to lengthen the trachea.
A cat in this position can also open its mouth and start panting
Step 4. Identify any signs of distress
A cat with breathing difficulties can feel stressed. To understand if your four-legged friend is in these conditions, look at the facial expressions. He may appear anxious and have the corners of his mouth sunken. Here are some symptoms that indicate distress:
- Dilated pupils
- Ears flattened, firm against the head;
- Mustache stretched back;
- Aggressive behavior when someone tries to approach
- Tail positioned close to the body.
Step 5. Watch out for panting
Cats can get out of breath after exercising to ease their agitation, but it is not normal if they are panting when at rest. If your cat is breathing heavily, especially while lounging, it is best to consult a veterinarian, as this could be a symptom that indicates breathing problems.
Cats can pant even when they are anxious or frightened, so consider the context in which it is found
Method 3 of 4: Caring for a Cat Suffering from Nasal Congestion
Step 1. Talk to your vet to find out if you need to get your cat on antibiotic therapy
If you have any signs of infection (yellow or green mucus leaking from your nose), consult your vet to find out if a prescription for antibiotics is needed.
If the vet suspects a viral infection, then antibiotics won't help. However, if he prescribes them, it may take four or five days before he starts to recover from the infection, so in the meantime you can help him relieve his breathing problems using other methods
Step 2. Test with steam
The hot, humid steam helps loosen the mucus, making it easier to eliminate. Of course, you can't put the cat's head on a container of boiling water, because if it panics and bumps into the container, both of you are in danger of a severe burn. Rather, it prepares a steam-saturated environment to help it get rid of congestion. Therefore:
- Take the cat to the bathroom and close the door. Run the hot water from the shower and pull the shower door close to act as a barrier between the cat and the water.
- Leave it in the steam bath for 10 minutes. If you can repeat this two or three times a day, the cat will be able to breathe much more freely.
Step 3. Keep the cat's nose clean
It may seem obvious, but if it's clogged or dirty, don't hesitate to clean it. Put a cotton ball under the tap and then, once wet, use it to get rid of secretions from his nose. Remove any dry mucus that may have become encrusted.
If your cat has quite a lot of nasal discharge, cleaning her nose regularly can help her feel better
Step 4. Ask your vet to prescribe a mucolytic medication
Sometimes, cat mucus is so thick and sticky that it sticks like glue inside the nasal passages, making it nearly impossible to breathe through the nose. In these cases, the vet might prescribe a "mucolytic".
- This is a bisolvon-like drug that helps loosen mucus. The active ingredient of Bisolvon is bromhexine. When the mucus becomes thinner, the cat can sneeze more easily.
- Bisolvon is sold in 8 gram (g) sachets and can be mixed into food once or twice a day. The dose for cats is 0.5 g per 5 kg of body weight, which is a "generous" pinch from the sachet once or twice a day.
Method 4 of 4: Understanding the Most Common Respiratory Problems in Cats
Step 1. Take the cat to the vet for diagnosis and treatment
Chest problems include infections, pneumonia, heart disease, lung disease, tumors, and fluid in the lungs (pleural effusion). These conditions must be treated by the veterinarian.
If you think your cat is suffering from chest congestion, don't use home remedies. Delaying your visit to the vet will only worsen his physical condition
Step 2. Know that breathing difficulties can be caused by pneumonia
Pneumonia is a serious infection of the lungs. The toxins produced by bacteria and viruses inflame these organs and can also give rise to secretions that accumulate inside them. In these cases, the exchange of oxygen within the lungs slows down and the animal is forced to breathe with effort.
Powerful antibiotics are typically prescribed to treat pneumonia. If your cat is seriously ill, he may need additional care including, for example, intravenous fluids or oxygen therapy
Step 3. Be aware that the cat may be suffering from heart disease
A diseased heart is unable to pump blood around the body. Changes in blood pressure within the lungs cause blood vessels to pour fluid into the lung tissues. Just like with pneumonia, this phenomenon reduces the lungs' ability to oxygenate the body, causing the cat to pant.
If the heart disease causes breathing difficulties in the animal, the veterinarian will make his investigations to determine the type and prescribe the appropriate drugs. Most of the time it is necessary to subject the cat to oxygen therapy for its condition to stabilize, before administering any kind of drug or resorting to other possible treatments
Step 4. Keep in mind that lung diseases can cause breathing difficulties
These are diseases similar to asthma, in which the airways contract and resist the air entering and leaving the lungs. This disease is analogous to bronchitis, an inflammation that affects the respiratory system, in which the airways become stiff, the walls thicken and the exchange of oxygen is blocked. Asthma can affect allergic cats which, by breathing, introduce allergens into the body.
- In case of asthma, corticosteroids are prescribed, both intravenously and in the form of tablets to be taken orally. Steroids are powerful anti-inflammatory drugs whose action reduces inflammation in the airways. However, for asthmatic cats the administration of inhaled salbutamol is also envisaged, as long as the animal tolerates the mask.
- Bronchitis is also treated with both steroid drugs and bronchodilators, which stimulate the opening of the stiffened airways.
Step 5. Determine if lungworms (parasitic worms) may be the cause of your cat's breathing difficulties
These are parasites that interfere with breathing and can go unnoticed for long periods of time. In severe cases, they cause nasal discharge, cough, weight loss, and pneumonia.
Lungworms can be treated with antiparasitic drugs, such as ivermectin or fenbendazole
Step 6. Realize that tumors can lead to breathing difficulties
Lung or chest tumors compress the lungs, preventing the lung tissues from functioning properly. When healthy lung tissue shrinks, shortness of breath or breathlessness may arise.
Tumors take up space in the chest and compress the lungs or major blood vessels. If they are isolated, it is possible to remove them surgically, but overall the hopes for a cat suffering from lung cancer are not very high. Ask your vet what kind of options you have
Step 7. Know that pleural effusion can cause breathing difficulties
Pleural effusion is the accumulation of fluid around the lungs. It can occur if your cat has kidney disease, an infection, or a tumor in the chest that causes fluid to spill.
- Fluids can compress the lungs, causing them to collapse. Therefore, since these organs do not have the ability to fully expand, the animal runs out of breath.
- If the cat is having severe difficulty breathing, the vet can remove the fluids with a special needle for chest drainage. By removing them, it will allow the lungs to expand again, providing temporary relief. However, they will be bound to form again if the underlying problem is not resolved.
