Can you see your cat breath

[mrsmobbs]

This may sound a strange question, but we had a cat who developed heart disease at 15 and despite everything we could do for her the vet after 6 months eventually suggested being kind and putting her to sleep.

We then adopted a bengal mix and he is nearly 4 and started to show similar symptoms like breathing heavily and sitting with his elbows up but my son did pick him up a couple of weeks ago and he twisted to get away and I sort of hoped he had just pulled a muscle or something, am not sure whether a cat can pull a muscle but the breathing lis getting ess heavy now. It is just that I read you should not be able to see a cat breath and before I take him to the vet wondered if anyone elses cat does this. The thought of 2 cats having heart disease is too sad to think about.

do you mean the air come out of his nose?
Or his sides rising and falling as he breathes? Our Moggy's ribs have always risen and fallen as he breaths, we've had him 7 years, so he's aprox 8/9yrs old.
HTH

You should be able to see the rise a fall of the chest. More than 30 breaths per minute in a resting cat is abnormal and should be seen in regular clinic. More than 50 breaths per minute and or open mouth breathing is very abnormal and should be seen immediately.

Oh yes 30% of cats have a heart murmur.

Hi thanks for the posts they have put my mind at rest, his sides move but his mouth is closed so from the messages that is normal. After my last cat I do watch his every move a bit too closely.