How to make your cat breathe easier

Video: How can I help my cat breathe easier? | wikiHow Asks a Veterinarian

Content

Steps
Method 1 of 4: Identifying Upper Airway Problems
Method 2 of 4: Identifying Lower Airway Problems
Method 3 of 4: Grooming a stuffy cat
Method 4 of 4: Common Causes of Feline Breathing
Tips
Warnings
Additional articles

From time to time, cats can catch colds and face quite serious respiratory (respiratory) problems. If you notice breathing problems with your pet, it is very important to contact your veterinarian in a timely manner so that he finds out the exact cause of the airway congestion and prescribes appropriate treatment. This article will show you how to identify a cat's respiratory system and how to make it easier to breathe. It also provides an overview of the most common causes of respiratory problems in cats.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Identifying Upper Airway Problems

1 Pay attention to nasal discharge. Cats often have a runny nose. If you notice discharge from the nose in your pet, then they may be just mucous or mucopurulent. Such discharge is often yellow or green.
- Some cats with allergic rhinitis may have clear, moist nasal discharge, but this is sometimes difficult to see as the cat licks its nose regularly.
- If you notice nasal discharge in your cat, try to find out if it affects one or both of the nostrils. Bilateral discharge (from both nostrils) is more common with an infection or allergy, while unilateral discharge may be due to a foreign body or unilateral nasal infection.
2 Pay attention to if the cat is sneezing. If a person has a stuffy nose, then he can calmly take a handkerchief and blow his nose. However, cats do not know how to do this, and sneezing is the only way out for them in such a situation.
- If you notice a regular sneezing in your pet, you need to make an appointment with your veterinarian so that he can help find out the cause of the problem. It could be an allergy or infection, so your veterinarian will need to take a sample of the mucus to make an accurate diagnosis.
3 Try to figure out the cause of your nasal congestion. In cats, it is quite common to have a stuffy nose due to rhinitis (inflammation of the nasal passages accompanied by mucus production), infection (including a viral nature, such as feline flu), and inhalation of foreign bodies (for example, guard particles from spikelets of grass that hit the cat in the nose while sniffing the grass).
- The most common cause of nasal and sinus congestion is viral infections. These include feline herpes virus and feline calciviral infection. These infections can also cause swelling, redness, and watery eyes, sores in the mouth, and increased salivation. The cat can be protected from such infections by timely vaccination and exclusion of contact with sick animals. Recurrent viral diseases in cats suppress their immune system, therefore, with repeated diseases, adapted harmful bacteria affect a large area of the mucous membrane, causing a more severe course of the disease, severe nasal discharge and loss of appetite. Understand that in many cases it is easy for a cat to get rid of the viral component of the disease, but it is quite difficult for her to recover from residual bacterial complications. For this reason, it is very important to show your cat to a qualified veterinarian if you notice any of the above symptoms.
- Difficulty breathing is caused by the accumulation of mucous secretions in the cat's nose. Like people with colds, in cats, mucus blocks the nasal passages and makes breathing difficult.

Method 2 of 4: Identifying Lower Airway Problems

1 Measure your cat's breathing rate. Respiration rate is the number of breaths the cat breathes in one minute. A breathing rate of 20-30 breaths per minute is considered normal. Both breathing rate and breathing pattern can tell you that there is a problem.
- Be aware that slight deviations in the respiratory rate from the specified rate are permissible. For example, a cat with a respiration rate of 32 breaths per minute and the absence of any other problems cannot be considered sick.
- However, you should be concerned if your cat's respiration rate increases to 35-40 breaths per minute or if her breathing becomes heavy.
2 Pay attention to the pet's heavy breathing. Normal breathing is difficult for a cat to notice, so if you see your cat having to strain to breathe, it may have respiratory problems. When breathing heavily, the cat makes pronounced breathing movements with its chest and abdomen in order to inhale or exhale air.
- To understand how your cat is breathing, you need to fix your gaze on one part of her chest (perhaps on a curl of fur on her chest) and follow how it moves up and down.
- The abdominal muscles should not be engaged while inhaling. If a cat's belly expands and contracts as it breathes, this is not normal. If the cat's chest is clearly heaving and you see increased breathing movements, then this is also abnormal.
3 Notice the "oxygen starvation" pose. A cat with shortness of breath often assumes the "oxygen starvation" position. She sits down or lies down so that the elbows of her front paws do not touch the ribcage, and her head and neck are extended in such a way as to straighten the trachea.
- In the "oxygen starvation" position, the cat may also open its mouth and breathe with shortness of breath.
4 Look for symptoms of physical pain in your pet. A cat with shortness of breath may experience physical pain. To see if this is so, look at the expression on her face. She may look agitated, with the corners of her mouth pulled back in a kind of grimace. Also signs of pain include the following:
- dilated pupils;
- pinned ears;
- tight mustache;
- showing aggression when you approach;
- tail pressed to the body.
5 Pay attention to shortness of breath. Shortness of breath after exercise is acceptable in cats, as it helps the animal to cool the body.Shortness of breath in any other situation is considered an abnormal symptom. If you frequently notice shortness of breath in your cat at rest, see your veterinarian as this is a bad symptom indicating breathing problems.
- Sometimes cats can become short of breath when anxious or frightened, so when assessing the condition of the pet, try to take into account the environment.

Method 3 of 4: Grooming a stuffy cat

1 Talk to your veterinarian about antibiotic use. If your cat shows signs of an infectious disease (yellow or green nasal discharge), talk to your veterinarian about whether you need antibiotics for your situation.
- If the veterinarian says that the infection is viral, then antibiotics are useless in this case. In addition, if your cat is prescribed antibiotics, it may take 4-5 days for your cat to get better, during which you will have to use other means to make it easier to breathe.
2 Use steam inhalation. Warm, moist steam helps to thin mucous secretions and makes them easier to pass when sneezing. Obviously, you will not force the cat to hold its head over a bowl of boiling water, because if it gets nervous and knocks over the container, then you can scald it with it. Instead, fill an entire room with steam to make breathing easier for your pet. To do this, follow the steps below.
- Bring the cat to the bathroom and lock the door. Turn the shower on as hot as possible. Make sure that there is a reliable barrier between the cat and the boiling water.
- Sit in a steam-filled room for 10 minutes. If you manage to carry out 2-3 such procedures a day, then the cat will breathe a little easier.
3 Keep your cat's nose clean. It is quite understandable that if a cat's nose is clogged and stained, it must be cleaned. Soak a cotton ball in tap water and then wipe the cat's nose with it. Wipe off any dried-up mucus that may form a crust around the sick cat's nose.
- If your cat has a profuse runny nose, rubbing the nose regularly will provide the pet with more comfort.
4 Ask your veterinarian to prescribe a mucolytic agent for your cat. Sometimes the mucous secretions are so thick and sticky that they tightly clog the sinuses and make it impossible to breathe through the nose. In such a situation, the veterinarian may prescribe a mucolytic to the animal.
- Medicines such as bromhexine (bisolvone, solvin) thin the mucus and help it pass out. In these preparations, the active ingredient is bromhexine. When, thanks to the use of a mucolytic, the mucus liquefies, it becomes easier for the cat to do the rest.
- Bisolvon comes in the form of 5 g powder sachets, it can be mixed into the cat's food 1-2 times a day. The dosage of medication for a cat is 0.5 g per 5 kg of body weight. In other words, you only need to take a pinch of the powder from the bag and add it to the food once or twice a day.

Method 4 of 4: Common Causes of Feline Breathing

1 Take your cat to your veterinarian for a diagnosis and treatment. Breathing problems can be caused by infections, pneumonia, heart disease, lung disease, tumors, and fluid buildup in the pleural area (pleural effusion). These conditions require the attention of a veterinarian.
- If you think your cat has congested lungs, do not try to treat it with home remedies, delaying a visit to the vet can only make it worse.
2 Be aware that breathing difficulties can be caused by pneumonia. Pneumonia is a serious infection of the lungs. The toxins released by bacteria and viruses cause inflammation of the lungs and lead to the accumulation of fluid in them. In such a situation, oxygen metabolism is noticeably impaired, which makes the cat breathe more intensively.
- Strong antibiotics are usually prescribed to treat pneumonia.If your cat is very weak, then she may need additional therapy, such as IV drips or an oxygen tent.
3 Breathing problems can be caused by heart disease. A diseased heart works less efficiently and worsens pumping blood through the body. Abnormalities in blood pressure in the lungs can cause fluid from the vessels to seep through their walls into the lung tissue. As with pneumonia, in such a situation, the efficiency of oxygen metabolism decreases, which can lead to shortness of breath.
- If the difficulty in breathing is caused by heart problems, the veterinarian will try to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe an appropriate treatment. Cats often require oxygen therapy to stabilize their condition before starting any medication or treatment.
4 Difficulty breathing can be caused by lung disease. Lung conditions include conditions such as asthma, where the airways are compressed and obstruct the passage of air to and from the lungs. Asthma is similar to bronchitis (another lung disease), when the airways lose their plasticity, their walls thicken, and oxygen access is blocked. Asthma can affect allergic cats that have inhaled allergens.
- For asthma, many cats are prescribed corticosteroids (either by intramuscular injection or by pill). Steroids have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect, so they quickly relieve inflammation in the cat's airways. However, there are also salbutamol inhalers for cats, they are used if the animal is calm about the face mask.
- Bronchitis is also treated with either steroids or bronchodilators, which stimulate the inelastic airways to open better.
5 Note that pulmonary nematodes can also cause breathing problems. Check to see if pulmonary nematosis is causing your cat's breathing problems. Pulmonary nematodes are parasites that can invade a cat's respiratory system and remain undetected there for a long time. Severe lung nematode infection (pulmonary nematosis) can lead to nasal discharge, coughing, weight loss, and pneumonia.
- Pulmonary nematosis is treated with anthelmintic drugs such as ivermectin or fenbendazole.
6 Difficulty breathing can be caused by a tumor. Lung tumors or tumors located in the chest can put pressure on the lungs and reduce their working volume. When the working volume of the lungs is noticeably reduced, the cat may develop shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
- Tumors occupy a specific area of the chest and press on the lungs and major blood vessels. Solitary tumors can be removed with surgery, but the overall prognosis of a cat with a pulmonary tumor is usually poor. Discuss your options with your veterinarian.
7 Pleural effusion can also cause breathing difficulties. Pleural effusion is a buildup of fluid in the pleural space around the lungs. This can happen with kidney disease, infections, or when a swelling present in the chest cavity oozes out.
- The accumulated fluid can put pressure on the cat's lungs and cause collapse. For this reason, the lungs cannot fully expand, which causes shortness of breath.
- If the cat has severe breathing difficulties, the veterinarian can pump fluid from the pleural area using a special thoracic needle. Removing the fluid allows the lungs to fully expand again and provides temporary relief. However, fluid will accumulate over time if the cause is not treated.

Tips

Contact your veterinarian immediately if you have concerns about your pet's respiratory health.

Warnings

Never treat your cat with anti-cold rubbing containing camphor, which is poisonous to cats. Side effects from camphor can range from mild irritation to your pet's skin to vomiting, diarrhea, and seizures.