My cat has URI, but is panting and drooling. Is it an emergency?

When a cat has its tongue sticking out it is generally a sign that they are not breathing well at all. And upper respiratory tract infection, if untreated correctly, can lead to pneumonia or severe bronchitis. I urge you to contact your regular veterinarian and make an appointment for them to do a full physical examination on your cat as soon as possible. Your vet will be able to put you on the correct regimen of drugs such as antibiotics, steroids, bronchodilators, nebulizers, etc. that will help eliminate your disease and help the cat breathe better. I appreciate you reaching out to our service and taking a proactive approach to your cats healthcare.

I would be very concerned for cardiac disease or infectious disease (pneumonia) based on those radiographs. With a temperature of 35 C (95 F) that is absolutely an emergency situation. You can see panting with cardiac disease when pulmonary edema begins to develop, which is when fluid is present within the lung tissue and does not allow for adequate gas exchange to occur. I recognize that this was posted 3 days ago, but if Sasi has not been re-evaluated by her veterinarian she needs to be ASAP to determine a treatment plan and if further diagnostics are indicated (echocardiogram, airway wash, etc.).

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Pou. Drooling is typically the result of nausea, oral pain or ingesting something with a bad taste. He will need to see his veterinarian if his symptoms persist. If he did acquire the respiratory infection from his housemate, then post-nasal drop could be making him nauseous. I hope this information helps!

Poor Precious! It sounds like she's quite sick. Open-mouth breathing or "panting" in cats is not normal, and usually indicates a serious breathing problem or some type of severe stress. Acting lethargic and not eating are very vague symptoms that could be caused by almost any kind of illness, so it's hard to say what might be going on without being able to examine her and run some tests. It does sound like this may be a life-threatening problem, so I would recommend taking her to the vet today to be seen. If your regular veterinarian doesn't have Saturday hours, I would take her to your nearest emergency clinic. The vet there can do blood work, x-rays, or other testing if needed to help diagnose the problem and see what kind of treatment is needed.

I am sorry to hear about Blue. One thing we worry about in male cats exhibiting this behavior is a urinary blockage. It can make them lethargic, vomit, not eat, painful (drooling can be a sign of pain). If you aren't sure he is urinating normally or if you press on his lower belly and he is painful then we would be very concerned this could be his issue and this is a medical emergency and he should be seen right away.

Hello, I’m sorry to hear about Toby. As a general rule cats should not pant after exercise. It could be a sign that Toby has underlying respiratory disease, such as underlying asthma or an infection. I would recommend having him seen by your veterinarian so that they can perform an examination and work up, they will likely recommend performing chest X-rays. Hope this helps!

No, panting in cats is never normal. I see that Tammy is quite young, but issues like asthma, heart failure, or toxin exposure could all cause signs of respiratory distress. On occasion, significant stress can trigger panting in some cats, but oftentimes there's also an underlying disease process. I strongly recommend taking Tammy to your vet or an emergency vet right away for evaluation. They'll need to perform a physical exam and will most likely recommend chest x-rays to try to get to the bottom of this situation. I hope that everything goes well for Tammy!