Cats experience labored breathing due to fluid around lungs

“Hello everyone, I have a cat that is roughly 18 years old and recently she has started breathing very loudly the last 2 weeks. It got the point where I can’t even sleep with her. Lately she hasn’t been drinking or eating at all and it seems to me that her time is obviously nearing. My question is in terms of putting her down, what is the approach or calculus in if it is the right thing to do? The way I always see it is as long as she still enjoys life then leave her be but the reality is my cat”

“Currently waiting at the emergency vet. I noticed her having labored breathing earlier tonight and vet has diagnosed her with pleural and abdominal effusion and "multiple variably sized pulmonary nodules most consistent with metastatic pulmonary neoplasia." My feeling is they likely came from her gut. The vet is not being clear about prognosis and I am too exhausted to interpret what I'm reading on the internet. Is there a point in going forward with diagnosis and treatment? What i”

“Species: Cat Sex: Male, neutered Age: 11-13 Breed: DSH Weight: 14 lbs Clinical Signs: Constipation ER vet noticed pleural effusion on an X-ray that had been done to evaluate constipation in my cat. The effusion is mild and my cat is breathing at a normal rate. What should the next steps be? My cat has been on prednisolone for 7 days and a gallop rhythm was noted during exam. Thank you in advance. submitted by /u/sleepyhead16 [link] [comments]”

“My 17-year-old cat, Mykey, developed a rapidly enlarging abdomen over about 2 weeks. At the vet, X-rays showed severe abdominal effusion, mass effect, and pleural effusion. They did only a quick in-house ultrasound, not a full formal abdominal ultrasound, and documented free abdominal fluid plus a suspected large cavitated invasive liver mass. They also noted marked muscle loss, pale gums, mild dehydration, and mildly increased breathing effort at the clinic. They felt the prognosis was very poo”

“This cat is about 6 months old. Weighs 7.8 pounds. Male, not yet neutered (is scheduled for the first week of October). We had taken the mother in and discovered that she was pregnant -- and she had 3 male kittens that we've decided to keep. All are indoors only. A few days ago, it started acting like it was trying to cough something up, but then nothing came out (or maybe just a little phlegm/water). He'd kinda have about 30 seconds of trying hard to cough something up, but then just go”

“Signalment: Cat, American Shorthair, 8 years old, male, neutered, 11lbs. Clinical signs: Mouth breathing, clicking sounds from mouth when breathing or sniffing (not constant), occasional coughing fits (1-2x per week) which the vet said was "reverse sneezing" Vet reports: Don't have link to them, but he recently had his yearly bloodwork done and nothing was out of the ordinary. They said his lungs, heart, and teeth were all good. Location: Wisconsin Diet: Eats Acana Indoor Entree an”

“Hi. My cat is a 6 year old tabby and she weighs about 4.9kg. Today, I had the vet come out to my house to give my cat her annual vaccination and when she gave her a check-up, she said my cat has a heart murmur and that she didn't think there was anything to worry about since it was likely a new thing she's developed in recent months as she had dental surgery back in June and they did a blood test to make sure she was strong enough and didn't detect anything back then and previous vet”

“My 16 year old cat Thor has been in heart failure for a couple of years, on medication multiple times a day and it was really keeping it at bay and he was happy - skinny - but happy (also has overactive thyroid hence why he turned skinny!) Anyway, lately his breathing has changed a bit, it's heavier a bit more laboured like more of a struggle. There's been 2 occasions where he's briefly opened his mouth a little to breathe which has been really hard to see but then he's gone back”

“* Species: Feline * Age: 5 months 2 days * Sex/Neuter status: Female, spayed today. * Breed: Domestic shorthair * Body weight: 4.8LB * History: Healthy, 6 and 8 week vaccinations. * Clinical signs: popcorn sounds when breathing, no appetite, lethargy. * Duration: 4 hours. * Your general location: Rocky mountains * Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: No test results. Preface : she is going into the vet in the morning. I want to know what the frequency of complicatio”

“Hello people, last Saturday night I found my cat lying near her litter box without even moving as I understand she had difficulties in breathing. We brought her in the vet Sunday morning and they realized based on the x-rays that she has lot of air and they pulled it out. They hold her to stay there in oxygen. On Monday they did ultra sound results were fine and she was feeling better so we took her home but unfortunately on Tuesday morning she was feeling bad couldn't move couldn't eat”

“Starting 6 months to a year ago (I know a long time frame but I can not really remember) my cat started getting weird coughing fits, initially I thought she was reverse sneezing but it has progressively gotten worse over the past month. I am currently living in a dorm (she's had the fits at home and school) and she was having them almost every day for a couple weeks so I put in a request for a filter change on my hvac for my room, after they did that it has gotten better but it has not gone”

“My cat has been breathing this way for a while from time to time. Today it just seemed worse. She recently started showing the whites of her eyes and the vet said it was dehydration and gave her shots for 3 days. Now she's suddenly breathing this way again. Is it just nasal congestion or do I need to worry? I posted about the same thing in r/cats and uploaded a video there too submitted by /u/LawlessAnime [link] [comments]”

“Preferably a pulmonologist or an oncologist. I can't attach the xrays here so please if you can help I'll need to be able to send you a message submitted by /u/unniepower [link] [comments]”

“My cat was diagnosed with hcm and heart failure today. Specifics below. (1) Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - secondary congestive heart failure (pleural effusion and pulmonary edema) - severe left atrial dilation - no outflow obstruction (2) Urinary calculi (3) Historical mast cell disease I was told he may have 12 months. My heart is broken male cat /12 years old submitted by /u/SeasonWaste7768 [link] [comments]”

“hi reddit!! i just got this video on my tiktok fyp about symptoms of asthma in cats, and two of the three possible signs included things my cat regularly does. the first is snoring, but the one in the video was wayy louder than the one my cat actually does. Hers is very, very faint but is still audible from about 1 or 2 feet away. the next is loud purring, which is what she does. but im not aware if this is an asthma thing or just a tortie siamese thing???? shes done it her entire life, and shes”

“My cat is 2 years old and he randomly took a few breaths that sounded like the “huff” “huff” sound. The ER is an hour away and I wanna make sure I can take him there but also get some answers and advice as to what it might be right now !! Any vets that can help?? I can send a video directly cuz it won’t let me upload it here please and thank you 😭😭😭 https://imgur.com/a/ox0F7At Can u guys open the link? The breath he took in here, he took 5-6 times before I hit record submitted by”

“Hi Veterinarians, I hope this finds you well. I wish there was a way to attach a video of this behavior, because the description of it sounds terrifying and watching it I think would help immensely. 11yo, FS dsh, with a history of IBD, some coughing, not consistent, and voice change a few months back. Currently on gabapentin 50MG TID, 1/4 amlodipine,l for high BP, and pred 2.5 SID for her IBD. I have worked as an assistant for years, and she has seen two of our clinic vets so far for this. Typic”

“We took our 18+ yo male (neutered) cat for a quality of life assessment on Friday and were pretty much set on saying our goodbyes. He has been coughing quite a bit, makes noise while breathing, and sometimes seems to really struggle to get air. Some diagnostics were done and the vet felt that it's an upper respiratory infection. He didn't seem to feel it is time yet, since he is not hiding from us, hasn't lost weight, is completely responsive, has no fluid around lungs, aaMy husband”

“My cat started having breathing issues a couple of months ago. It started as slight wheezing/snoring noises on inhalation and gradually got worse despite taking her to the vet multiple times. At one point her breathing was very labored, and since the vets didn't have any definite information or guesses about what could be causing this, she had a CT-scan. The CT scan didn't give us any more definite information, except that there was some shadows on the images in the throat and stomach ar”

“Garfield’s details: 13 year old, F, neutered, NOT a flat face, I am 27y and have had her for her entire life. I honestly don’t know what else to do at this point and I’m hoping someone here has been through something similar because I’m getting really frustrated with no true answers from multiple vets. Btw - I am NOT refusing to see a vet. I just want real experiences to see if there’s something I can do. My cat is a 13-year-old female Persian and she has been dealing with chronic sneezing and n”

“Hi everyone, I’ve never posted here so I’m sorry if I don’t include something I should and if this is long. My cat is 17 and a month ago got diagnosed with suspected lymphoma. Her stomach lining (I think it was the lining?) was very thickened, she had abnormal blood results, and she also has a partial gallbladder blockage and jaundice. Due to her age, we decided on palliative care and started on prednisolone and an anti nausea med. The first vet I saw that first mentioned prednisolone, mentioned”

“Female Spayed. Age 13 years. Current diagnosis: Bladder stones Suspected Diagnosis: Respiratory issue. I went to the vet today as my cats (suspected) asthma was getting worse. She’s had wheezing for 7 years, usually caused by dust or allergies I believe. I suspected it was mild asthma, however, recently the wheezing has gotten more frequent and more severe. I went to the vet today (not my usual vet). Turns out it’s a possible upper respiratory issue. However, my vet did not speak English well an”

“We have gone to two ER's and our regular vet clinic and they have all said she is fine. This morning she had a sudden drop in calcium which led to her losing her breath and she was fine after taking IV's and oxygen machine. She then started breathing from her mouth again after a few hours. We went to two vet clinics, did all the checkups that exist and everything is fine. Blood test fine, temperature fine, BPM fine, etc. We wanted to get her in the oxygen machine again but she got anxiou”

“Hi! My 8 y/o boy has intermittently coughed as though he was trying to vomit (3 times over this last week). I’m scheduling a vet appointment but I feel like he’s not breathing correctly. It’s definitely not abdominal breathing, but it seems like his chest is rising and falling more noticeably and the breaths seem a bit shallow. His breathing rate it’s about 42 breaths/minute. No other symptoms though — maybe I’m just being paranoid but please let me know if I should take him to the emergency, I”

“My 11 year old tabby was diagnosed with a very aggressive mediastinal tumor, potentially (probably?) lymphoma. It was found on x-ray, and was not there at all the last time he was imaged in February. He has lost a pound over about six weeks (along with a good but of muscle mass) and his vomiting is frequent and violent... Now we know why. My question is, what can we realistically expect in terms of how much time we have left, given how quickly this mass grew? We are giving him Prednisolone with”

“While he was lying down and relaxing (not in a deep sleep), he started making a weird congestion sound when breathing for a little bit, like his nose was stuffed up. Then his breathing went back to normal with no sound. He is 7 weeks old and I’ve been told that kittens have a higher respiratory rate but I think that this has something to do also with the fast breathing. submitted by /u/turutubu [link] [comments]”

“Yesterday morning, my 2-year-old cat Yumi suddenly started having increased respiratory rate and effort, specifically heavy abdominal breathing. It was going on for about an hour and a half at home, and I completely panicked, so I rushed him straight to the ER. (During this period and after the ER, his behaviors were completely normal. One thing that I found unusual was that he started hiding under my blanket a lot.) When we got there, his respiratory rate was around 60 breaths per minute, but a”

“My roommates cat was diagnosed with a mild heart murmur as a young adult/kitten. Recently ive noticed he is breathing at about 20 breaths per 15 seconds or 80 per minute on a few occasions while laying down. Ive noticed many times that his breathing is much shallower and faster than my cats. He has also been acting more aggressive in a way I have never seen. I will snap my fingers and tell him to sit when he is acting up, and he will stare at me, then suddenly start panting aggressively before l”

“I know this is a long post, but I'll try to keep it as brief as possible. About two weeks ago my 10 year old cat slowly lost her appetite over the course of a few days. I took her to the vet. They found that she had a fever of about 104 F, but the blood work came back normal. They said it was a fever of unknown origin. She said that the abdomen was maybe a little squishy. They gave her an anti-inflammatory shot and some IV fluids. She seemed to be improving over the course of the week. Her a”

“My cat is moving around like normal but I did notice her breathing is faster paced from looking at her sides. She’s still breathing through her nose, no panting. She’s been meowing a lot more frequently. I know what subtle signs to look out for but other than her faster breathing and meowing, everything else is normal. Anyone know what this means? She’s a calico about 9 years old. submitted by /u/Heavy_Sea_8452 [link] [comments]”

“He was fine this morning but became lethargic so we took him to the vet. The vet said he seems to have some neurological damage, wich also might have coused him to swallow milk into his lungs. He told us the best we can do is give him some antibiotics in case the brain damage was from an ongoing viral infection. And for the fluid in his lungs we had to wait. We have to feed him manually as well. Any other advice out vet might have missed? I want to do everything i can to save this kitten.”

“Our 17-year-old cat has had worsening upper-respiratory/allergy symptoms this summer. She was treated for a suspected sinus infection about a month ago, with only temporary improvement. This week, our vet did X-rays and found a small amount of fluid in her lungs. She was prescribed a low dose of furosemide and marbofloxacin because they weren't sure whether this is related to pneumonia, heart disease, or something else. She has also been eating less than usual, so we've been supplementin”

“Hello, Species: Feline Sex: Male, neutered Weight: 14 lbs Breed: DSH Age: 11-13 Medication: Transdermal prednisolone 10mg dose for 7 days The ER vet I saw said they saw pleural effusion while reviewing my cat’s abdominal X-rays ( he had been constipated). Could you tell me where the pleural effusion is seen, and if it seems like a small, moderate, or large amount? Of note, my cat had a gallop heart rhythm at this visit but the vet couldn’t tell if it was because he was nervous or if it was norma”

“Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice and experiences because I’m struggling with a possible euthanasia decision and want to be sure I’ve explored all reasonable options first. My cat, Bear, is a 9-year-old neutered male with a history of smoke exposure. He developed significant respiratory distress and has now been seen by two different veterinarians. Vet #1: Could not definitively determine what was causing his breathing issues. Vet #2: Initially suspected asthma/inflammatory airway disease and”

“I have two senior cats, M (16) and B (13), we live in the USA. The past 6-8 weeks have been filled with vet visits and I'm losing my mind. Looking for some second opinions/ideas what else to ask my vet about. So about 2-3 months ago I noticed that M's pupils were slightly different sizes. Very minor difference, both still reacting to light and everything. I can't remember the timeline exactly but then she developed an issue with one back leg... wobbly gait, paw knuckling. It didn&#39”

“Our 5 yo F kitty (rescue) started having something akin to coughing attacks. We thought it was hairball stuff, but then she never spits one. We keep giving her anti hairball paste but it didn’t help so we went to vet. $1000 later we learned from xray that there is was some liquid around the heart so she got loop diuretics. But she keeps having those cough episodes. We are waiting for results of full blood test, but in the meantime vet said we must rule out heart disease before we do steroids for”

“Adopted Mimi almost exactly one week ago. On the first day I noticed that her belly?chest? moves rapidly up and down even when she's at rest. I chalked it up to stress from a new environment. On the second day it's still the same. After consulting a friend and AI, decided to bring her to vet A&E, where the vet recommended an ultrasound. It was expensive but I felt it'd be better to have a look. Vet said ultrasound "looks okay" and she's probably just stressed. Today”

“I am taking my cat to a vet tomorrow (earliest appointment I could find) but he has been coughing like this (video attached) 2 or 3 times a day for past couple days. His meows also sound hoarse after coughing for a bit but then he normalizes. He has been eating fine and really no other type of distress. Initially we thought it was a hairball he is trying to expel but something seemed off and did some Googling and now I think he has asthma? Should I take him to an emergency vet tonight? https://s”

“Today I took my 11 year old female cat to the vet for routine bloodwork and a refill of her asthma inhaler. They wanted to do bloodwork before giving her the steroid. She is a very chill cat and her physical exam was unremarkable, they said she looked healthy and lungs and heart sounded great. They even said she was so chill during the exam. They take her back to do bloodwork, and I noticed it was taking quite a while. Finally after about 45 minutes a nurse comes back and tells me that my cat “h”

“In the past few weeks my cat (around a 1/1,5 old, spayed, female) started breathing heavily and panting with her mouth open regularly after playing/running. I asked my vet about it, and she said she seems healthy. But the more I read, the more stressed I am that her abnormal breathing. Should I go to a different vet to get a second opinion? FULL ADDITIONAL INFO. Species: cat. • Age: one to one and a half years old. • Sex/Neuter status: female and spayed. • Body weight: 3,7 kg. • History: Unknown”

“I received a cat about 1 year ago from someone who couldn’t look after him since they were moving he is approximately 2.5 years old now. his breathing always sounds nasally/rough. he does not let anyone touch his back he gets aggressive if you do and he will randomly start meowing a lot like he’s hurt. I’ve taken him to the vet for a checkup and they couldn’t find anything wrong with him. I would love any advice on what to do submitted by /u/Fabulous_Alfalfa687 [link] [comments”

“Apparently it’s illegal to upload photos or videos here? And subs that allow videos don’t allow medical advice… 14 year old spayed female domestic shorthair. This weird breathing happens occasionally and has for maybe 4 years or so. I have had the cat for 13 years so this is not a lifelong condition. I witness it 1-2 times per week. It is not when she is worked up, she’s usually laying down, grooming, etc. Multiple veterinarians have seen video of it or seen it in person and nobody has offered a”

“Hi, I recently got a new cat (3yo, used to be stray but also was adopted for a bit but was given up due to him getting beat up by the other cat all the time) a month ago I've noticed him do this twice now. His vet records don't mention anything abt asthma, just him having a little bit of gingivitis and heart murmur. This seems like asthma but I've played with him quite a few times and he goes INSANE, but never wheezes like this afterwards(unless I've got asthma all wrong and vigo”

“I’ve made a huge mistake and I didn’t know much about it until recently. My 3 year old tortishell cat is currently hospitalized due to Aspiration Pneumonia due to force feeding. She had a pseudo pregnancy last Saturday and she needed to take antibiotics and anti-inflammatory (meloxicam) and she has no appetite that’s why I opted to force feed her via syringe for 4 days. I did my best to feed her slowly on the side of her mouth and not directly at the center but obviously I still didn’t do well s”

“https://imgur.com/a/vg3CsHc - video of breathing problem. definitely is not a hairball. Any info is appreciated because I don't have anyone who can tell me anything in English. Species: Not sure. Yellow eyes. Age: 5-8 months Sex/Neuter status: Male / not neutered. Breed: Not sure Body weight: 2 kilograms History: Had to have his leg amputated. Bone was exposed, was clearly underfed when we found him because he couldn't chase geckos or rats. Amputation was roughly August 10th. We took him”

“Hi, my cat sometimes shows some weird symptoms of idk what. She's a female, 5 months old, mixed-breed, not spayed or vaccinated yet (deworming took us some time, we were informed to wait until she's fully healthy). About 2 kilos of weight. She was the only one in the litter, she lived with her stray mom on my parents' terrace until she was 1,5 months - that's when we took her home. She lives indoors and is not let out to roam. When she relaxes before sleeping or focuses deeply on”

“Hi! Some quick facts before I start my cat is 15 years old and has hyperthyroidism. He’s on a low dose daily steroid and gel methimazole. He’s been labored breathing for like a couple months, but blood tests and chest X-Rays have indicated nothing that the vet can put a name to. The main abnormal finding is that his WBC count seems to always be a bit high but improves somewhat on the steroid. Antibiotic was tried but did nothing. He’s maintaining his weight. Vet says there’s no heart related iss”

“Post sounds stupid, I know. My cat with asthma recently developed random wheezing/crackling noises after a large asthmatic flare-up. I was prescribed pills (Aminophylline) that opened her lungs at home. From my understanding, this medication has a small therapeutic range, but it's the only rescue medicine she accepts. After a week where I thought she was calming down,she "relapsed" on the 7th day (yesterday) from when she received the medication. I took her,stressed,into urgent car”

“Can you help me figure out what’s going on with my cat? My cat Lewey is 6 years old male that is neutered and weighs 12.8lbs. He has a history of mild hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. As well as a one time event of a urinary obstruction as a kitten that requires him to be on a urinary care diet. He’s been having these episodes that have been occurring once every 4 to 6 months the past couple of years, where he starts having this barky cough and gets low like he’s trying to cough up a hai”

“Is this a possibility I have videos of him with symptoms if coughing and wheezing submitted by /u/SeriesAgile3947 [link] [comments]”

“Hi all. 2 weeks ago I noticed my 4 year old cat Bobby was breathing quickly, including his head bobbing with breaths, and we went into the emergency vet. They found fluid around and in his lungs, and after x-rays diagnosed him with CHF. They started him on furosemide 12.5mg and 1/4 75mg clopidogrel, and for the last two weeks he seemed great, until yesterday. He still seemed very happy and even playful at times, but his resting breathing rate went up to 38. Yesterday, I checked and it was 46, an”

“I’m not sure why but I cannot post the video and I tried to open Imgur but it’s not available in my region. I was told my cat is coughing because of allergies so to keep him away from strong perfumes, smoking, and such stuff. I do that to the best of my abilities and yet he will still randomly have bouts of coughing that can last for 3 full minutes, I try to hold him and calm him down, but the moment I put him down he’s coughing again. I was also told a little nebulizer could help but I don’t kn”

“Species: cat Age: 2 Sex/Neuter status: male, neutered Breed: domestic long-hair Body weight: 4.4 lb History: rescue cat, feral for 1 yr Clinical signs: difficulty breathing / quickened breathing(?), loss of appetite, weight loss Duration: 3-4 months ? breathing issues longer Your general location: W. USA Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: radiograph report https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NS_x8bnIaa3zKeHVD6AMfByjtATZ9yrW/view?usp=sharing I don't have the recor”

“HPI: My 4 yr old ragdoll cat started having a raspy meow ~7 days ago but she does do it on occasion. 2 days later she had one episode of nonbloody, nonbilious emesis. 2 days after that, she started to have intermittent forward neck thrusting and dry gagging with no adventitious breath sounds or acute distress. She is technically my girlfriend's cat and she has a preventive dental cleaning that required sedation ~2.5 weeks ago. I disagreed with this because I believe the risks of anesthesia o”

“My brothers cat went from perfectly healthy to incredibly sick so fast. The vet did an X-ray/blood work/ultrasound. Her blood work wasn’t terrible but she had fluid in her belly. He drew some out and it had a yellow color. We decided to take the chance and get the medication for FIP but she didn’t make it through the night. We are all so heartbroken. I’m not convinced it was FIP and the vet wasn’t completely convinced either. Anyone have any ideas? And this may be nothing but when she meowed it”

“Hi everyone, First time cat owner of 2 months. She is tuxedo shorthair and 1 year and 8 months. She is spayed and in good health. Our cat has been doing this hacking noise for the past month. It started every once in a while. But the past week it has increased. Yesterday it lasted for 10 minutes. We took her to the vet and they did a chest x ray. They didn’t find anything conclusive and gave us various options. We are pretty sure she has asthma based on everything we experienced. She eats regula”

“When my cat came in last night, she was doing this weird slow-inhale/fast-exhale thing. Almost like she was coughing, except she wasn't opening her mouth or making a sound. I've never seen her do this before. At first I thought she was just winded from running around, but she kept doing it all night. Any idea what this is about? I made a video but there doesn't seem to be any way to upload it. PS - I know I'm supposed to provide a bunch of info, but sadly, I don't know a lot”

“Hi all! I am hoping maybe someone has some insight before I go back to the vet. My 4 year old cat has been coughing after he drinks or eats, and at seemingly random times... he gets low to the ground, coughs, and looks like he is trying to swallow. It sounds wheezy and sometimes wet. These attacks last about 30 seconds, sometimes longer. He is totally fine after, and doesn't actually throw up. Occasionally a tiny bit of liquid comes up. He has normal energy, eats, drinks, goes to the bathroo”

“Sadly my cat Smokey passed on August 13th 2026 due to a rare lung cancer. None of this is meant to be medical advice. I am just sharing the data since it had everyone I worked with uncertain of what was wrong short of doing invasive testing. From what I understand it was basically a freak accident of genetics and nothing could have been done. I am posting this to share the data and hindsight I have in the hope someone will see it and it will be to their benefit. I did get permission to post this”