TL;DR: Respiratory distress or choking in cats is a life-threatening emergency requiring immediate veterinary care at a 24-hour hospital. Transport your cat immediately, keep the environment cool, and if safe, record a short video of their breathing to help the triage team.
What are the symptoms of respiratory distress and choking in my cat?
When a cat is gasping for air or making choking sounds, it is experiencing a serious medical crisis known as respiratory distress or dyspnea. This occurs when the body cannot effectively move oxygen into the lungs. You may see your cat stretching their neck out, breathing with an open mouth, or showing exaggerated movements in their chest and abdomen. Unlike dogs, cats rarely breathe through their mouths unless they are in severe physical trouble.
Is gasping for air a high-level emergency for my cat?
- This is a critical emergency where oxygen levels can drop to dangerous levels, potentially leading to organ failure or respiratory arrest within minutes.
- Do not wait for an appointment or monitor the situation at home; transport your cat to the nearest 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital immediately.
- Keep the car cool and try to keep your cat as calm as possible during transport to prevent further distress.
Why should I take a video of my cat’s breathing to help with triage?
- If it is safe to do so, capture a 5 to 10-second video of your cat’s breathing to provide life-saving information to the medical team.
- Cats often hide their symptoms or change their breathing patterns due to the adrenaline of a car ride or the stress of the clinic environment.
- A video allows the triage team to see the exact nature of the episode—whether it looks like asthma, a heart-related issue, or a physical obstruction—ensuring they can begin the correct life-saving treatments immediately.
Clinical Context (Merck Veterinary Manual)
Life-threatening airway pathology in cats includes complete large airway obstruction and partial obstruction of the large and small airways, potentially resulting from foreign bodies, edema, laryngeal paralysis or paresis, tracheal collapse, elongated soft palate, aspiration of stomach contents, neoplasia, or pharyngeal hematomas. Animals with complete large airway obstruction are unconscious and apneic, whereas partial obstruction causes noisy breathing (stridor or stertor) heard without a stethoscope, often accompanied by cyanosis and anxiety. Severe small airway obstruction, such as from anaphylactic reactions, asthma, or bronchial obstruction due to edema, mucus, exudates, or foreign material, manifests as labored breathing with an expiratory push of the diaphragm, cyanosis, anxiety, and high-pitched wheezes throughout the lung field. Unconscious, apneic animals require immediate tracheal intubation, and any obstruction must be immediately relieved. For cyanosis from small airway obstructive disease, treatment includes oxygen supplementation via flow-by, hood, or nasal cannula, and sedation with a narcotic-tranquilizer combination; epinephrine may be indicated for its bronchodilatory effects in anaphylaxis or life-threatening asthma, and corticosteroids are administered for allergic bronchitis, asthma, or severe swelling of the larynx or pharyngeal tissues.
Chapter: Emergency, Anesthesiology, Respiratory
Source: The Merck Veterinary Manual, 11th Edition (Page 1662)