Start with what normal feline breathing looks like
A healthy resting cat breathes quietly through the nose, with the chest rising gently and no sound you can hear across a room. Knowing that baseline matters, because respiratory signs are easiest to judge as a departure from your own cat's normal: the cat who has always breathed silently now makes a faint whistle at rest, or the cat who sleeps curled now sleeps stretched out with his neck extended.
The milder signs that still deserve attention
At the gentler end sit the signs owners often file under a cold: repeated sneezing over more than a day or two, a runny nose where the discharge is coloured or one-sided, watery or sticky eyes, and a cat who goes off his food because he cannot smell it properly. A changed or lost voice, occasional coughing, snoring that is new, and sleeping more than usual belong on the same watch list. Any one of these in an otherwise bright cat who is eating and breathing comfortably usually means a prompt routine appointment and careful watching, rather than an emergency dash — but the pattern matters, and signs that are worsening, spreading to other cats in the house, or lasting beyond a few days should be described to your vet sooner rather than later.
Signs the breathing itself is in trouble
Difficulty breathing is a different category altogether. Treat as urgent any of the following in a resting cat: open-mouth breathing or panting like a dog, wheezing, squeaking or rattling sounds with each breath, nostrils flaring, the neck stretched forwards, elbows held away from the body, or the abdomen heaving visibly to push air in and out. Pale, grey or bluish gums are a grave sign. A cat breathing like this should be kept as calm and still as possible — handling and fuss add oxygen demand — placed gently in a carrier without anything tight around the neck or chest, and taken to a vet immediately, phoning ahead so the team can be ready. Do not wait to see whether it settles, do not offer food or water, and do not attempt any home remedy; effortful breathing can deteriorate quickly, and the journey time is better spent early than late.
Information that genuinely helps the vet
Because breathing problems have many possible sources — infections, asthma-type airway disease, fluid, growths, heart problems and more — the history you bring shapes the investigation. Note when signs began, whether they followed a stay in a cattery, a new cat arriving, building dust, bonfire smoke or a change in litter, and whether other cats at home are sneezing too. A short phone video of your cat breathing at home, taken without disturbing him, is unusually valuable: cats frequently breathe deceptively well in the consulting room because adrenaline masks effort, and a thirty-second clip of the real thing can change the vet's whole assessment.
Kittens, seniors and the cats who fade fastest
Some cats have less reserve. Kittens can go downhill quickly when they stop feeding, flat-faced breeds may already work harder for air on a normal day and deserve a lower threshold for concern, and senior cats or those with known heart or airway conditions can tip from coping to struggling with little warning. For these cats, treat borderline signs as significant: a kitten who will not eat and sounds congested, or an older cat whose resting breathing has become audible, warrants a same-day conversation with the practice rather than a watch-and-wait weekend.
Keep the episode on record afterwards
After any respiratory episode, write down the dates, the signs in order, what the vet found and what was advised, while it is fresh. Adding that account to the vaccination record, past test results and weight history already held in KinsLe's Pet Passport means the next vet who treats your cat reads the whole breathing story in one place, not a summary reconstructed under pressure.