Leo panting heavily - playing and heat

We were playing indoors with the boys yesterday - ambient 25C, much cooler than then 31C outside for the BBQ - but still Leo did seem to get too hot and was panting heavily, at one stage with his tongue out. We of course stopped any exercise to let him get his breath back and he seemed fine.

Bertie and Dicky were fine and not really showing signs of exertion. Leo is the biggest, but they have all been brushed and excess hair bushed out plenty. He didn't feel hot, his ears were fine and not "burning" at all.

Should I be worried or just take it easy while it's warm ? He does appear to breath the quickest of the three, even normally.

Do the others get out of breath too or is it always just Leo? If the others do get out of breath too is it soon after Leo?

I know Teddy gets out of breath when we have him running around after a feather for too long but that's the only time I've seen him do it.

It probably is just because he's larger? Especially if he only does it when doing exercise.

Poor guy...I know how he feels. I live up six flights of stairs...

You could try wrapping him in a cold wet towel to cool him down if he he does it again. Its probably just the heat but may be worth mentioning to your vet, especially if it happens frequently.

Merl breathes heavier than the others & up until a short while ago was way above the heaviest,he has been known to pant,working at a vets I very often just whip them all up there for a quick heart check & as yet have always been fine but I have never instigated playtime in warm weather right from young kittens,I just let them do their own thing,sometimes one of them will have a little play on their own but that is about it,I even notice the bruvs don't chase about so much until the weather turns cooler late evening & sometimes then one of them will have a little spurt then stop as much as to say nope,too warm even now.....

Hi Peter, I've known this happen to my cats occasionally when it's really scorchio like it is now.
My tip is to keep him calm and offer a cold towel like catslave suggests, or an icepack wrapped in a towel.
Maybe in the late evening when it's cooler he'll perk up again.

My old lad Barney isn't daft - he's living in the cellar at the moment. Made himself a nice bed down there on some folded dust sheets! It's really lovely and cool down there.

That's the strange thing - he wasn't hot. I checked his ears (easy) and also his skin under his coat - both quite normal. He recovered quite quickly. I will be keeping a very close eye on him.

I have one more week at work, then two weeks off before starting a new job - so primary plans are cat proofing the garden *and* spending much time with the boys.

We appreciate the conversation about panting. We have never had a cat that did this before. When he started doing it today we got him some water and he settled down. He was playing hard when it happened. Of course after he calmed down we took some pictures of him panting, it was just too damn cute.

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Originally Posted by Raylor

Of course after he calmed down we took some pictures of him panting, it was just too damn cute.

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Pictures??? Where?? :LOL:

The pictures of Raylor can be seen by clicking on the "number" next to the images line on this post. He was so funny how he started panting like that.

I can't see any numbers or image line :( try attaching them as thumbnails

Storm only really does it after an hour-long play with a feather toy. Benji was getting all worked up yesterday though, we ordered some cheap toy from zooplus, a little bird attached to flexible string that you hook on to the door frame, and obviously when they run off with it, it pings back...well you can probably picture what he was up to :D He went mental with it for an hour and a half, had to take it away from him in the end as he was panting like crazy! Once he calmed down he just passed out in to a deep sleep so seemed fine. Think it was just the scorching heat yesterday!

The amount of fur coming off my boys with just a gentle daily brushing, in the heat, is amazing. The two light coloured lads are turning hard ginger with all their underfluff going ;)

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Originally Posted by Peter Galbavy

The amount of fur coming off my boys with just a gentle daily brushing, in the heat, is amazing. The two light coloured lads are turning hard ginger with all their underfluff going ;)

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But what colour are you turning with brushing it all out. That is the bit I hate, I keep saying I am going to get some of those paper all in one overall's to wear whilst I strip them. Its surprising where that hair gets. YUCK.

I find Rasputin starts panting quite easily although he recovers really quickly. It only really happens when we're playing really hard and I'm making him run around loads...

Yup! Leo is still the same, but he still has the thickest coat, even after all the brushing. The other two are summer-scrawny, but Leo could be dropped into Siberia and not shiver. I am waiting to be shocked when the winter comes... I might find a cat under all that fur.

Hi, I know it's been a few months but just wanted to chime in anyway. My Bas kitty pants when it gets too hot outside. I have to make him go inside. I am a hovering mama so I've learned to time him and get him in before he starts panting. He's panted like that since he was a baby. Maybe it's just a MC makeup that they naturally get hotter than other cats.

I'm so pleased to read this thread. Kenny does exactly the same thing. He's not overheated but does pant when he's over-exerted himself. The vet listened to his heart when we took him for his vaccinations and said he was fine so I'm thinking it's because of their size - he weighs 8.33kg (18.3 lbs) and he is 15 months old. It sounds like it's just another maine coon trait.

Also, talking about them getting overheated. Here's a question - do your Maine Coon's feet always feel really warm? Compared to my other cats Kenny always has warm paws and a warm body.

Simple answer, yes. They are so cute when they let me give them a foot massage too :)

yup know i can always warm my hands up on them