Respiratory Symptoms in Dogs and Cats: The Complete Guide

Coughing, breathing changes, and nasal symptoms are some of the hardest for owners to self-triage, since the same sound can mean anything from a passing irritation to a true emergency. This page organizes the full set of respiratory symptom guides so you can find the specific situation you're facing.

General framework first: here's how to sort an ordinary breathing symptom from a true emergency across coughing, breathing rate, and gum color together.

Coughing Why is my dog coughing · Why is my cat coughing · Kennel cough · Puppy kennel cough · Heart-related coughing · Reverse sneezing · Puppy coughing · Senior dog coughing · Cat coughing vs. hairball gagging · Coughing at night · Coughing after drinking water · Cough that won't go away · Coughing up foam or liquid · Gagging after coughing

Breathing rate & effort Labored breathing (dogs) · Labored breathing (cats) · Rapid breathing at rest (dogs) · Rapid breathing at rest (cats) · Breathing fast while sleeping · Cat open-mouth breathing · Blue or pale gums · Puppy breathing fast · Senior cat breathing changes · Exercise intolerance · Panting excessively without exercise or heat · Breathing through mouth instead of nose · Cat purring vs. labored breathing

Wheezing, snoring & structural Wheezing causes · Cat wheezing and asthma · Brachycephalic breathing problems · Collapsing trachea · Snoring more than usual · Noisy breathing in senior dogs · Senior dog wheezing · Heart disease and breathing problems

Nasal symptoms Nasal discharge color (dogs) · Nasal discharge color (cats) · Nasal congestion in dogs · Kitten sneezing and congestion · Cat congested and not eating · Allergies and respiratory symptoms · Cat respiratory infection vs. allergies

Choking, emergencies & serious conditions Choking vs. gagging vs. coughing · Reverse sneezing vs. choking · Dog choking: immediate steps · Pneumonia signs · Smoke inhalation · Breathing changes during heatstroke

If digestive symptoms are the bigger concern instead, here's the complete GI symptoms guide, and if a toxin might be involved, here's the full toxic substances guide. For a real account of sorting an ambiguous symptom into "emergency" or "not" in the moment, here's how that decision actually played out for one owner.