Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Normal breathing rates in healthy adult cats at vet visits
By Dijkstra, E et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2018·Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Respiratory rate of clinically healthy cats measured in veterinary consultation rooms.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study measured the breathing rates of 131 healthy adult cats in veterinary clinics to find out what is normal during a check-up. The cats' breathing rates were much higher in the clinic, ranging from 28 to 176 breaths per minute, compared to their resting and sleeping rates at home, which were much lower. This means that the typical breathing rates used in textbooks may not apply when cats are at the vet, as many could be wrongly considered to have fast breathing (tachypnea). Owners are encouraged to record their cats at home to provide better information to their vets.
People also search for: cat breathing rate normal · why is my cat breathing fast at the vet · healthy cat respiratory rate
Abstract
Respiratory rate is commonly recorded during physical examinations. However, reference intervals are only available for resting and sleeping respiratory rates in cats at home. This observational study aimed to establish reference intervals for the respiratory rate in clinically healthy adult cats at primary-care veterinary clinics. Respiratory rates were recorded from 131 cats, in 6 primary-care veterinary clinics, by observation under four circumstances: by the investigator in the consultation room prior to and during a physical examination, by the owner at home when the cat was resting or sleeping, and by the investigator when watching a video-film of the cat recorded by the owner at home. The respiratory rate of the 88 clinically healthy adult (≥12 months) cats in the consultation room ranged 28-176breaths/min (median 64) with a calculated reference interval of 32-135breaths/min. Based on video-recordings, the resting (n=32) and sleeping (n=38) respiratory rates of the same cats were determined: median 27 (range 16-60)breaths/min and median 20 (range 9-28)breaths/min, respectively, which were lower than the respiratory rates recorded in the consultation room (both P<0.0001). We conclude that the reference intervals proposed for cats in textbooks reflect the resting respiratory rate at home. These values are inappropriate for using in the veterinary consultation room, because based on such reference intervals, many cats would erroneously be categorized as having tachypnea. Since the resting and sleeping respiratory rates at home show less variation, owners should be encouraged to film their pets before they visit their veterinarian.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29680402/