Dogs and cats can have a number of reasons why they may develop a cough or loud, noisy breathing (especially if they normally have quiet breathing) or appear to develop an increased rate and effort when breathing. When animals have trouble breathing their gums and tongue may appear a purple to blue type of colour (instead of a nice 'bubble gum pink' color).
Most of the breathing problems and difficulties your pet may experience are serious - especially if a breathing problem has occurred without exercise, stress or a painful event - and will require immediate veterinary attention. These include
Most of the breathing problems and difficulties your pet may experience are serious - especially if a breathing problem has occurred without exercise, stress or a painful event - and will require immediate veterinary attention. These include
- Heart disease - you may have noticed a gradual decrease in exercise ability or maybe even a dry cough before an increased breathing pattern is noticed with heart disease. However animals can go from normal to collapsed, panting, struggling to breath and bringing up blood tinged saliva with heart disease very quickly
- Noisy breathing or gagging - this can be caused by an obstruction in the airways. It can sometimes be accompanied by animals extending their neck and pushing their elbows out to try and expand the chest as much as possible to try and get air in.
- Lung problems - this can include a mass or cancer of the lungs, fluid within the lungs themselves, a lung infection or fluid or air in the chest (but outside of the lungs).
If you are in Greater Melbourne or surrounds please call 9092 0400 for immediate assistance.