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Section: Overview
Respiratory distress, often called dyspnea, is labored, difficult breathing or shortness of breath that can occur at any time during the breathing process, during inspiration (breathing in) or expiration (breathing out). When your cat has trouble breathing, he may not be able to get enough oxygen to his tissues. Additionally, if he has heart failure, he may not be able to pump sufficient blood to his muscles and other tissues. Dyspnea is often associated with accumulation of fluid (edema) in the lungs or the chest cavity (pleural effusion). This fluid can lead to shortness of breath and coughing.Causes
The diaphragm is the muscle that separates the abdominal organs from the heart and lungs, and a defect in the diaphragm allows abdominal organs such as the liver, stomach and intestines to enter the chest...
Pneumothorax is the abnormal presence of air within the chest cavity, which restricts the lungs from inflating normally during inhalation. Air is normally confined to spaces within the lungs.
Asthma is a lung condition associated with airway obstruction caused by sudden narrowing of the bronchial tubes. Affected cats cannot expel air from their lungs and symptoms come on very suddenly, which...
Pleural effusion is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pleural space, which is the cavity between the lungs and the thoracic wall. Normally, some fluid is present in the pleural space to lubricate...
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