You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Difficulty in breathing is a potentially life-threatening problem and veterinary attention should be sought as soon as possible. Recognising respiratory distress is not always easy for the untrained owner - so here are some guidelines.

Owner observation is important for the early detection of breathing problems in an animal. Tell-tale signs are :

• Increased breathing rate...the chest wall moves in and out quicker than usual
• Mouth breathing - dogs mouth breath during panting to lose body heat, but cats only mouth breath when they have respiratory disease
• Difficulty breathing (called "dyspnoea"). The animal may have trouble breathing air in, breathing air out, or it may have difficulty doing both.
• Difficulty in  breathing may result in an increased rate of breathing, or slow laboured breathing.
• Difficulty breathing may be accompanied by wheezing or coughing
• Wheezing can be a very serious sign associated with asthma (especially in cats) or other causes of bronchospasm 
• Animals having difficulty breathing often adopt a peculiar body position ...dogs extend their neck forwards.
• Animals with respiratory distress may be very dull, depressed and reluctant to move, or they can be very excitable and have frenzied panic attacks when they attempt to move (this is often the case in cats).
• Obstruction of the upper airway by foreign objects or due to other causes often leads to increased airway noise, anxiety and panic during breathing-in.
• If the gums can be seen they may be very pale (even white), very red and congested or they may appear to be very dark - even blue (called "cyanosis").

If your pet shows any of these signs of respiratory difficulty keep it quiet, in a darkened well ventilated  room until you can get to a veterinarian. Avoid loud noises and unnecessary handling as this may cause stress. Some animals do not like travelling and get stressed, but one of the main emergency treatments that your veterinarian will wish to give is oxygen. In addition, in some cases rapid surgical intervention may be needed, so you should get your pet to your veterinary practice as soon as possible.

Updated October 2013