Cat health symptoms

Rapid and/or shallow breathing (tachypnea) in cats is rare and sometimes difficult to spot. Cats are masters at hiding signs of illness and often show no distress even when exhibiting potentially serious symptoms like tachypnea.

A rash is a very common symptom of many skin conditions in cats. Rashes include many different skin abnormalities including red spots, hair loss, scabs, raw patches, and thick crusting with wrinkled skin (lichenification).

Red eyes occur in cats when there is a change of color in the white part of the eyeball. Typically, redness indicates that an underlying condition has stimulated the blood vessels to bring more blood to the eye.

In cats, gums normally appear to be smooth with a salmon-pink color. Red gums or gums spotted with a brown, bright pink, red, or purple coloration are caused by hemorrhage of the mucosal surface called petechiae or ecchymosis.

Regurgitation is the act of involuntarily expelling swallowed food from the esophagus out of the mouth. It can be identified by the tubular shape of the ejected matter as well as the passivity of the process. 

Restlessness and agitation in cats are common, but hard to define symptoms. Restlessness and agitation are often a normal part of feline behavior.

Reverse sneezing in cats is an involuntary reflex involving rapid, forceful inhalation of air. As with normal sneezes, reverse sneezes are the body’s mechanism for clearing an irritant out of the area near the soft palate.