Counted my old cat's breathing while she slept and got 36 a minute. Is that high or am I being paranoid?

Betty again (15, blind, high blood pressure, early kidney disease, you may remember the thread from spring). She's been doing well on her tablet. But tonight she's asleep on the sofa and her side seems to be going up and down quicker than usual, so I sat and counted with my phone stopwatch. 18 in 30 seconds. So 36 a minute.

Mouth is closed, she's not making any noise, she ate her dinner. I have no idea if 36 is normal for a cat, I've never counted before. Is this a ring tomorrow situation, a ring now situation, or a me situation?

Not paranoid. I count Willow's every so often since the kidney diagnosis and hers is normally low twenties asleep. Mid thirties would make me ring in the morning. If her mouth opens or she's working to breathe, that's tonight and the emergency vet.

Was she properly asleep, not dreaming? Smudge's goes up and down like a little engine when her paws are twitching. Worth counting again a few times when she's in a deep sleep before you go in, so you can tell the vet more than one number.

Counted twice more overnight when she was flat out and still. 34 and 38. Ringing at 8.30.

Malcolm R. said:

Is this a ring tomorrow situation, a ring now situation

Malcolm, ringing this morning was exactly the right call, and taking three counts is the best thing you could have brought them.

For context, the best data we have on normal comes from owners counting at home: in a study of healthy cats counted asleep on 8 to 10 occasions each, the median sleeping rate was about 19 breaths a minute, and only a small minority averaged 30 or more. That's why vets use 30 a minute asleep as the line above which a cat deserves a closer look. A rate in the mid thirties that holds up over several counts isn't an emergency in itself, but it is a reason to be examined soon rather than at the next routine visit.

In a cat of Betty's age with high blood pressure, the obvious thing a vet will want to listen for is the heart, because heart disease in cats is often quiet until breathing changes, and blood pressure and heart problems can travel together. But a raised rate has other possible causes too, including fluid around the lungs, airway disease, anaemia, and pain, and what's going on with Betty is for whoever examines her. They may listen to her chest, take her blood pressure, and suggest an X-ray or a heart scan.

The line between today and right now is worth everyone knowing: open-mouth breathing or panting at rest, breathing with the elbows held out and the neck stretched forward, a belly that heaves with each breath, pale or blue gums, or collapse. Any of those means going to a vet or emergency clinic immediately. The site's guide on when to take a cat to the vet sets out the emergency signs alongside the ones that can wait for an appointment.

Seen at 11. Vet heard a murmur she hadn't noticed before and wants a heart scan, which they're doing Thursday. She said the counting was really useful and wants me to keep doing it every day and write it down. Betty, meanwhile, slept through the entire visit.

Fingers crossed for Thursday, Malcolm. Betty seems to have a talent for making you find things early.

Late update. Scan showed a thickened heart muscle, early stage. She's on one more tablet, sleeping rate has come down into the high twenties most nights and I've got a little chart on the fridge. Vet gave me a number above which I ring them the same day. Never thought I'd be grateful to a stopwatch.