Skip to content
PetariumPetarium

Home checks

How to Count Your Pet's Resting Breathing Rate

A simple home check that helps vets monitor heart disease and spot trouble early.

By Dr Hana LindqvistVeterinary review: Dr Elena Marsh4 min readPublished 2026-09-29Updated 2026-09-29
Veterinarian gently examining a dog in a bright clinic

Why it matters

Faster breathing at rest can be an early sign of fluid building up in the lungs from heart failure. Vets often ask owners of pets with heart disease to count it at home.

How to count

  • Wait until your pet is asleep or deeply relaxed
  • Count each rise of the chest as one breath
  • Count for 30 seconds and double it
  • Record the number and date

What is normal

Most healthy sleeping dogs and cats take fewer than 30 breaths a minute. Your vet will tell you what to watch for in your own pet.

When to call a vet

Call if the rate is repeatedly above your vet's limit, or rising day by day. Open-mouth breathing in a cat, or blue gums, is an emergency.

Dog and cat body condition progression from underweight to obese
Body condition is assessed by touch as well as appearance. Ask your veterinary team to score your individual pet.

References

  1. Resting respiratory rate guidance — ACVIM consensus statements