May 11, 2026 · 18 min · 14 segments
In the May open access episode of Chattering With iCatCare, Yaiza Gómez-Mejías is joined by feline specialist Nicki Reed to navigate the high-pressure world of feline medical emergencies. This episode…
So your first article tackled everything from that initial oh, no moment [laughs] to the full workup of very complex cases.
You mentioned that sometimes for cats with respiratory distress we need to do the physical exam in stages.
What are the most important elements of the clinical exam in those first few seconds?
These cats can either be getting oxygen by flow by in a table, or if you have got an oxygen kennel, they can be put in there and you can just visually watch them for a minute or two, observe their pattern of breathing, get an indication of just how distressed they are whilst they're getting that oxygen supplementation.
Then I would focus on auscultation as my next stage, but try to do that as quickly as, as possible and then give them a break while they, again, are getting some more oxygen before maybe moving on to something like POCUS or TFAST thoracic ultrasound to assess for things like fluid.
I'm a little bit hesitant to be doing things like opening the mouth and, and checking color maybe immediately.
I will delay things like abdominal palpation until I feel that breathing pattern is a little bit better controlled.
So your first article tackled everything from that initial oh, no moment [laughs] to the full workup of very complex cases.
You mentioned that sometimes for cats with respiratory distress we need to do the physical exam in stages.
What are the most important elements of the clinical exam in those first few seconds?
These cats can either be getting oxygen by flow by in a table, or if you have got an oxygen kennel, they can be put in there and you can just visually watch them for a minute or two, observe their pattern of breathing, get an indication of just how distressed they are whilst they're getting that oxygen supplementation.
Then I would focus on auscultation as my next stage, but try to do that as quickly as, as possible and then give them a break while they, again, are getting some more oxygen before maybe moving on to something like POCUS or TFAST thoracic ultrasound to assess for things like fluid.
I'm a little bit hesitant to be doing things like opening the mouth and, and checking color maybe immediately.
I will delay things like abdominal palpation until I feel that breathing pattern is a little bit better controlled.
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