Do Cats Pant After Playing. If you’ve even seen your cat panting, you might wonder if it’s normal or not. Another way cats have to regulate body temperature is to spread themselves out on the cold hard floor.
Cats may pant as the result of anxiety, fever, hot weather or excessive exercise, but that is rare. They do it to cool themselves, and cats are sprinters so if they run around for a while they tend to need to cool down more. Some cats also pant when they’re excited or stressed (like when traveling).
It's common knowledge among pet owners that like dogs, the felines tend to pant after considerable physical exertion.
Particularly in kittens, you may see panting after they have a runaround, and every now and then they will pant for a very brief period after being outside. It's all the excitement and exertion used during play. When he pants after playing, i believe it also has to do with stress, i know when my male can can't catch my other cat during play he stresses out and starts panting, it's the same if he can't catch the laser pointer. Cats may not be able to speak to us, but they're amazing communicators nonetheless.