So what is a normal heart rate? Some books say 60-160 for a dog. What a load of rubbish! In an emergency clinic, canine heart rates should be 80-120 and felines, 160-220. By the way, those are not the resting heart rates for a cat, they are the rates you will get in your clinic when they are already tachycardic. If the heart rate is abnormal is it mild moderate or severe and does it match the other perfusion parameters?