I am glad that he was ok, sounds as if he was badly winded poor thing.
We have a lady who looks after her if we need to go out for more than 2 hours, so if we are visiting family who have cats, or maybe have a wedding or family gathering or whatever it may be she goes there.
We have a tiny tiny garden so she cant run in it, but we take her to some woods near us each morning so she can run free.
They are a blessing thats for sure.