Advice on Cat Asthma PLEASE

scteel24

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Hello all – I need some advice on whether or not my cat actually has asthma and if he needs an inhaler. I’ll start by saying he has been to the vet twice and I am still at a loss. Here’s the whole history which I’ll try to keep short. In 2012 my then 3 year old Himalayan mix started coughing like he had a hairball. After a few days of treating hairballs he did not get better so I took him to the vet. She said he sounded a tad wheezy, prescribed prednisone and it cleared up almost immediately. I changed his litter to a dust free kind and rid the house of any air fresheners and am now very careful with any cleaning products, etc. around the house, etc. He never coughed again and all was well. Cut to December 2019 and he is now 10 years old and the coughing started up again. No cat likes the vet, but my little Houdini is a nightmare to get in the carrier, pees and poops on himself, etc. He’s like a rabid possum. So, I gave it a few days and then called an in home vet. He said he didn’t hear any wheezing or crackling and thought it was more allergies than asthma. He prescribed a 10 day course of prednisone. After 2 days he was fine again, but then 3 weeks later the cough came back. So this time I took him to his regular vet clinic (nightmare that it was). Like the home vet, she said he didn’t sound wheezy, only very slightly. They did $700 worth of tests. I love my cats (I have one other) and if it cost 5 Gs to cure him, I’m in, I’ll figure out a way to pay, but these test started to seem unnecessary. They did x-rays, which I wanted, a blood test, a senior cat blood panel, and a urinalysis. Everything came back great. The x-rays showed his lungs were clear and his heart was not enlarged. His blood work was also good. They did however tell me that his blood sugar had a huge spike, which can be caused by stress. FYI, I had to leave him at the vet for 4 hours while they did all the testing, so to rule out diabetes they used his stored blood sample and did another special glucose test. That came back on the line of borderline diabetic so she would not prescribe any prednisone as that can cause diabetes. I asked if the previous course of pred caused the borderline diabetic line and she said maybe. That’s another issue, but he is only 1 pound overweight and I have now switched him to metabolic wet food. I monitored his water intake, which is only 6 ounces a day so I am 99.99% sure his is not diabetic. He has NO symptoms of it. That aside, I am so confused as to whether or not he HAS asthma. When I asked if this is just allergies, like the home vet said, she said there’s no such thing. Allergies ARE asthma. She recommended a “flushing” procedure where he would be under anesthesia and they would flush his nasal cavity and lungs. I said no, to which she seemed annoyed. That sounded unnecessary and anesthesia is always a risk, especially for an older cat. I also researched this procedure and the consensus was that it doesn’t help anything. He is strictly an indoor kitty and is not at risk of parasites, in my opinion. It certainly looks like classic asthma – wrenched neck and a hairball like cough. It lasts a few minutes but is intermittent. He coughs a few times and swallows, then after 20 – 30 seconds coughs again and it goes like that for about 3 – 5 minutes. I think it stresses me more than him. He will literally stretch after, walk over to a toy or food bowl, or just go back to sleep. He honestly doesn’t seem very bothered by it. He seems to have an “episode” once a day. I have seen him go a day or two without, but I was home all day on a long weekend and he would have one and only one “episode” so I don’t believe it is happening a lot. He doesn’t have any other asthma symptoms – he doesn’t wheeze when he’s breathing, have labored breaths at rest, cough up foamy mucus, or breathe with his mouth open. At this point, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to start him on an inhaler if it’s not necessary, but I don’t want him in an emergency where he can’t breathe. But if his lungs are all clear, would that even happen? I could take him back for even more tests, but what are they going to determine? Is there such a thing as feline allergies and this is just a post nasal dry cough like a human gets? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!!
 
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scteel24

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Also - I bought a HEPA air filter for the bedroom - I don't think its helping, but who knows. Thanks!!
 

She's a witch

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My cat has asthma, although her frequent coughing attacks were not distressing to her at all and she never had any other symptoms. Her lungs have always sounded perfectly healthy in every health check that she had and they still do. And despite of that she had her airways inflamed on the X-ray, in medium severity.
Was the X-ray taken only on one side? Typically, for asthma diagnosis, it needs to be taken in two different poses to check different angles.
If I were you, I’d take the X-ray pictures from where they were taken and ask for second opinion of a vet that specializes in cats and their lower respiratory issues. If steroids were so effective, than it may indicate asthmatic condition, but it’s weird the X-rays don’t show any inflammation. Even if it’s milder allergies, the inhaled steroids may also make a difference, but you need a vet that will confirm that she does indeed need it. Training a cat to take an inhaler is easier than most people anticipate. But Ideally, if it’s allergic reaction, you’d need to find a trigger and get rid of it. It could be dust, dry air, mould, smoke, scent... lots of options to test out.
 
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scteel24

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Thanks for the advice. I wasn't super thrilled with that vet anyway. I preferred the home vet. I will look for a specialist. The x-rays were 4 views. It is strange that there is no inflammation, but also good news I suppose.
 

amandag1

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I would ask for all data, chart notes, and xrays/lab values and look up a specialist
 

LTS3

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Long term use of pred can cause diabetes. A short course like your cat previously was on wouldn't be enough to cause even borderline diabetes. What was the result of the fructosamine test (the "special test")? A high carb diet is what causes diabetes in cats. Many cats are just borderline for awhile before their pancrease can't keep up with the carbs. What is the metabolic canned food you are feeding your cat? To lower blood glucose levels and prevent diabetes, it's best to feed food that has roughly 10% or less carbs.

The "flushing" procedure may be a tracheal wash.

Here's a web site with good info on asthma:

 

stephanietx

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My husband has allergy induced asthma. Two of my cats are prone to asthma, especially in the winter when the cedar pollen is high. Allergies and asthma are NOT the same thing. Allergies can contribute to asthma, but some people and kitties have asthma and NO allergies. I have one cat who has allergies and no asthma, but sometimes coughs due to excessive drainage.

I would try a daily antihistamine and see if that helps. Sometimes the drainage from allergies can cause coughing. We do 1/2 of a plain Loratadine (Claritin) once a day in wet food. Just smash with the back of a spoon, add a touch of water to the food, and mix in. We also give our allergy kitty prescription nose drops when her nose when she is really snotty and coughing.
 
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scteel24

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I tried the kitty Claritin and it didn't seem to help. I do feel this is more allergies than Asthma as he is not straining to breathe. I don't want to expose him to an inhaler and daily steriods if it's not needed. Thanks for the info!!
 
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scteel24

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Long term use of pred can cause diabetes. A short course like your cat previously was on wouldn't be enough to cause even borderline diabetes. What was the result of the fructosamine test (the "special test")? A high carb diet is what causes diabetes in cats. Many cats are just borderline for awhile before their pancrease can't keep up with the carbs. What is the metabolic canned food you are feeding your cat? To lower blood glucose levels and prevent diabetes, it's best to feed food that has roughly 10% or less carbs.

The "flushing" procedure may be a tracheal wash.

Here's a web site with good info on asthma:

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Thanks for the website - much appreciated! When he was two years old he had crystals in his urine and was put on the Hills prescription C/D dry food which the vet said would cause him to gain a little weight. I have both cats on it, actually, and have been for the past 8 years. About 1 year ago, I switched to the Hills C/D light dry food. After this whole incident, they now get 1/4 cup scoop of the dry food in morning and each get half of a 3 ounce C/D wet, light in the evening. Before we go to bed they each get, literally, 5 pieces of dry food. I monitored their water intake and together they drink about 10 ounces of water a day, so 5 ounces each-ish, which seems to be more than the normal amount. I wonder if this vet was just taking me for a ride with the testing. I will have the in home vet test him again after 6 weeks on the new diet and see.
 

LTS3

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Many people feel that prescription foods are worthless and full of poor quality junk ingredients. Most urinary issues can be prevented by feeding a cat any canned food. There's more about prescription diets and urinary issues at www.Catinfo.org

The same web site has a chart with basic nutritional info on canned foods. Hill's C/D canned foods are 28% carbs, too much for any cat. The dry C/D is even worse at 36% carbs per cup. That's likely why your cat is borderline diabetic. You can ask on the Nutrition forum for better brands of food to feed your cats and their various needs.
 
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scteel24

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Many people feel that prescription foods are worthless and full of poor quality junk ingredients. Most urinary issues can be prevented by feeding a cat any canned food. There's more about prescription diets and urinary issues at www.Catinfo.org

The same web site has a chart with basic nutritional info on canned foods. Hill's C/D canned foods are 28% carbs, too much for any cat. The dry C/D is even worse at 36% carbs per cup. That's likely why your cat is borderline diabetic. You can ask on the Nutrition forum for better brands of food to feed your cats and their various needs.
I appreciate the info and help, but why would that food make him borderline diabetic now if he's been on it for over 8 years? I remember when he had the crystals, the vet made things sound very grim and said if the special food didn't work, there wasn't much else they could do. Thankfully he hasn't had any issues with that since. What other canned food reverses the urine crystals? I'd be nervous to take him off of it now after so long. You think you're doing the right thing as a pet owner by listening to the vet. I'll check out the other forum. Thanks.
 

LTS3

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High carb food puts a strain on the pancreas. Over time, the pancreas gets "burned out" from processing all those carbs, leading to increased blood glucose levels. A cat can be borderline diabetic for years and not have any symptoms. Diabetes tends to be most often diagnosed in senior aged cats.

Any commercial canned food helps with most urinary issues. The key is to get more water into the diet to keep the urine diluted and the kidneys working optimally. The easiest way to do that is through food. Some people like to add extra water to the food. Seafood based foods may cause urinary issues for some cats so it's good to avoid feeding that too often.


It's perfectly ok to disagree with the vet :agree: Just because the vet says to feed X brand of food doesn't mean you absolutely have to feed it. If you know of a better food, you can have a discussion with the vet about why brand ABC is a better choice for your cat. The vet may disagree and still insist on X brand but the vet can't force you to feed it.
 
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scteel24

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Can someone recommend a wet food designed to help reduce the urine crystals? thanks!
 

stephanietx

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A raw diet is the best choice. Switching to a canned food only diet will also help, especially if you can do grain free.
 
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scteel24

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UPDATE



Hi all – the plot thickens. I had a 3rd vet do an examination of Houdini. After 6 weeks of a diet change to C/D wet food, his sugar levels are normal and he is no longer borderline diabetic. However, this vet said his original blood work from 6 weeks ago shows an allergic reaction to something (that’s for me to try and figure out) which caused pancreatitis. The new blood work still shows some damage to the pancreas, but he feels it will subside without medication. Also, I showed him a video of Houdini having a coughing spell and after 2 seconds he said, that’s not asthma, that’s him trying to produce a hairball. This makes more sense to me since his lungs sound clear and the x-rays were clear. Perhaps years ago he did have a slight bronchial inflammation which the prednisone knocked out and this is truly a hairball situation. That being said, they recommend mixing in a hairball food with the C/D food and adding the hairball lick-able paste once a week. He is also potassium deficient and they will be giving me a weekly supplement to also add to his food. Lastly, they are prescribing a liquid medicine to give him after he has a coughing spell to help protect his esophagus from any damage. Does this all sound necessary? I really liked this vet and he was very thorough and explained eve4yrhtign in detail. It’s just interesting that I’m up to a total bill of $1775 (with all 3 vets), had him examined for what I thought might be asthma, and am instead looking at pancreatitis even though he has No symptoms of pancreatitis. The hairballs shouldn’t be too difficult to treat with a new diet. But, potassium and post cough medicine? Thoughts anyone?



Thank you!!
 
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