Any experience with Feline asthma??

[mariya]

Hey so we are taking our kitty to the vet for a possible diagnosis of feline asthma. I sent my vet a video of his coughing so my vet asked to see Leo (cat) again. He is a 1 year and 8 month male.
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with a cat with asthma. Are there any changes in daily routine? Financials? Meds? Food? What is the extra care involved?
I'm sure my vet would answer all these questions but I was wondering if anyone has personal experience thank you

 

[margd]

I had cat with a very mild case of asthma.  Milo developed it when we moved to a new apartment with new, inexpensive carpets.  The building was old and this apartment was also extremely dusty.  Because his case was mild and he only periodically developed symptoms, he was not on daily medication.  When he did start coughing, however, he always needed the antibiotic clavimox in addition to prednisone before we could get the episode under control.  He was apparently very susceptible to secondary infections during his flare-ups.

It's been awhile so I don't remember how much it cost.  There was the cost of the original vet visit, blood work and x-rays, plus the medication. Prednisone and clavimox are fairly inexpensive.   Once the vet made the diagnosis, my only costs were for a visit to the vet and the clavimox and prednisone.  Had his episodes worsened, there would have been additional expenses for more tests and medications.

As for changes in food and routine, all I did was try to vacuum more frequently.   For awhile I had an air purifier but it didn't make much of a difference.  It might have been because the purifier itself was pretty marginal.  I know other people have had very good results with them.

Many members here have dealt with more serious cases of feline asthma so I'm sure you'll get more feedback on those kinds of situations.  I hope your little guy ends up having only a mild case.  

 

[lisahe]

I, too, have never had a cat with a diagnosed case of asthma. That said, one of our cats had several relatively brief asthma-like coughing fits (a lot like Fritz the Brave) shortly after we adopted her at seven months old. I switched her kitty litter to Dr. Elsey's Respiratory Relief after the third fit (luckily, I just happened to have a bag of Dr. E's in the house at the time) and Ireland has never coughed like that again. (It's been more than two and a half years now.) We'd been using Fresh Step, which is extremely dusty and perfumed so I think Ireland had some sort of allergy or sensitivity to it. The problem went away immediately so we never had Ireland tested or diagnosed. (And our vet, who's seen everything, found the story interesting, to say the least!) I should also mention that Ireland has always been a somewhat nervous and needy cat; stress is often cited as a factor in feline asthma so we make an extra effort with her.

Like Margd, I've also found that a little extra cleaning helps if things are dusty or polleny -- Ireland will occasionally make a tiny cough or sneeze after, say, crawling around under furniture, but there hasn't been anything even close to the original coughing fits. I also don't use much in the way of harsh chemical cleaners and there are no scented candles, cigarettes, or similar things in the house. (Though we do heat partially with wood in the winters.) Strangely, she also occasionally coughed if she ate whole Pure Bites: they're dry and crumbly so I think she might, literally, have inhaled tiny pieces when she snarfled them up. (I use past tense there because I no longer give her those treats whole, only crumbled on wet food!)

If you haven't already read the Fritz the Brave site, I'd definitely recommend that (link). Felineasthma.org is also helpful.

Fingers crossed here, too, that Leo's coughing can be fixed by something easy!

 

[foxxycat]

Hi there,

I have experience with feline asthma. My sweetheart Honeybee is on inhaled steroids due to inflammation in her lungs. She got asthma from her owner smoking in the house or that's what I was told. I adopted her jan 23 2013 and the next day at vets I noticed her fast breathing. I monitored her breathing at night and it was fast. She started coughing later on. The coughing is usually at 2-3 am due to them sleeping and waking up to cough out the inflammation.

asthma site to read=google fritz the brave-so much info-basicly they can treat several ways.

1. pred

2. inhaled flovent/albuterol

3. injected steroids=I don't recommend this one unless its an emergency and your cat is at the hospital and they cant get the breathing under control. This is last ditch effort to help the cat breathe. there are several dif steroids-some are stronger than others-there is one that is made for animals with preexisting heart conditions and its not as strong but supposedly not stress the heart as much.

Other things=no fragrances. no perfume/hair spray/room deodorant. No plug in air freshners. No lavender scented stuff. basicly if you can smell it then its 6X stronger to your kitty.

Also I recommend when the temp gets over 80 outside-keep them inside in a cooler room. The hot humid air can make them breathe faster and just feel lousy.

My Honeybee has been puffing away on her Aerokat since March 8 2013. Took a week. there are videos on youtube-type in aerokat feline asthma.

your vet needs to write you a script for flovent and albuterol.

albuterol is a bronchiodilator-this is for emergencies-when the cat coughs-give them a puff. you can use the aerokat or in a pinch a toilet paper roll on their muzzle but don't spray in the eyes.

flovent is the steroid inhaled corticosteroid.  There is no generic form. Its expensive in the USA. Make sure the vet starts you off with the highest dose=reason is cats are different than people. just because its a lower dose doesn't mean its as effective. we don't want to waste weeks trying with a lower dose=start at the highest dose to get inflammation under control. Once you have results for 6 months then you can try to titer down. I did and it failed.

Now I order mine from www.kiwidrug.com which is New Zealand. you can also order from inhousepharmacy.vu which is also New Zealand-same exact meds.

I have to go for a bit but I will add more soon

or check out feline asthma group on yahoo groups.

Ok so for now you can get albuterol script and get from your local pharmacy. it runs about $60. it will last a long time. in the beginning you will want to use this as a prebase before the inhaled steroids-for the first week. the reason is when its given first-it opens the airways so that when you do the next puff with steroids it goes in deeper in the lungs. you only have to wait 10 min or so from albuterol.

I only needed to pretreat for a few days. It doesn't take long for the flovent to take affect. Some people say it takes 10 days to build up in the blood stream but I noticed a difference in 4 days. Once I started seeing improvements=no coughing and slower reps of breathing when sleeping and less wheezing then I don't give the albuterol UNLESS its an emergency=

Albuterol is to be given when: Coughing/wheezing. Fast breathing-count breathes in their sleep. it should be below 40 reps per minute. Preferably below 30. Loud noisy wheezing from allergies or  whatever. its a fast acting bronchodilator and lasts 4 to 6 to 8 hours depending on the severity of the asthma.Normally we see results in less than five minutes.

Albuterol only needs about 3 to 4 breathes AT the most=its very stinky and cats HATE it. So hang on to kitty because they WILL bolt but after a few times of doing meds-they learn that It helps them to breathe. 

Breathing reps=

My cat is around 33 at sleep and the vet is happy with this. prior to treatment it was 45 to 50 in her sleep. this is one thing you can do at home-count how many times the chest goes up and down for a breathe only while sleeping. when they are awake they tend to breathe faster. so the vet said to do this in a deep sleep.

Flovent comes in 3 strengths but the numbers look diff overseas than here in USA. but its the EXACT same measurement-they measure the doses differently=I don't remember the reasons but here are the strengths 44 mcg 110 mcg 220mcg. this is the American version. Over seas- 50 mcg 125 mcg and 250 mcg.

we always want the 220mcg or 250 mcg. if you get a script from the vet and want to send to overseas pharmacy-you will need it listed as 250mcg as that's the units they sell it in. when you go on those two websites you will see the flixotide cfc inhaler which is what you want. you DONT want diskus. Make sure its the regular inhaler. The diskus doesn't fit in the aerokat AND its a powder mix or something-you don't want this one.

you can try to get a 220mcg here in the states but it runs around $330-$380 a piece. Overseas its $60 a piece=the biggest difference=there is no counter on the one overseas. Its the SAME EXACT Med from Glaxosmith but I prefer Kiwidrug over inhouse. they only accept E check. Its very easy to do.

If you do kiwi drug make sure the vet writes on the script for 6 refills so you can buy 6 inhalers at once. This will be 6 months worth. it takes 10 to 21 days to get it shipped and I always recommend having extra on hand incase one of them is broken-which they will gladly exchange etc but I have NEVER had an issue.

This is a 12 hour med. you need to give every 12 hours. Honeybee gets it at 5:30 am and 6/7 pm when I get home. This has been working just fine. The youtube video will show you how to expel the meds in the aerokat.

I suggest when you puff the puffer in the aerokat that you do it behind your back the first few times or if you currently use asthma meds-take your puffer and expel it and give your meds in front of the cat to get them used to the "psst" sound otherwise the first few times they will take OFF!

I know the first time I got the mask on her widdle face she took off like a rocket when it pssted behind my back. now it doesn't bother her.

when you do this you want to be calm and use treats. give treats BEFORE and AFTER.

they will associate food with meds-this is a good thing.

also figure out a place to be the puffing place. some people put the cat on the counter/top of sofa etc or bed. Me we sit on the couch together-there is a special blanket she lays on-she usually makes biscuits on this blanket so I encourage her to make biscuits for mommy then shake the canister then puff it in the aerokat-then I have her sitting sideways on my lap=her head to my left leg=I hold the puffer inmy right hand and my left hand is scratching/rubbing her left cheek and we put the puffer on her muzzle and take 8 to 10 breathes. There is a green flapper on the aerokat so you can watch to see they get a full breath.

I blow out any meds inside the aerokat the first time-shake and puff it again-then put again on her muzzle and she breathes another 8 to 10 breathes then as soon as I pull the puffer away from her face she jumps down and jumps up on the treat table. She will sit there until I give her treats...

ok I just wrote a book.

 

[mariya]

WOW, firstly I'm amazed by the amount of info and experience you have all shared! I have definately gained a great deal of knowledge from this thread! I also want to wish the best for your furrbabies.

This morning was our appointment and the visit began with a regular checkup and our vet going over mild case of asthma since Leo's coughing only occurred a couple of times a week. 

He also showed us how to use the inhaler before taking our kitty for his x-rays. 

Surprisingly (and thankfully), the x-rays revealed some food stuck in Leo's lungs due to ingestion from eating too quickly. We discussed methods to improve his eating habits and he was perscribed a week of antibiotics. 

I am so so thankful we are met with a more minor, short-term issue than something possibly long-term. 

However, I would like to thank you all sincerely for sharing your experience and guidance. It was very much appreciated <3

 

[margd]

Thank you for the update.  What great news that it's something that should be easily fixed!  

 

[foxxycat]

How is Leo doing? I am sorry for not asking sooner-it seems some threads get buried and I can't find them. I am so glad that its nothing serious. I have an old kitty who chews grass and sometimes she gets one stuck in her throat and pukes a lot until she eats. I too had to raise her dishes up and only feed small amounts at a time-she is my puker.

 

[mariya]

How is Leo doing? I am sorry for not asking sooner-it seems some threads get buried and I can't find them. I am so glad that its nothing serious. I have an old kitty who chews grass and sometimes she gets one stuck in her throat and pukes a lot until she eats. I too had to raise her dishes up and only feed small amounts at a time-she is my puker.

We took a ping pong ball and put it in his dry food dish to slow down the eating. He has recently finished his antibiotics and surprisingly took it well. Omg Leo also LoVES grass as well and just the other day he was chasing a bunny in the front yard. I'm glad to say he hasn't been coughing since the meds but our vet did tell us that it'll take 2-3 months for the food to naturally be gone from his lungs. The antibiotics were to prevent possible infection. Thanks for asking

 

[foxxycat]

I have 3 cats-2 kind of chubby-Floey is a food hog and will eat everyone's food. I cut back on her dry food to 1/2 cup a day and all the wet she wants. She also has early kidney disease where her kidneys aren't concentrating the urine so the vet suggested it would be best to get her on wet food and so far-its been half and half. She only licks the juice and leaves the meat. my young cat honeybee eats the meat left over. my 3rd kitty only nibbles a few times on wet food-she is all about kibble and eating mice. Lately I haven't seen her eating much but she is still going to the bathroom so we think she is back to eating her prey. we worm her 4 times a year just incase. She is 13. She was a barn cat before I got her-she won't eat dry or wet food unless its fish.

My girls all love grass. Floey ate a ton of it last night and puked up this morning. I have lots of messes to clean when I get home after my after work errands. So as far as food-you can cut back 1/4 or less of the kibble-you don't want to starve them=cats get fatty liver disease if they are starved=that's why its important to make sure they keep eating-something to do with the fat clogging the liver filters and it just causes all kinds of problems. Some cats are ok, some more sensitive. But in general if your cat is not eating well for a week its recommended to go to vet and get liver values to make sure its ok and find out why they are not eating.

so you can get food puzzle where they have to move the object to get kibble. you can walk around with them following you. you can get a strip of fabric or drawstring type wide material and walk around with it attached to the waistband of your pants and let them pounce on it. or other activities?

I like the fish idea. That's a good way to make them jump up and get some exercise while watching the fish

 

[myrnafaye]

Make sure your cat(s) are taking PREDNISOLONE and not prednisone!  there is a huge difference !  I understand that cats can now be nebulized also - And, while I realize this is controversial, since I had my Kiku, years ago, with terrible asthma, I only vaccinate initially for rabies, and distemper.  I believe the practice of 3 or 4 vaccs at one time, and year after year, weakens the immune system and cats get asthma,