Asthma diagnosed cat just started a daily light cough, vet in 2 weeks...QUESTIONS

[Cmdm828]

We adopted Libby a 2 yr old 3 months ago. We were told by the shelter that she had a light case of asthma, she had 2 attacks in a year that they said were from stress with her being with other cats. She got a steroid shot both times and they moved her to a solo room to help with stress. Thats why we were perfect for her...no kids or other pets. Well, over a week ago she sounded like she was coughing up a hairball for a minute or so.,This happened once everyday or so, but no hairball. Its picked up to once or twice a day but shemis running around playing a minute later and overall,just acts normal.We do have her set up to see the vet in 2 weeks which was the soonest....they are backed up. I just wanna know if I should worry. My friend had a senior cat that never used meds for asthma and when it flared up they would just calm him down in a steamy bathroom. Ease my anxiety....if you can ...thanks

 

[fionasmom]

Asthmatic Cats – TheCatSite Articles
Stress in Cats – The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles
Asthma and Bronchitis in Cats
Cat Asthma: What It Is, Symptoms To Look For, And How To Treat It | Trudell Animal Health


It sounds as if you are the perfect family for Libby and she is lucky to have been adopted by you. Having worked rescue, I do have to say that many rescues do not have sufficient funds or manpower to actually get to the bottom of a medical condition. Since Libby was with other cats, I assume that she was not in a one on one foster situation with someone who might have had more time to observe her. My point in this is that you are doing the right thing to get her to your vet so that you can determine what is happening and whether or not she needs treatment at the present time.

If this continues to get worse over the next two weeks, you might need to go to an ER. Hopefully it won't, but labored breathing is not something to fool around with. The articles above give some recommendations for managing asthma in the immediate environment and you can use that as a checklist of things that might be in your home that are aggravating Libby's breathing....all unintentional on your part. They also give an overview of asthma treatment. Stress can play a major part, so when you said that your friend calms her cat down in a steamy bathroom, "calms" is probably the operative word.

 

[Cmdm828]

She actually was fostered for 6 months off and on, had babies even when she 1st came into care...but was in the facility for the other 6 months she was there.She is such a wonderful cat who didn't deserve to be locked up in a room by herself 24/7 and she has given us so much gratitude. I have EXTREME ocd and anxiety (disabled from it)...so I tend to think the worse. Before we got her the vet that had treated her called us to make it clear it was nothing too serious. Since this was new to me I thought she could die all of a sudden but he reassured us that hes never known a cat to die from asthma. We set her appointment up 2 weeks back and got the earliest appointment, but its till 2 weeks away. ER Vets here are 8-12 hour waits as well, apparently this is the norm across America. The Vet didn't seem to stressed over her coughing 1 or 2x a day, but my Anxiety is working OT. If she was in a bad spot, wouldn't it be obvious??? I mean right after she coughs she runs around like a race horse. Its also funny that if I never knew she had asthma, I wouldn't have thought nothing of her coughing. It just looks like she has swallowed some hair and got a cough afterwards.

 

[fionasmom]

Call your vet and let them know that you would accept a cancellation if one comes up. The fact that the vet from the rescue did call to speak to you sounds very responsible. I would assume from that if it were more serious, he would have been upfront about it and warned you. The last article lists four signs of an attack. If these appear to be serious, you would realize it, especially something like blue gums, and would know that you had to try to get to the ER. But remember that not every cat with asthma, like your friend's cat, ever has a serious problem with it. There may be maintenance for the life of the cat, but it can be managed.

Help With Cat Asthma
This thread has some additional asthma support listed as you read.
For people whose cats have asthma...