asthma

[peggydonovan]

Hi all! About 5 years ago, a vet diagnosed our male cat Zo (now 10 yo) as having asthma and he prescribed prednisolone. It helped right away and Zo's symptoms (asthma attacks) stopped. However, he has since gained considerable weight without an increase in the amount of food we've been feeding him. I presume that's a side effect of the medication. At his size, he should be about 10 lbs and he's hovering around 14. We've put him on diet food and that's helped a little, but he's always hungry and that of course makes me feel bad.

The other half of the issue is that the asthma attacks have come back (about 3 a day that I see), so I don't think the medications is even working anymore. I'm guessing he's developed immunity. I do have a routine care visit coming up with another vet (the one who diagnosed him has moved.) But I was wondering if anyone here had any advice about what to do. Thanks in advance!

 

[fionasmom]

Feline Asthma: A Risky Business for Many Cats

For people whose cats have asthma...

Welcome to The Cat Site! You are probably very well versed in cat asthma by this time. I do not have any asthmatic animals; however, the end of the article from Cornell suggests certain treatments which might be preferrable. The recent thread mentions Flovent delivered via AeroKat. You might ask about the effectiveness of those treatments.

 

[LTS3]

The pred dose may need to be adjusted. Or a different medicine can be tried. Inhaled medicine such as Flovent are often used.

The most common side effect of pred is diabetes-like symptoms. Weight gain may be possible. How much food are you feeding your cat? Dry or canned? If the cat is hangry, you're not feeding enough calories daily.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Discuss the weight gain with your Vet. If you haven't increased the amount of food or calories you are feeding, yet he's gained quite a bit, there could be some health issue causing this. If he already seems hungry all the time, I would hate to advise you to cut down on his food

 

[peggydonovan]

Thanks for the advice. We're giving him 6 oz of wet food per day (3 in morning, 3 at night) and about a third a cup of dry food. I wish I could feed him more, but he's already 4 lbs overweight. Like you said, hopefully the vet can identify any underlying conditions. I definitely want to explore an inhaler and get him off the prednisolone if vet agrees.

 

[countrygirl576]

Hi all! About 5 years ago, a vet diagnosed our male cat Zo (now 10 yo) as having asthma and he prescribed prednisolone. It helped right away and Zo's symptoms (asthma attacks) stopped. However, he has since gained considerable weight without an increase in the amount of food we've been feeding him. I presume that's a side effect of the medication. At his size, he should be about 10 lbs and he's hovering around 14. We've put him on diet food and that's helped a little, but he's always hungry and that of course makes me feel bad.

The other half of the issue is that the asthma attacks have come back (about 3 a day that I see), so I don't think the medications is even working anymore. I'm guessing he's developed immunity. I do have a routine care visit coming up with another vet (the one who diagnosed him has moved.) But I was wondering if anyone here had any advice about what to do. Thanks in advance!

I have 3 cats with Asthma. First off.....the predisone should be stopped. My first cat with asthma was giving the shot form and a year later (she was 9 years old) was diagnosed with diabetes and she almost died. It suddenly happened out of the blue. She couldn't walk in a straight line..wouldn't eat/drink. I kept calling the vet (I have a whole new place now) and they kept telling me she was just upset from the office visit. 3 days later I told them do something for her or she would be dead by night time. She was there for 6 days and almost didn't make it. I kept asking how did she suddenly become diabetic and they just told me it happens. No reason why. 11 months later I had to put her down. It caused other health problems for her and she suffered big time. She still haunts me to this day. Three years later her sister had asthma and they wanted to do the steriod route again. Told them NO! I stopped burning wood (winter time only), use only hot water with vinegar for cleaning. Bought 3 A/C, 2 big air purifiers and I found clumping cat liter on Chewy made from grass. Nothing added to it and it has very very little dust. I also only use Endust Free because it is made for Asthma people/pets. I only use baby laundry/conditioner clear for their blankets and I do not wear perfume around them. Also no candles or anything that has a smell to it. Also keeping things very cleaned and dusted helps too. AND I found out they make inhalers for cats. They sell them just for cats on Amazon but a baby inhaler will work and with all of that stuff combined my 2nd cat with asthma did not have one steriod shot. Last September their mother ended up with asthma as well and since COVID was happening I could not go in with her and they gave her a steriod shot without asking. She was at least 15 years old last year and by December 10th she wasn't able to use her back legs. Long story short they told me she had arthritis. I didn't not believe them. Took her to the place I switched to now and she was diabetic. Just one shot can cause it. With changing her diet she is now diabetic free. The new vet place will not give elderly cats (and your cat is considered elderly) steriod shots because you have a good chance of it causing diabetes . They also told me giving steriod shots or any steriod is the lazy way of giving care. It is quick and easy but not good on the pet. Hope this helps. I only had to use their inhalers for a few times fall last year and spring this year. Mainly when it is humid and normally I leave the windows closed with the A/C running. Doing all of this their asthma is good pretty much all the time.

 

[peggydonovan]

Thank you for your helpful advice, CountryGirl! I will give it a try!

 

[LTS3]

I have 3 cats with Asthma. First off.....the predisone should be stopped.

Steroid use should never be stopped cold turkey. The vet can suggest a gradual dose reduction over a period of a few weeks before the steroid can be safely stopped.

Steroids have their place to treat health issues. There are side effects, diabetes-like symptoms being some. Actual diabetes can occur with long term steroid use but it can be treated with insulin and diet. The pros and cons of using steroids should be discussed with the vet. The cat should be monitored for any side effects and those should be discussed with the vet.