Does Anybody Else's Kitty Have Asthma?

[FaBEAR]

So I went to the vet with Tiger for his neutering appointment when he was 6 months old. I told the vet that I thought he was breathing funny. A very subtle strange type of breathing. She couldn't find anything wrong when she listened but said she would give his chest an xray before neutering just in case. So anyway, went back in after the xray and the vet said: "I'll be honest, I thought you might have been worrying too much or imagining it. But his lungs are totally clouded. So you were right! It's likely he has asthma but will put him on steroids to see if it clears..."

It didn't clear fully so likely he has asthma. Just wondering how you managed you cats asthma and has it affected them much?

 

[mightyboosh]

Can't help with the asthma but want to say I'm sorry about that. Others will be along with advice. I've loved Tiger since he first appeared here with his marvellous 'box' story.

 

[stephanietx]

I have 2 asthmatic kitties. In both of my kitties it causes coughing spells. It looks like they are trying to hack up a hairball, but there is no production or sometimes just a little spit. It usually flares when the seasons change. My female gets a steroid shot about every 6 months and that takes care of all the symptoms. My male has to have oral steroids because the shot causes him to have diarrhea. What we have found to help is keeping them on a daily antihistamine and working to keep them at a healthy weight. For this reason, we have switched to an almost all wet grain-free diet. We do feed "snacks" of dry food, though.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
This is a short article that talks a little about asthma in kitties;
Asthmatic Cats

A note about prednisone
Cat Is On Steroids - Time For A New Vet?

Also, have unscented dust-free (--as possible) litter, and don't use strong smelling cleaning agents, air freshener sprays or diffusers, candles, incense. Try using wool balls instead of dryer sheets, and use fragrance free laundry soap.

 

[LTS3]

My pervious cat had asthma and one of my current cats has asthma. My previous cat was on a Flovent inhaler to manage the asthma. My current cat was initially treated with prednisolone (he was also on it for IBD) but after a brief course of pred, no longer needed it.

This web site has more info on asthma treatment: Feline Asthma with Fritz the Brave - your comprehensive resource since 2001

There's a feline asthma group you can join for more info: felineasthma groups.io Group

 

[She's a witch]

So I went to the vet with Tiger for his neutering appointment when he was 6 months old. I told the vet that I thought he was breathing funny. A very subtle strange type of breathing. She couldn't find anything wrong when she listened but said she would give his chest an xray before neutering just in case. So anyway, went back in after the xray and the vet said: "I'll be honest, I thought you might have been worrying too much or imagining it. But his lungs are totally clouded. So you were right! It's likely he has asthma but will put him on steroids to see if it clears..."

It didn't clear fully so likely he has asthma. Just wondering how you managed you cats asthma and has it affected them much?

Does he cough or have any other symptoms? If not, I wouldn’t put him on steroids but monitor him regularly plus implement asthma regime in your household, which means getting rid of any smoke source, chemicals, strong fragrances, aerosols, dust, as these are possible irritants. Steroids would only relieve the symptoms not treat the asthma so they are not needed if there are no symptoms.

My cat is on inhaler with fluticasone every 12h, otherwise she coughs daily. I still don’t know what the irritant is, possibly dust mites

 

[FaBEAR]

Can't help with the asthma but want to say I'm sorry about that. Others will be along with advice. I've loved Tiger since he first appeared here with his marvellous 'box' story.

Aww thanks mightyboosh - so far it doesn't seem to affect him as he seems pretty happy. Unless the asthma has made him lazy... I've started calling him 'the lump', he's sooo laid back.

 

[FaBEAR]

My pervious cat had asthma and one of my current cats has asthma. My previous cat was on a Flovent inhaler to manage the asthma. My current cat was initially treated with prednisolone (he was also on it for IBD) but after a brief course of pred, no longer needed it.

This web site has more info on asthma treatment: Feline Asthma with Fritz the Brave - your comprehensive resource since 2001

There's a feline asthma group you can join for more info: felineasthma groups.io Group

Thanks for your reply, he was on oral steroids but didn't clear it from what I hear of his breathing. Will check out those links!

 

[FaBEAR]

Hi!
This is a short article that talks a little about asthma in kitties;
Asthmatic Cats

A note about prednisone
Cat Is On Steroids - Time For A New Vet?

Also, have unscented dust-free (--as possible) litter, and don't use strong smelling cleaning agents, air freshener sprays or diffusers, candles, incense. Try using wool balls instead of dryer sheets, and use fragrance free laundry soap.

Thanks for your response and will check out those links. Apart from the laundry soap, we don't really use any of the other stuff so that's good!

 

[FaBEAR]

Does he cough or have any other symptoms? If not, I wouldn’t put him on steroids but monitor him regularly plus implement asthma regime in your household, which means getting rid of any smoke source, chemicals, strong fragrances, aerosols, dust, as these are possible irritants. Steroids would only relieve the symptoms not treat the asthma so they are not needed if there are no symptoms.

My cat is on inhaler with fluticasone every 12h, otherwise she coughs daily. I still don’t know what the irritant is, possibly dust mites

Thanks for your response! He breathes funny, kind of loud quick sharp breaths when he's relaxing. Sometimes sounds like a wheeze. The xray showed his lungs were very clouded at first and they improved (but didn't totally clear) after 6 weeks oral steroid. The vet then gave us a longer stint on the steroids. He still seems to have the funny noisy breathing though evenue though he finished steroids so I'm wondering should I take him back to her. No cough, and apart from being the largest and most lazy and laid back cat I've ever known, it doesn't seem to affect him other than noisy breathing.

 

[mightyboosh]

he's sooo laid back.

Yep, that's what they're like.

 

[Furballsmom]

He still seems to have the funny noisy breathing though evenue though he finished steroids so I'm wondering should I take him back to her.

maybe have a chat with the vet? maybe even get a video to show them, so that you wouldn't necessarily have to take him in?