Does anyone have experience with cat with asthma?

[Anne2021]

I have a cat that is going in tomorrow morning for an echocardiogram. She is two and pants like a dog when she plays hard and sometimes just when she is excited. When I originally reported this symptom to the vet, she did an x-ray, which the radiologist said suggested mild cardiomegaly (heart enlargement). Further testing was suggested, so we are doing the echo tomorrow. However, for multiple reasons, I did just switch vets. We were in for an exam on Wednesday and discussed the upcoming echo and other causes for the panting. She mentioned the possibility of asthma. My gut says no. There is no coughing and no wheezing. She is an intense, hyper cat. If it's not heart, I'm honestly thinking it is just the adrenaline rush of stimulation. She seems desperate to play - and to play a lot. I wondered if anyone out there has had a cat with asthma and how it presents in cats. If the echo comes back okay, I would hate for her to assume asthma for lack of a better diagnosis. My son had asthma as a child so I know what it looks like in humans, but I'm assuming it could present differently in cats. Can anyone shed any light on this?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Lots of cats with asthma here, and to give you a starting point until they find this thread, here is the link to the search that I did on the subject!

(232) Search Results for Query: asthma | TheCatSite

 

[LTS3]

She is two and pants like a dog when she plays hard and sometimes just when she is excited.

That's totally normal after hard play. People do it too. A run around the neighborhood, running to catch a bus or train, a game of soccer, etc results in most people needing to pant and breath heavily afterwards to get the heart rate back down.

Being excited can cause hyperventilation.

Cats with asthma generally crouch on the floor and stick their necks way out low while coughing. There's a video here: http://www.fritzthebrave.com/media/video/f_coughing-cat.wmv I'm sure YouTube has plenty of other videos as well.

Here's additional info:

Feline Asthma: What You Need To Know

 

[di and bob]

If her heart is slightly enlarged they may put her on Lasix to make the blood a little thicker so the heart can pump it easier. I had a cat on Lasix for 5 or 6 years and he did fine, but he was older. I did reduce the dose to once a day after a year or so, I didn't want his blood to thicken too much and form a clot. The Lasix increases the amount of water leaving the body. and so 'thickens' the blood.

 

[Meowmee]

I have a cat that is going in tomorrow morning for an echocardiogram. She is two and pants like a dog when she plays hard and sometimes just when she is excited. When I originally reported this symptom to the vet, she did an x-ray, which the radiologist said suggested mild cardiomegaly (heart enlargement). Further testing was suggested, so we are doing the echo tomorrow. However, for multiple reasons, I did just switch vets. We were in for an exam on Wednesday and discussed the upcoming echo and other causes for the panting. She mentioned the possibility of asthma. My gut says no. There is no coughing and no wheezing. She is an intense, hyper cat. If it's not heart, I'm honestly thinking it is just the adrenaline rush of stimulation. She seems desperate to play - and to play a lot. I wondered if anyone out there has had a cat with asthma and how it presents in cats. If the echo comes back okay, I would hate for her to assume asthma for lack of a better diagnosis. My son had asthma as a child so I know what it looks like in humans, but I'm assuming it could present differently in cats. Can anyone shed any light on this?

Sybil had asthma as a young cat. She looked more like a hcm cat to me which Tess was, Tess went into heart failure before she was diagnosed although I brought her in with odd breathing before and was ridiculed by the dvm! A few days later she was in CHF. It can be hard to diagnose in the early stages because asthma can look very similar if you have never seen a cat in congestive heart failure etc.

Sybil did have asthma though, the x-ray of her lungs confirmed that and we treated her with prednisilone and the cat inhaler with a steroid inhaler.
At some point she seemed to going into a remission from her asthma and we stop treating it. But years later she went into congestive heart failure after being over treated with fluids for kidney disease. An echo showed she had advanced HCM so I’m not sure why it was never diagnosed because we did other testing before that and she could’ve been on medication to hopefully slow it down. At the time she went into heart failure they also thought her asthma needed to be treated again. So we started with the inhaler again with a steroid & albuterol, she was also on prednisilone. But the cardiologist did not want her to use a steroid or albuterol anymore & changed all the medications. Unfortunately they did not have human anticoagulants for cats at the time and there was only a study being done then so she ended up having an embolism from her heart and passed from a saddle thrombus eventually.

Her symptoms with the asthma attacks really looked very similar to heart failure to me. She did not have coughing or anything like that she had the rapid breathing and she would sit or lay down sometimes when it happened. But with the steroids in the inhaler it became very well controlled and she did very well with it.

Angie as a kitten used to run around in circles until she was panting like crazy chasing her cat dancer and she would just keep running so I brought her in worried that she could have a heart problem or something but DVM said no it was OK she was just out of breath from over exercising etc.
If a cat has chronic asthma it should show on xray.

 

[Anne2021]

Lots of cats with asthma here, and to give you a starting point until they find this thread, here is the link to the search that I did on the subject!

(232) Search Results for Query: asthma | TheCatSite

Thank you for the links!

 

[Anne2021]

That's totally normal after hard play. People do it too. A run around the neighborhood, running to catch a bus or train, a game of soccer, etc results in most people needing to pant and breath heavily afterwards to get the heart rate back down.

Being excited can cause hyperventilation.

Cats with asthma generally crouch on the floor and stick their necks way out low while coughing. There's a video here: http://www.fritzthebrave.com/media/video/f_coughing-cat.wmv I'm sure YouTube has plenty of other videos as well.

Here's additional info:

Feline Asthma: What You Need To Know

Thank you! I am posting a general update below.

 

[Anne2021]

If her heart is slightly enlarged they may put her on Lasix to make the blood a little thicker so the heart can pump it easier. I had a cat on Lasix for 5 or 6 years and he did fine, but he was older. I did reduce the dose to once a day after a year or so, I didn't want his blood to thicken too much and form a clot. The Lasix increases the amount of water leaving the body. and so 'thickens' the blood.

Thank you! I am posting a general update below.

 

[Anne2021]

Sybil had asthma as a young cat. She looked more like a hcm cat to me which Tess was, Tess went into heart failure before she was diagnosed although I brought her in with odd breathing before and was ridiculed by the dvm! A few days later she was in CHF. It can be hard to diagnose in the early stages because asthma can look very similar if you have never seen a cat in congestive heart failure etc.

Sybil did have asthma though, the x-ray of her lungs confirmed that and we treated her with prednisilone and the cat inhaler with a steroid inhaler.
At some point she seemed to going into a remission from her asthma and we stop treating it. But years later she went into congestive heart failure after being over treated with fluids for kidney disease. An echo showed she had advanced HCM so I’m not sure why it was never diagnosed because we did other testing before that and she could’ve been on medication to hopefully slow it down. At the time she went into heart failure they also thought her asthma needed to be treated again. So we started with the inhaler again with a steroid & albuterol, she was also on prednisilone. But the cardiologist did not want her to use a steroid or albuterol anymore & changed all the medications. Unfortunately they did not have human anticoagulants for cats at the time and there was only a study being done then so she ended up having an embolism from her heart and passed from a saddle thrombus eventually.

Her symptoms with the asthma attacks really looked very similar to heart failure to me. She did not have coughing or anything like that she had the rapid breathing and she would sit or lay down sometimes when it happened. But with the steroids in the inhaler it became very well controlled and she did very well with it.

Angie as a kitten used to run around in circles until she was panting like crazy chasing her cat dancer and she would just keep running so I brought her in worried that she could have a heart problem or something but DVM said no it was OK she was just out of breath from over exercising etc.
If a cat has chronic asthma it should show on xray.

I'm so sorry that you've gone through so much with your cats.

Bailey does just get so intense when she plays. She does lie down sometimes when it happens, but mentally she can't stand lying down for long if anyone is willing to play so she gets right back up and starts playing again even before her breathing normalizes.

I am posting an update below now that the appointment is done.

 

[Anne2021]

Thank you to those who commented here already. Any help or information is much appreciated.

Bailey had her echocardiogram this morning, and they also measured her blood pressure. Her blood pressure was normal. The vet said that on the echo it appeared that the right side of her heart was a little larger than it should be and that would track with the radiologist's report from the x-ray that suspected mild cardiomegaly. She said that the right side of the heart should be 1/3 the size the of the left side and that Bailey's looks a little bigger than that. She did not think that the source of the issue is a heart issue and that it would be consistent with a pulmonary issue (like asthma or eosinophilic pulmonary ? - she couldn't remember the last word and mentioned it being early and needing her coffee). She said a pulmonary issue can cause pulmonary hypertension, leading to a sort of backing up of blood to the heart and consequently the right side of the heart enlarging. She also told me at the beginning that when doing an echo, reading the left side is more objective and reading the right side is more subjective.

I was a little concerned with her bent toward asthma even on Wednesday before we did the echo today. I told her there is no coughing or wheezing. She said there doesn't have to be coughing, that the panting is enough. I repeated that Bailey plays very intensely and sometimes even starts panting when my son or I sit down to play with her and pull out her favorite toy and we haven't even gotten started yet. (I've also noticed she does it when I have done play sessions with both cats and she keeps barreling into the other cat and hogging the toys and I stop her - like the frustration when she is so intensely focused makes her pant). I asked about the radiology report, referring to how the radiologist indicated that there was nothing indicating anything suspicious with her respiratory system on the x-ray. She confirmed that and showed me Bailey's x-ray versus an x-ray of a cat with asthma, pointing out the differences and the abnormalities with the asthmatic cat. Then she started talking about asthma medications and how inhalers are safer than systemic steroids because steroids lead to diabetes. Then she said we could just watch and wait since this is only happening during play sessions and intense exertion.

I guess I'm kind of confused. On the one hand I'm thinking that it's just Bailey being her wild and crazy self. Then I can't really explain the mild abnormalities on the x-ray and echo. Either way, I don't think there is anything to do in the meantime other than to keep watch if anything changes. Part of the problem is that I was also hoping to get a fairly definitive answer as to her health situation because I am struggling with the possibility of needing to re-home her (which is awful) because her super-sized personality and rough and tumble lifestyle is very hard on my introverted, quiet girl Josie (who has been with me longer), and that seems to be getting worse rather than better. I didn't think health unknowns would be helpful in a re-homing situation.

 

[Twylasmom]

Can you video what happens during one of her episodes and share it with the vet? Sometimes it helps if they can see what is happening.

 

[Meowmee]

Thank you to those who commented here already. Any help or information is much appreciated.

Bailey had her echocardiogram this morning, and they also measured her blood pressure. Her blood pressure was normal. The vet said that on the echo it appeared that the right side of her heart was a little larger than it should be and that would track with the radiologist's report from the x-ray that suspected mild cardiomegaly. She said that the right side of the heart should be 1/3 the size the of the left side and that Bailey's looks a little bigger than that. She did not think that the source of the issue is a heart issue and that it would be consistent with a pulmonary issue (like asthma or eosinophilic pulmonary ? - she couldn't remember the last word and mentioned it being early and needing her coffee). She said a pulmonary issue can cause pulmonary hypertension, leading to a sort of backing up of blood to the heart and consequently the right side of the heart enlarging. She also told me at the beginning that when doing an echo, reading the left side is more objective and reading the right side is more subjective.

I was a little concerned with her bent toward asthma even on Wednesday before we did the echo today. I told her there is no coughing or wheezing. She said there doesn't have to be coughing, that the panting is enough. I repeated that Bailey plays very intensely and sometimes even starts panting when my son or I sit down to play with her and pull out her favorite toy and we haven't even gotten started yet. (I've also noticed she does it when I have done play sessions with both cats and she keeps barreling into the other cat and hogging the toys and I stop her - like the frustration when she is so intensely focused makes her pant). I asked about the radiology report, referring to how the radiologist indicated that there was nothing indicating anything suspicious with her respiratory system on the x-ray. She confirmed that and showed me Bailey's x-ray versus an x-ray of a cat with asthma, pointing out the differences and the abnormalities with the asthmatic cat. Then she started talking about asthma medications and how inhalers are safer than systemic steroids because steroids lead to diabetes. Then she said we could just watch and wait since this is only happening during play sessions and intense exertion.

I guess I'm kind of confused. On the one hand I'm thinking that it's just Bailey being her wild and crazy self. Then I can't really explain the mild abnormalities on the x-ray and echo. Either way, I don't think there is anything to do in the meantime other than to keep watch if anything changes. Part of the problem is that I was also hoping to get a fairly definitive answer as to her health situation because I am struggling with the possibility of needing to re-home her (which is awful) because her super-sized personality and rough and tumble lifestyle is very hard on my introverted, quiet girl Josie (who has been with me longer), and that seems to be getting worse rather than better. I didn't think health unknowns would be helpful in a re-homing situation.

That is difficult that they can’t diagnose it yet. I think following her is needed. It may be a lot harder to rehome her even if it were diagnosed.

I would keep trying to let her get along with your other girl and just see how it goes- she is a kitten, she is going to calm down eventually. This is a normal interaction that happens when you’re introducing to cats. If it’s really bad you can try separating them for a while which is what I had to do with Quinn and Sybil. Quinn is a purebred siamese and as a kitten he was just super super active and high strung and he absolutely would not stop jumping on my poor Sybil- she was older and started to get her problems with her heart disease at the time so in the last few months of her life I just kept them separate most of the time.

Another thing I did was I tried medication with him which didn’t help but then I got him a thunder coat and that helped a little bit. I also played with him constantly. He has calmed down somewhat now but he is still very high strong and super active it’s just part of his breed. He has a brother now a big domestic ginger tabby who I took in from outside and they absolutely love each other they like to wrestle and run around with each other so that has helped. Whereas Syb just had no interest in being jumped on by the little monster which was understandable.

 

[Anne2021]

That is difficult that they can’t diagnose it yet. I think following her is needed. It may be a lot harder to rehome her even if it were diagnosed.

I would keep trying to let her get along with your other girl and just see how it goes- she is a kitten, she is going to calm down eventually. This is a normal interaction that happens when you’re introducing to cats. If it’s really bad you can try separating them for a while which is what I had to do with Quinn and Sybil. Quinn is a purebred siamese and as a kitten he was just super super active and high strung and he absolutely would not stop jumping on my poor Sybil- she was older and started to get her problems with her heart disease at the time so in the last few months of her life I just kept them separate most of the time.

Another thing I did was I tried medication with him which didn’t help but then I got him a thunder coat and that helped a little bit. I also played with him constantly. He has calmed down somewhat now but he is still very high strong and super active it’s just part of his breed. He has a brother now a big domestic ginger tabby who I took in from outside and they absolutely love each other they like to wrestle and run around with each other so that has helped. Whereas Syb just had no interest in being jumped on by the little monster which was understandable.

Hi, Meowmee. Thank you for your thoughts.

Part of the problem is that Bailey isn't actually a kitten. I adopted her October 1 from the local humane society. When they picked her up as a stray at the end of July, their vet estimated her at two years old. My Josie just turned two in September. So Bailey is the same age to possibly a little older than Josie. I've shared out here about Bailey and one member shared about his cat who was hyper until he was 7-1/2. The vet said she has seen some go like that until they're 10. I've got a bad feeling this isn't youth. It seems ingrained in her personality. In the ten weeks since I got her, I've tried multiple different approaches - from playing with her for 45-60 minute sessions, 2-3 times a day, to playing a less to see if that was overstimulating her even though she craves stimulation. She really acts like a puppy so much of the time. My adult son keeps saying that she needs a dog to play with. I've never met a cat like her. She bounces around like a puppy with the same exuberance and she seems dense about boundaries. Introductions with Josie went okay. It took about nine days to integrate them and it seemed like Josie was open but cautious and Bailey was just all out there. As the weeks went by and Josie tried to teach Bailey what her boundaries were - like she would step back and try to put a paw on Bailey's head as if to say, step back, you're overwhelming me, and she would try to lick her head a bit - Bailey would accept the licking and then just plow into her. For a while, Josie had to run under furniture or even run to me for intervention. Her hair behind her ears fell out and then she started scratching a lot. Josie lost her light-hearted, carefree manner. She started sitting in the middle of the staircase so she could avoid being startled by Bailey. She has another neutral position where she sits when she doesn't want to be ambushed.

Three to four weeks ago, things shifted. About the same time Josie seems to have decided she was done with trying, her hair started growing back. But now she just rejects Bailey. Neither of them use claws or teeth - no injuries, no blood - they are both really good-hearted girls. But now when Bailey approaches slowly, most of the time Josie just hisses and slaps her and walks away. The rest of the time Josie is trying to avoid her and Bailey still tries to chase and wrestle with her, which leads to the rejection when Bailey is more calm. I get it. I really do. Bailey has worn me out. She makes me laugh every day, but our house was quiet and though Josie is playful, it's completely different. To use a couple of sports analogies, it's like Josie is playing golf and Bailey comes barreling onto the course like a football player or a pro wrestler tackling her to the ground. When I have tried to play with both of them at the same time, I can be using two different wands with mice on them and Bailey chases hers all around and the second Josie gets a chance at hers, Bailey can handle both and just jumps right in Josie's face to play with Josie's. Oh, and Josie is about 8.7 pounds and Bailey is just over 10. That does not help matters. She's like the ball hog on the team who doesn't understand why her teammates don't want to play with her.

Josie sounds more like your Syb. She has no interest in being jumped on and she is smaller and can't stop it. And Bailey seems to have no clue that it's not okay. I would love to see her interact with a dog - something non-aggressive like a Golden Retriever. I see those YouTube videos where a cat and a dog will develop a special bond and it just seems like what she was made for. But my social circle is fairly small these days and I don't know anyone with a dog where I could try it out. I'm worried about Josie. I took her to the vet and she is now battling a bacterial and fungal ear infection, source unknown. Bailey's ears are clean. I am concerned Josie's health will suffer as well as her mental attitude now that she is having negative interactions every day when that wasn't the case before. She had a peaceful existence. I am considering having my daughter take Bailey to her house for a bit to see if Josie relaxes or misses her. My daughter has three senior cats right now so she would probably have to keep Bailey isolated. I just don't know what to do.

 

[Meowmee]

Hi, Meowmee. Thank you for your thoughts.

Part of the problem is that Bailey isn't actually a kitten. I adopted her October 1 from the local humane society. When they picked her up as a stray at the end of July, their vet estimated her at two years old. My Josie just turned two in September. So Bailey is the same age to possibly a little older than Josie. I've shared out here about Bailey and one member shared about his cat who was hyper until he was 7-1/2. The vet said she has seen some go like that until they're 10. I've got a bad feeling this isn't youth. It seems ingrained in her personality. In the ten weeks since I got her, I've tried multiple different approaches - from playing with her for 45-60 minute sessions, 2-3 times a day, to playing a less to see if that was overstimulating her even though she craves stimulation. She really acts like a puppy so much of the time. My adult son keeps saying that she needs a dog to play with. I've never met a cat like her. She bounces around like a puppy with the same exuberance and she seems dense about boundaries. Introductions with Josie went okay. It took about nine days to integrate them and it seemed like Josie was open but cautious and Bailey was just all out there. As the weeks went by and Josie tried to teach Bailey what her boundaries were - like she would step back and try to put a paw on Bailey's head as if to say, step back, you're overwhelming me, and she would try to lick her head a bit - Bailey would accept the licking and then just plow into her. For a while, Josie had to run under furniture or even run to me for intervention. Her hair behind her ears fell out and then she started scratching a lot. Josie lost her light-hearted, carefree manner. She started sitting in the middle of the staircase so she could avoid being startled by Bailey. She has another neutral position where she sits when she doesn't want to be ambushed.

Three to four weeks ago, things shifted. About the same time Josie seems to have decided she was done with trying, her hair started growing back. But now she just rejects Bailey. Neither of them use claws or teeth - no injuries, no blood - they are both really good-hearted girls. But now when Bailey approaches slowly, most of the time Josie just hisses and slaps her and walks away. The rest of the time Josie is trying to avoid her and Bailey still tries to chase and wrestle with her, which leads to the rejection when Bailey is more calm. I get it. I really do. Bailey has worn me out. She makes me laugh every day, but our house was quiet and though Josie is playful, it's completely different. To use a couple of sports analogies, it's like Josie is playing golf and Bailey comes barreling onto the course like a football player or a pro wrestler tackling her to the ground. When I have tried to play with both of them at the same time, I can be using two different wands with mice on them and Bailey chases hers all around and the second Josie gets a chance at hers, Bailey can handle both and just jumps right in Josie's face to play with Josie's. Oh, and Josie is about 8.7 pounds and Bailey is just over 10. That does not help matters. She's like the ball hog on the team who doesn't understand why her teammates don't want to play with her.

Josie sounds more like your Syb. She has no interest in being jumped on and she is smaller and can't stop it. And Bailey seems to have no clue that it's not okay. I would love to see her interact with a dog - something non-aggressive like a Golden Retriever. I see those YouTube videos where a cat and a dog will develop a special bond and it just seems like what she was made for. But my social circle is fairly small these days and I don't know anyone with a dog where I could try it out. I'm worried about Josie. I took her to the vet and she is now battling a bacterial and fungal ear infection, source unknown. Bailey's ears are clean. I am concerned Josie's health will suffer as well as her mental attitude now that she is having negative interactions every day when that wasn't the case before. She had a peaceful existence. I am considering having my daughter take Bailey to her house for a bit to see if Josie relaxes or misses her. My daughter has three senior cats right now so she would probably have to keep Bailey isolated. I just don't know what to do.

Such a difficult situation, I know how stressful it is. Somehow I thought she was a kitten. Have you tried medication at all? Maybe that could help. With my last two outdoor rescues they were so stressed and Jez was on gabapentin for pain, but it helped her stress/ aggression.

Currently Zena who I trapped 2 weeks ago and had his neuter is on it and it is definitely helping him calm down so much so that I have hope he can become an indoor kitty in time. Quinn never tried that but I wonder now if it could have helped. I would try the thunder coat because that did help him.

I think a visit to your mom sounds like a good idea, maybe you can try the gabapentin and the thunder coat at the same time.

Another option is to get a kitten or a bigger cat who is known to be very active and more dominant as a companion and they will play with each other and leave poor Josie alone. I should have done that for Quinn but my family did not want another kitten at that time and I was worried about it too.

I remember Quinn’s breeder telling me it is a “ very “ intense difference between a pb siamese and mixes which I had before, but I didn't understand fully what she meant until I brought Quinn home He is super dominant and even tries to dominate Merlin too but Merlin is very laid back and bigger, so he often swats him down but sometimes he screeches and runs away and I have to talk with Quinn about it. He tries to dominate me too It is great that M is a wrestler etc. too.