My boyfriends cat Eos has asthma. It is really bad, she is now coughing up phlegm and her coughing fits last longer and her breathing is raspy. She is also in diabetic remission so no oral steriods can be used to treat her. She has antihistamines and an inhaler for this.
THE PROBLEM: My boyfriend loves this cat to death but will not spend a dime on her unless it is for a good reason. I finally found a low cost clinic to give us a specialist referral and he won't take her because "I am just going to spend a fortune for them to tell me there is nothing they can do for her." My response was a bit of a rude "Well you want her to just choke to death in the living room one day then?" He says she coughs and then she is fine so its ok.... I mean this is BREATHING she is struggling with, not something minor. He is terrible at remembering to give her inhaler and I am giving her antihistamines because he always forgets. I feel like a mom reminding her kid to do his chores. "Did you remember to give Eos her meds today?" "Oh no I forgot I will in a minute." I am getting fed up esp because money really isn't an issue for him. She had a dental a year and a half ago and even then the vet said they had to change her tubes multiple times while she was under anesthesia due to the large amount of mucous build up. He can afford a specialist no problem to make sure his baby is healthy.
MY QUESTION: What exactly is a specialist going to do in this situation? We know she has asthma. We don't know how damaged her lungs are at this point. She had an xray a year ago at the old vet and there was already visible scar tissue. Are there specific lung disease tests? Or COPD tests? Would it be more about finding a better medication for her?
I also would like to mention to him what would happen if this is left ignored and untreated. If I wasn't here she would never have went to the vet for this at all. So what is the end stage of asthma? Is she literally going to choke to death? This terrifies me. What are the signs of lung disease? How is lung disease treated? Is there surgery that can be done? I want to prepare him for how this will end for her if left untreated in hopes that it makes him agree to get her to the specialist. I don't know what else to do at this point so I turn to you all for help.
Thanks!
THE PROBLEM: My boyfriend loves this cat to death but will not spend a dime on her unless it is for a good reason. I finally found a low cost clinic to give us a specialist referral and he won't take her because "I am just going to spend a fortune for them to tell me there is nothing they can do for her." My response was a bit of a rude "Well you want her to just choke to death in the living room one day then?" He says she coughs and then she is fine so its ok.... I mean this is BREATHING she is struggling with, not something minor. He is terrible at remembering to give her inhaler and I am giving her antihistamines because he always forgets. I feel like a mom reminding her kid to do his chores. "Did you remember to give Eos her meds today?" "Oh no I forgot I will in a minute." I am getting fed up esp because money really isn't an issue for him. She had a dental a year and a half ago and even then the vet said they had to change her tubes multiple times while she was under anesthesia due to the large amount of mucous build up. He can afford a specialist no problem to make sure his baby is healthy.
MY QUESTION: What exactly is a specialist going to do in this situation? We know she has asthma. We don't know how damaged her lungs are at this point. She had an xray a year ago at the old vet and there was already visible scar tissue. Are there specific lung disease tests? Or COPD tests? Would it be more about finding a better medication for her?
I also would like to mention to him what would happen if this is left ignored and untreated. If I wasn't here she would never have went to the vet for this at all. So what is the end stage of asthma? Is she literally going to choke to death? This terrifies me. What are the signs of lung disease? How is lung disease treated? Is there surgery that can be done? I want to prepare him for how this will end for her if left untreated in hopes that it makes him agree to get her to the specialist. I don't know what else to do at this point so I turn to you all for help.
Thanks!
