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- Mar 11, 2020
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I'm wondering if anyone has had their cat undergo a bronchoscopy or a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL).
My 10-year-old cat has been having rapid, shallow breathing since July or so. Our primary vet and the Internal Medicine specialist we've seen believe it's asthma from the x-rays we've had done. He never really coughs, but his breathing is more rapid than it should be (usually 40-45 breaths per minute) and I hear some wheezing. The radiologist said his heart looks to be in good shape, but we didn't have an EKG or any further testing in regards to his heart.
We tried a round of prednisolone and have been using a steroid inhaler as well as albuterol inhaler as needed. The pred made his breathing better - back down to 30 breaths per minute - but he was still wheezing. The albuterol inhaler didn't seem to help either, so I'm wondering if there is something else going on in addition to his asthma. He's does have supervised outdoor access, although he is on Bravecto Plus for fleas, heartworm, etc.
The specialist said in order to rule out other causes, the next step would be to do a bronchoscopy with BAL. We scheduled one for next week, but I'm scared to go through with it after reading varying things about how risky it is. I assume he's a good candidate for the procedure, otherwise I don't think the vet would schedule it. Aside from the faster breathing and wheezing, he seems healthy and his bloodwork was normal. He's not open mouthed breathing or panting, either. However, it does sound like complications are common with the procedure.
Has anyone here had a cat who's gone through a bronchoscopy? Or have any insight into the procedure? I'm going to call the specialist on Monday to talk about my concerns, but I'm worrying in the meantime. Thanks in advance!
My 10-year-old cat has been having rapid, shallow breathing since July or so. Our primary vet and the Internal Medicine specialist we've seen believe it's asthma from the x-rays we've had done. He never really coughs, but his breathing is more rapid than it should be (usually 40-45 breaths per minute) and I hear some wheezing. The radiologist said his heart looks to be in good shape, but we didn't have an EKG or any further testing in regards to his heart.
We tried a round of prednisolone and have been using a steroid inhaler as well as albuterol inhaler as needed. The pred made his breathing better - back down to 30 breaths per minute - but he was still wheezing. The albuterol inhaler didn't seem to help either, so I'm wondering if there is something else going on in addition to his asthma. He's does have supervised outdoor access, although he is on Bravecto Plus for fleas, heartworm, etc.
The specialist said in order to rule out other causes, the next step would be to do a bronchoscopy with BAL. We scheduled one for next week, but I'm scared to go through with it after reading varying things about how risky it is. I assume he's a good candidate for the procedure, otherwise I don't think the vet would schedule it. Aside from the faster breathing and wheezing, he seems healthy and his bloodwork was normal. He's not open mouthed breathing or panting, either. However, it does sound like complications are common with the procedure.
Has anyone here had a cat who's gone through a bronchoscopy? Or have any insight into the procedure? I'm going to call the specialist on Monday to talk about my concerns, but I'm worrying in the meantime. Thanks in advance!