Feline Asthma

[writingislove]

Hi all,

My cat is 7 years old and a bit overweight--he's about 18 pounds. He's always been pretty healthy but I'm starting to suspect feline asthma. I am going to be calling the vet Monday but we've had a pretty rough couple of days and my anxiety is getting the best of me. I'm trying to educate myself as well as possible before we go in and see the doc.

So, question is: if a cat has asthma, how often CAN the attacks (mild or severe) occur? No matter how much I read on it, I can't find the frequency. Until recently what I now suspect may have been mild attacks in my cat were only once a week or twice a month (always assumed it was hairballs)...but since in the past three days it's happened 1-2 times a day. Any insight??

Thanks in advance!

Edited to add: in case it matters, he is a 100% indoor cat. Nothing big has changed in the house lately, that I can think of.

 

[lavishsqualor]

My gray tabby Atticus is asthmatic. He was diagnosed around a year ago when he was two. He's currently on fluticasone which is an inhaled aerosol corticosteroid. It's administered through the AeroKat delivery system, which when the vet was describing it I never thought Atticus would take to; yet two or three days later and he was puffing like a champion. Atticus is an indoor cat only. He's solid but not fat . . . though if he had his way he would be. He is an veritable eating machine. Finally, just as a bit of advice, feline asthma is difficult to diagnose and may require x-rays (Atticus did) to show the overinflation of the lungs, so make sure your vet is up to it. If you don't like your vet's diagnosis or feel as if he or she is being dismissive, seek out another vet.

 

[suzan30]

My kitty Ollie has asthma. He is only about 15 months old and is a typical young male cat, lanky and muscular. He had a lot of short attacks--4-5/day of about 30 seconds each. We are still working on getting him to tolerate the aerokat treatments, so he is back on oral prednisone.

 

[writingislove]

Thank you both for the responses. We've been seeing our vet for years and I do believe they will be willing to hear out my concerns, but just in case I've been reading up on everything I can to ask the right questions, and I'll be going in with videos of these possible attacks.

On a side note, I'm so sorry you both have to watch your kitties go through this. It's been pretty hard for me to watch mine these past few days.

 

[suzan30]

I hope your vet can help you out. It is super hard to watch my Ollie crouched over and hacking. We both dread the aerokat treatments, but I know it is the best option.

 

[writingislove]

Showed this video to a friend who had a cat with asthma once and he thinks this is just allergies. Thoughts? I'm calling the vet in the morning but I'm worried about this guy. This happens about 1-3 times a day. Other than when he's like this, he eats, plays, drinks, and uses the litter box normally.

 

[lavishsqualor]

That looks VERY similar to Atticus when he has an asthma attack. That does not at all appear to be only allergies. Definitely need to get him to a vet.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

One of my furbabies has asthma and I use an Aerokat inhaler (about $ 60.00 online) and Fluticasone, 250 mcg(?). It works great, and now he only needs one puff every few days. It has a little flapper thing so you can see how many puffs they take.

 

[writingislove]

We saw the vet today and the diagnosis is indeed asthma.

For now he's on Prednisone but long term she said we'll need to look at an inhaler because his weight puts him at a much higher risk for diabetes if he stays on Prednisone long term.

Feeling a little overwhelmed, but also slightly grateful that it wasn't worse.

 

[lavishsqualor]

He definitely needs to be on inhaled cortosteriods soon. The prednisone really should be short term use only. Long term use can cause weight gain which can result in diabetes and heart disease. Liver and adrenal glad problems are also seen in cats on long term steroid use.

It really is important to keep your pet on prednisolone for as little time as possible so talk to your vet if he or she starts to drag their heels.

I'm glad you have a diagnosis and that your cat is in such good hands! Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

I agree with above. Mine never even prescribed Prednisone, he just went straight to the inhaler. Get the fluticasone from an overseas pharmacy, it will cost 4X as much to buy here in the US. The stuff works GREAT! Your baby will be fine!

 

[writingislove]

Thank you both! The vet did only prescribe it for the first five days and then we'll be discussing the long-term plan, which is likely the inhaler. She definitely doesn't want him on the prednisone any longer than he needs to be.

So I gave him his first dose of the prednisone last night and the second one this morning, and so far today I haven't noticed him having any problems. Is it really possible it took effect that quickly? Or is he just having a fluke good day and I can still expect more possible episodes here and there until we have him on regular treatment? Just trying to prepare myself. I'm a ridiculously anxious cat mom.

 

[suzan30]

I found that my cat's first does of prednisone also seemed to work like magic. Unfortunately, he seemed to gradually acclimate and the attacks continued, but of course every cat is different. The good news is that after giving up on the aerokat for a week, I've started again and Ollie seems much less tense this time around.

 

[lavishsqualor]

As a reminder, inhaled corticosteroids only work if they are administer every day and with the correct dosage.

There a lots of YouTube videos on how to acclimate your cat to the AeroKat. I have to admit that it was all pretty much trial and error with Atticus, but in the end he took to it like a champ. Perhaps because he didn't have a mom and is used to me brushing his teeth, bathing him, etc, he views the AeroKat as just one more cross he has to bear from his surrogate dad!

 

[suzan30]

Actually, I was advised by my vet to take him off the inhaler for a week because he was resisting so much and was back on the prednisone. I was then to reintroduce it, which I've done with a good result so far.

 

[writingislove]

Well I spoke too soon--we did go a full day without an attack but he had one this morning. I'll take one in a 24-hour period versus the 3-4 he was having before. Still a HUGE improvement.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Actually, I was advised by my vet to take him off the inhaler for a week because he was resisting so much and was back on the prednisone. I was then to reintroduce it, which I've done with a good result so far.

That's awesome. I'm glad he's getting used to it.

I honestly have no idea why Atticus is so tolerant of his AeroKat. He's gotten to where he purrs all the way through it now, which believe it or not slows down his inhalation process. I have to rub his head or his butt to get him breathing normally again. If I didn't, we'd be sitting there all night trying to get that damn flapper to open and close 15 times.

 

[writingislove]

Oh no...my cat purrs through anything and everything. That interferes with the inhalation process? I have so much to learn!

 

[lavishsqualor]

Oh no...my cat purrs through anything and everything. That interferes with the inhalation process? I have so much to learn!

You and your boy are gonna do fine so stop worrying! I don't think your cat is going to purr when you first start using the Aerokat. It took Atticus a long time to start doing that and I believe he does it because he knows he's about to get treat. He has learned to associate the AeroKat with the most delicious treat he can imagine, which in his case happens to be the PureBites Freeze Dried Duck Treats.

That's actually a very good piece of advice. When you start training your cat, be sure to have his absolute favorite treats on hand so that he, like Atticus, will associate the AeroKat with something really good.

 

[writingislove]

That's great advice, thanks!

We've had one more attack, so two in two days, which is such an improvement over eight.