How Do I Train My Cat For Using An Inhaler?

[kittyqss]

Cat has been using steroids for the past 3 months or so (not permanent, just using the bottle slowly and slowly) but lately the effect has been getting worse - what was maybe one pill every 1 day to 2 days to 3 days to 4 days is now back to once a couple days. Pollen in air seems low so Im not sure what it is.

Either way the steroids are not a permanent solution from what I've been told. I tried to get her used to the aerokat inhaler with treats, but really I messed up by 1 going too fast and 2 not sure how to make her comfortable and ease her into it. I hold her upright like I am sitting down and shes on my lap, her back facing towards my stomach etc). but she doesnt like it. but I feel like she will never like it. I tried using treats awhile ago, and I'd get a few breathes out of the flap at best and then shed spasm and scratch her way out. I feel doomed. Hate to see her wheezing randomly every couple of days.

 

[Elphaba09]

One of our cats has asthma. Thankfully, he is one of the most laid back cats I have ever encountered, so I tuck him between the arm of our couch and me with a pillow behind him. The first few times I had to use clips to nap him, but he does fine without them now.

Is there someone who can help hold her?

 

[kittyqss]

My cat is super laid back too just really skittish when shes not (does that make her not laid back?) What do you mean by cat clips? Whenever I get her in a position she kicks her legs, made me bleed. Its just me unfortunately. I think the vet made it clear it was either this or steroids, and the steroids had side effects where this had none/minimal. Just dont know how to get it to work. Even if the aerokat gets on and she holds still for a seconds I can see the flapper she doesnt breathe. ITs not comfortable, I understand. I just dont know how to ease her into it. If she sees it helps, she will be more understanding.

 

[Elphaba09]

We have a couple of cats that are the "lain back until they are not"type, but Fennimore is the laidback all the time sort of cat. Trimming his nails, giving him a bath, and giving him medication is so much easier than with the other cats!

The video shows "Deactivating" a cat, also known as scruffing. It works on all but one of our cats. Our vet showed us how to do it. She called it "clipnosis." We use more clips on our bigger cats, though. (It releases a


And here is an article about it.

"Clipnosis" technique can calm cats in vet's office and at home | College of Veterinary Medicine

 

[kittyqss]

So basically clipping will get allegedly calm my cat, and hopefully will stay still enough for me to give her a puff? Do you recommend a brand of clip? The ones I saw off amazon had poor reviews, said the spring was too harsh and felt they'd hurt the cat.

 

[Elphaba09]

There are some cats that are not affected by it, but if it works it should calm her enough to administer the inhaler. We just got large metal clips from the store, which is what my vet told us to do. They cost a couple of dollars for a pack. Just make sure that they are the larger ones. If your cat is on the heavier side, the clips may not work because you will not be able to get a good section of skin and fur.

 

[Marlow cat]

You could try puffing your cat when he is dozing or sleeping. That's what we do. Marlow's lower level of alertness makes it much easier. We also pet and talk to him.

 

[kitty chew]

My cat was very difficult at first. I thought she would never get used to the puffer. But now she will let me give it to her. At least she doesn't run away from me anymore. Give it time. At least a couple of weeks. Best of luck!

 

[LTS3]

I used the toilet paper tube method: place an empty tube over the cat's nose for a second and remove. Reward with a treat. Repeat a few times daily and slowly increase the time the tube is held over the nose.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I'm sorry, but wow, I would never put one of those black office clips on a cat. Some of those have a pretty strong "pinch".

With gentle, knowledgeable persistence, a cat can be trained to actually enjoy the time spent using a Flovent/Areokat inhaler. You can make a positive experience of it. My cat loves the time(s) each day I give her the Flovent/Areokat. It is actually a ritual time of purring, cuddles, and her scritching her chin along the inhaler before I insert it into the Aerokat, a time when I can run my hands over her body each day to make sure everything is healthy with her. I make it a point to stay calm and to do the very same patterns and ritual each time, so she can trust what I am going to do. And she gets a most fabulous raw freeze-dried treat after we're done. She literally wakes each morning to wait in the same place, and loudly yells for me if I am trying to sleep in late.

For those that don't believe in scruffing,
Inhaler Asthma - Difficulties! Advice Please

 

[Elphaba09]

I'm sorry, but wow, I would never put one of those black office clips on a cat. Some of those have a pretty strong "pinch".

I understand from where you are coming; however, the clip method just mimics the mother cat carrying around her babies with her strong jaw and sharp teeth, except, this is without the sharp teeth. Obviously, it is your choice.

Having said that, there is research that suggests that it is perfectly safe and causes no pain. The Ohio State University in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and a clinic in Sainte-Foy-Lès-Lyon, France did research on the method using 2" binder clips on adult cats, both healthy and some with idiopathic cystitis. 92%of the healthy cats responded well, and 100% of the ill cats responded well. Some purred. There were no significant changes in blood pressure, heart rate, or temperature. And none of the cats who responded well exhibited any fear or pain responses. In fact, they showed better tolerance for treatment.

The treated cats were calmer, content, and less fearful when being examined. They did state that if a cat was already agitated, the use of clips had little effect.

Our Tara ripped her one of her claws out about a year ago. I did not notice it until I went to trim her nails, so it could have been a week and a half, which is when I had last extended her claws for a trim. She was walking normally, but when I pushed on her paw to extend her claw it was clearly infected and painful. When I got her to the vet half an hour after discovering the issue, she was very upset and ended up biting me. (I ended up with cat scratch fever from it.) After calming her down a bit, the vet used the clips. Tara laid down calmly and let them examine and treat her paw. That included soaking her paw in some solution for about 10 minutes. She fell asleep during the soaking part.

After that, I did research on it. I knew it did not hurt her because she fell asleep, but I wanted to know more about it.

Our Freya is one of those cats on which it does not work. We have had to find ways to clip her nails that works for her with the least amount of fear. (She is held at arm's length with her feet up with someone scruffing her by hand. She likes to be held like a baby.)

We used larger clips on our Fennimore because he is a big (chubby) cat and the 2" ones are too small. After using the clips a few times, he stopped being afraid because the clips calmed him enough during the first treatments that he came to realize that it was not going to hurt him.

When doing the clip scruffing, you need to make sure that you get enough fur and skin inside the clip. Our Silas is too skinny for it, but he finally started gaining weight from being a malnourished, starved kitten.

Here is a link to a synopsis of the research:
Is "clipnosis" the answer to calming cats in the clinic?

Some more:
The Weird Science Behind Feline Clipnosis - Tested.com

And
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(13)00353-9#MainText

Obviously, more articles are out there, but these three do a good job with the whats and hows, and with explaining the lack of pain response.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I appreciate your post; it definitely will help guide others and me as we all traverse our own "decision-making trees".

 

[Elphaba09]

I appreciate your post; it definitely will help guide others and me as we all traverse our own "decision-making trees".

You are welcome. When the vet clipped Tara, I was certain it was painful and that she stopped moving out of fear, but, when she started purring and fell asleep, I knew that it was just calming her. I would much rather them use the clips when they can to reduce stress than to terrify the cat more or to sedate them needlessly. (I know someone who was trying to get her vet to medically sedate her cat once a month so that she could trim her nails! Can you believe that!? The vet refused, thankfully.)

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Well, I understand we all have different experiences and thoughts, and have cats with different levels of stress or behaviors or interactions. I just know I could never put an office clip like that on my cat.

 

[LTS3]

Maybe something similar to a binder clip but not as strong would work? Like a "chip clip" or hair clip or clothes pin.

 

[Krystalb]

Don’t give up hope! And don’t feel bad comparing your cat to some internet cats that take the inhaler perfectly. It doesn’t look pretty, but I got my kitty comfortable taking her inhaler in a couple weeks!

I took about a week to get my cat used to the AeroKat with no medicine just to get her used to the feeling of it. i would count to five to pretend like we were doing the real thing. Of course she would get dinner or treats after. After a few days she wouldn’t fight me as much bc she knew that’s the only way she gets treats.

The harder part is getting them to take the actual medicine. For me, the only way that works is to pick her up and place her in front of the food cabinet/eating area (where she likes to hang out and beg lol). I sit on the ground, pet her and talk sweetly while I get her to sit and I have to hold her kind of in between my legs and one hand on her so she doesn’t run away, while the other hand puts the aerokat to her mouth while giving her a puff for 5 breaths.

Some say that the sound of the Flovent will scare the cat and to do it first then put it to their mouth. For me , it would give her a second to know it was coming and run away lol. It’s easier for me to do the puff while it’s already on her mouth. During the process, I count her breaths out loud and speak very nice and of course big cuddles/treats at the end.

It’s now to the point (14 days) where she’s used to it I don’t have to hold her as much while she takes the medicine. She also doesn’t squirm and run away right after (she knows those treats are coming!) so I know she’s getting more comfortable with the process. No way is she like some of these YouTube cat videos that take it with no effort, but I figured out how to get her to take it.

My cat is very sweet, purr machine but a bit nervous so getting her to do this wasn’t the easiest and I felt bad at first because she seemed so scared of the inhaler. But then she would have a bad asthma attack/coughing day and I remembered that it’s more important for her be scared for a little bit while getting used to inhaler then it is of her being scared because she can’t breathe properly!

Good luck!

 

[cat princesses]

I watched some you tubes go on there and search I think I looked under the brand of inhaler and there were videos