Think Kitty Has Asthma And Need Ideas To Help Him

[xenathecrazy]

I will be taking my kitty in to see the vet for confirmation but from symptoms and watching videos, I’m almost positive it’s asthma episodes. I also recorded them for the vet to see to properly diagnose. This came on all of a sudden and he doesn’t have symptoms of a URI. I’ve been using Dr Elsey’s litter (blue bag) and I think I need to start by changing that. Is there a clumping litter that is good for asthmatic kitties? I know pellets are mostly dust free too but I’d prefer clumping if that’s a possibility.

Also, are there any diet changes that can help? I haven’t changed anything such as detergent, I don’t diffuse oils or air fresheners and I most use Dawn, vinegar, and baking soda for cleaning.

What can I expect the vet’s office to do and recommend?

Any tips or links to learn more about how I can help him would be greatly appreciated.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

It may be seasonal too. Emerson has seasonal allergies that I'm waiting on to flare up. How long have you been using the Dr. Elsey's litter?

 

[She's a witch]

Make sure other possible causes for his attacks are ruled out before he is diagnosed with asthma (heart issues, bacterial infection of lower airways, parasites etc). Vet will do x-ray to look for the asthmatic pattern so I would choose a vet that has experience in it (and preferably, cats only vet).

Litter is a challenge for asthmatic kitties; my vet is against clay litter for cats with breathing problems (because of crystalline silica), but she also says to be careful with so called natural litters as some of them may be allergens triggering the attacks (she especially warns against pine litter). So far I haven't been able to find a non dust litter, I don't think it exists. While I'm still searching, we're currently using grass seed Smart Cat as it's best I found so far when it comes to dust (but it's tracking and it's expensive). I used the clumping wooden pellets before and although they did have some dust, it was fairly ok, but in the US I managed to find only one brand that does it (Okocat, available on chewy) and it's much worse than the one we used back in Europe (doesn't clump too well and it's dustier). Walnut and corn litters were too dusty.

As for what can you do in your house, get rid of all the source of smoke (cigarettes, tea lights, incense sticks), strong fragrances, chemicals, aerosols, sprays. Vacuum your space regularly. I have an air purifiers and humidifiers as well.

If he is diagnosed with asthma but the attacks are rare and mild (eg. less than once a week), vet will not necessarily put him on steroids. But if he will, talk about inhaler form rather than oral (after the initial oral doses) that would need to be given every 12h.
Good luck!

 

[xenathecrazy]

It may be seasonal too. Emerson has seasonal allergies that I'm waiting on to flare up. How long have you been using the Dr. Elsey's litter?

I’ve been using it for several months. He just turned a year old.

 

[xenathecrazy]

I was considering the walnut litters to stay away from wheat, corn, and pine.

 

[She's a witch]

I was considering the walnut litters to stay away from wheat, corn, and pine.

I liked walnut litter and if I'd find one brand that is less dusty than Smart Cat (which is made of sorghum btw), I'd certainly go back to it. So far we tried Naturally Fresh, Nature's Miracle and one supermarket brand I forgot the name, and none of them passed the dustiness test in my house (I have a black cat that tends to lower his head in the litter box when covering, and if I see him from the distance covered in dust after using the litter box, I know the litter is way too dusty )
I forgot to mention that it's better to avoid closed litter boxes with kitties with asthma, as all the dust gets to their airways easier than with open boxes.

and - if the trigger is pollen- it might be worth keeping the windows closed during the season. As well as during wildfires/fires etc. And if you live in the city with very polluted air..

 

[Count]

I have no idea what is available in US but here I found that Ever Clean is significantly less dusty than other clumping clay litters.

 

[xenathecrazy]

His litter box is an open box. It’s a cement mixing box from Lowe’s. He’s a long Maine Coon so I had to find other cat box alternatives. I scoop 2 or 3 times a day too so the litter isn’t building up with ammonia. I never open windows because I suffer badly from allergies. He’s an indoor only cat. I vacuum a few times weekly. I don’t use any type of fragrance stuff in my home. For all these reasons, I’m just baffled. At first, I thought it was a hairball that he was having trouble getting out, but when it persisted unproductively, and I did research and watched videos, it was spot on with an asthma episode.

 

[xenathecrazy]

I have no idea what is available in US but here I found that Ever Clean is significantly less dusty than other clumping clay litters.

We do have Everclean but I haven’t tried it.

 

[She's a witch]

His litter box is an open box. It’s a cement mixing box from Lowe’s. He’s a long Maine Coon so I had to find other cat box alternatives. I scoop 2 or 3 times a day too so the litter isn’t building up with ammonia. I never open windows because I suffer badly from allergies. He’s an indoor only cat. I vacuum a few times weekly. I don’t use any type of fragrance stuff in my home. For all these reasons, I’m just baffled. At first, I thought it was a hairball that he was having trouble getting out, but when it persisted unproductively, and I did research and watched videos, it was spot on with an asthma episode.

If he’s Maine coon, a heart condition must be ruled out first as coughing can be its symptom. If it’s asthma, figuring out the trigger is a tricky part, as it can also be dry air, humid air, etc so you need to experiment and see when he’s any better, preferably before he’s on steroids. It may also be an asthma like chronic bronchitis that basically has no attack trigger but the airways are permanently damaged because of the previous infection or other cause (eg smoke exposure).
Finding a good cat only vet, experienced in cats lower airways disease helped a lot in my cat’s case, so I’d do that if I were you