Vet says not asthma - ANY ideas appreciated. :)

[SamChevyNala]

I've tried multiple times to download a video, but it keeps telling me my video doesnt have an allowed extension. I have no idea what that means.... The behavior looks just like an asthma attack.

My 9yr old housecat has been doing this for months now. Sometimes the (sneeze?) is so forceful that you hear a whistle, but she just walks away as if nothing happened. I asked this forum for advice a while back and I was directed to a video of a cat with asthma. I immediately took her to the vet who did an x-ray and said she was clear. They couldn't induce the behavior. Her advice was "maybe a seasonable allergy". Well, it's been months now, the season has turned, and she's still doing it. My other two cats are just fine, I've made no changes in food, cleaning products, or anything else. She is able to go outside (in a roofed 6x10 dog kennel through a cat door). I live in a yurt in the Oregon woods and she sees no other cats except her housemates. There are two dogs I share with my ex., but she's been around them for years...
She goes in for her annual in a few weeks and I'm afraid my Vet will either just say "allergy" again, or want to go fishing with blood tests or other tests I can't afford.
Any advice? Or, would it be wrong for me to just let it go on since she doesn't seem to be harmed by it?
Thank you all for any help! Carole

 

[kittenmittens84]

It could also be an environmental allergy that’s closer to year round, like a dust allergy.

If it doesn’t seem to bother her, doesn’t cause any other issues, and it isn’t getting worse personally I’d just take a wait and see approach.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I can't really address your girl's issue, but wanted to say that you can use YouTube (or similar) to download a video and then post a link here on this site in order for other members to be able to see it. And, be sure to take the video with you for the vet to see.

She is 9yo - an allergy can erupt at any time, but even more so as cats age. So, no changes in food or environment doesn't mean she hasn't developed an allergy to something she has been around all her life. The other thing to think about is that something might have changed with the dogs you share with your ex that is causing an issue for her.

Btw, at her age, she could use to have full scope bloodwork done at least once a year to monitor her as she continues to age. So, the blood testing is not a bad idea regardless.

 

[SamChevyNala]

Thank you for the reply. . I 've been doing that, but I just feel like such a bad caretaker when she's going through it..... If my Vet agrees, do you think a daily antihistamine would be a good idea? Sometimes the band aid is worse than the original problem.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thank you for the reply. . I 've been doing that, but I just feel like such a bad caretaker when she's going through it..... If my Vet agrees, do you think a daily antihistamine would be a good idea? Sometimes the band aid is worse than the original problem.

I have never had to use an antihistamine on any of my cats, but I know some of the members on this site do. I would log each time it happens on a chart (and any other details that you think might be pertinent) and take that chart and a video with you to the vet since she is going in for her annual in just a few weeks - and see what they say. It is worth discussing the prospect with the vet at any rate.

 

[SamChevyNala]

Keeping a calendar is a great idea. I'll do that and discuss antihistamines with my Vet.
The cats & I live on disability so annual bloodwork isn't an option. I feed a high quality food, I keep them inside, and they see the Vet every year. That's got to be it unless it's an emergency, like when I thought she had asthma.
Thanks again for the support - you guys are wonderful!

 

[tinytangerine]

Hey Sam! I'm not saying it definitively 'is' asthma of course, but I do want to caution that mild asthma will not necessarily show on x-rays. Our vet also initially said not likely asthma (guessed allergies or hairballs), but our guy does indeed have it (you can see a video of his attacks in my post history if you want to compare). I'm not sure how familiar your vet is with feline asthma (ours was not very familiar), so not sure whether they know it will not always show up if it is a new or mild case.

In our case, he was having athsma attacks at least 1 - 2x/week, so our vet put him on a low dose of pred - at which point the attacks disappeared - and tapering him off, at which point they came back and the vet said all signs pointed to asthma. Unfortunately...oral pred is a systemic steroid, so not great for long-term use, and I'm not sure whether it would help differentiate between asthma and an allergy. In our case though, it was a route to diagnosis when he didn't have clear lung signs. I'm also not sure whether the treatment would even be different, given this:

Although there is some debate about the definition, most clinicians and researchers agree that feline asthma is caused by an allergic reaction to inhaled allergens, particles that stimulate a cat’s immune system.

(from Cornell's page on feline asthma).

 

[SamChevyNala]

I just watched your video and that's EXACTLY what she does!! She never has labored breathing or appears distressed afterwards. This is so weird.... It took me forever to find your video and I ended-up reading all the replies you got. It seems like people deal with it in a number of ways. I know I don't want to use steroids unless she shows that she's distressed - too many liver consequences... I showed my Vet a video of her behavior when I took her in specifically for possible asthma, but she still said no asthma - possible allergies. I'll try again when we go for her annual. I will say that I'm a little worried now after reading that folks had their cats on steroids if the fits happened more that 2-3x per week. She does it 1-4x per day, then not for a day or two, then twice the next day, and so on... I feel like a monster now, but I can't stress enough that she really doesn't look stressed afterwards.

Here's another question. Could she have a mold allergy if my other two younger cats don't? I remembered something earlier that's embarrassing, but oh well. I flooded my yurt last fall - I half filled my tub with plums to wash them, them went back out to finish stripping the tree without remembering to shut the water off. When I returned, the yurt was 2" deep in water. I have a painted plywood floor, so I drilled two drain holes and used a wet vac to get all the water out. I finished-off with towels and two weeks of fans and space heaters. I thought everything worked out OK, but there are a few seams that look like some moisture got in. I've just assumed that I would have allergies if there was mold present.. Could her problems be a response to a small amount of mold and the fact that she's 9yrs old? Has anyone had an experience where the cats & humans in a home are fine, but an older cat has a response to an allergen?
Thank you tinytangerine for referring me to your posts - I never would have thought of "The Great Flood" if I hadn't read through them

 

[tinytangerine]

Yeah, with our guy it's similar - he is totally fine as soon as it is done. It's definitely asthma with him. In his case we manage it with inhaled medication, which is much easier on them since it only targets the lungs (vs systemic steroids, which are much harder on the cat's whole body). He uses a puffer called the AeroKat which we trained him on over the course of ~4 - 5 weeks and it's totally managed his symptoms - no more asthma attacks .

 

[SamChevyNala]

I'll ask the vet about the Aerokat. If it ends up being asthma, I might be bugging you again for training tips!

 

[tinytangerine]

Please do DM me if you end up going that route - I have lots of suggestions based on our experience getting our cat used to it. You can also check out the feline inhaled med group ([email][email protected][/email] | Topics) for lots of other tips!

 

[SamChevyNala]

I will - thanks for offering! I'll have to ask my sister's kids what a DM is and how to do it in the meantime. This is the only social networking I've ever done and this is only my second time here...