When Asthma Is No Longer Just Asthma

[Mamanyt1953]

He knows, I believe that. And he is willing to fight along with you. That's the main thing. We are with you.

 

[1 bruce 1]

He knows, I believe that. And he is willing to fight along with you. That's the main thing. We are with you.

I've got some meds that have worked in the past for him for constipation. He ate "OK" this morning (cleaned it up, but left a few blobs) and only took a few bites of dinner. I know he's backing up. There were 3-4 small turd pellets this morning (very hard) and a few more later on.
Giving meds in about 10 minutes via syringe. I hate syringing him because he hates it, but it has worked in the past.
Thank you for your kind words. Knowing others know how I feel helps a lot. =)

 

[abby2932]

we have all been here.

I'm sending positive thoughts that this is nothing serious. It sounds as though you are taking excellent care of him.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

There's this poop fairy I know who seems to work wonders with a couple of our IBD/Megacolon cats...I'll send her along! Sounds silly, I know, but at least it won't hurt a thing!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Asthma attack this morning, open mouth breathing. Spent the day at the vets. Is home now.
The same thing happened less than 2 weeks ago.

 

[Furballsmom]

Sending hugs and prayers!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Thanks. I'm defeated.
If this happens again (especially so soon) I don't think this will continue.
I found myself finding a very good local and family-owned crematorium that has pet services and was wondering why I was looking at it, but this can't keep going on. I have no life anymore, and it seems some days neither does he.

 

[CatloverinFL]

1Bruce1, I'm so sorry your going through this. What is his diagnosis?, or do you know?

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[1 bruce 1]

1Bruce1, I'm so sorry your going through this. What is his diagnosis?, or do you know?

We're assuming severe asthma, but lymphoma has not been ruled out.
Given his behavior in a car/carrier, getting him to and from the vets that would be able to do a decent biopsy is looking slimmer and slimmer. I don't think I could put him through it.
We're treating him as a cat that has severe IBD/severe asthma and keeping him as happy as possible. I hate how many drugs are given but on the same note I hate the thought of what would happen if we did not.
For minor problems we're all about home remedies but for the inability to breathe, we aim for comfort.
Just so damned defeated. This only started in November.

 

[1 bruce 1]

 

[CatloverinFL]

We're assuming severe asthma, but lymphoma has not been ruled out.
Given his behavior in a car/carrier, getting him to and from the vets that would be able to do a decent biopsy is looking slimmer and slimmer. I don't think I could put him through it.
We're treating him as a cat that has severe IBD/severe asthma and keeping him as happy as possible. I hate how many drugs are given but on the same note I hate the thought of what would happen if we did not.
For minor problems we're all about home remedies but for the inability to breathe, we aim for comfort.
Just so damned defeated. This only started in November.

Have you taken him to a Vet specialist? Has an ultra sound been done on his abdomen/stomach area? How old is your cat? I'm almost totally anti drugs, always have been, like using pain meds for cats, especially cats with odd breathing issues. But prednisone does help with breathing. Using it for more than a week or so can cause stomach upset and irritate your cats stomach.

 

[CatloverinFL]

Also, I wouldn't do a biopsy, personally, as its very invasive and I'd imagine painful and traumatic for your cat. But a specialist can certainly do x-rays and a ultra sound/scan to see if there is a tumor.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Regardless of what you decide to do, and I am more than positive you will think of him first, last and always, I am keeping a candle lit for you both!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Now I feel bad.
So, this asthmatic cat is part of a colony that doesn't frequent our usual living area though we spend a lot of time in their colony area. Today, he broke past a cracked door into the main living area and blew past 3 of our cats that live in this area like they weren't even there. I was surprised and expected some hissing and got little. He ran to where I was, proceeded to knead and purr and roll and was SO happy. One of our girls stalked him a bit but she's a chicken shit in a Rottweiler costume and didn't do anything, just voiced her disgust.
He has no fear of exploring. He ignored hissing like it wasn't happening and the other cats became at ease. One of our boys even approached him and gave him a quick top-of-the-head bath.
I would feel OK integrating him as a cat in this colony. The colonies don't fight, but aren't used to being within interaction and know one another through a large screened in area. This guy never reacts to aggression and pretends it doesn't happen which puts most other cats at ease.
We had to step out for a few hours, and unsure I returned him to his usual colony. He was OK with it but tried to follow me out the screen.
My reservations:
We don't know what sets off his asthma. We test kitchen a lot in this living area, lots of searing, frying, baking, and (food smoke.) I would be scared.
The colony he's in is very asthma oriented with shut windows and climate controlled temps/humidity levels, HEPA filters, humidifiers, etc..., the living area colony he visited briefly is not. We open windows, pollen and dust and and all, and with the windows AND the food smoke we have a catio and I'm afraid if his trigger is an outdoors thing, he'll go outside and have an attack. Or stay in and have an attack from our test kitchen.
What do I do? Bring him in here? Leave him where he's at for safety? Do both, and allow him time here when it's OK and return him to the "asthma friendly" area when I'm not around?
I'm so fearful he'll go into the catio and something terrible will happen when the pollen count is high or something. I feel "safer" leaving him in the asthma friendly part of the living area but then again I feel if he wants in badly enough to bust through a cracked door and give us such a happy, joyous greeting... =(
ETA his IBD seems to be under control from some unconventional means and we're happy with that...he almost always poops RIGHT near the box, sometimes in it, but usually next to which is fine because no other cats of ours do this (all good box users) we we know when he's gone and what his schedule is like, so yay for that I guess...

 

[Furballsmom]

What a dear baby boy!!
Can you do what you described as both? He wants to be with you so much! Then keep an eye on him, although I realize your hands are plenty full. Try and work this so your concern is less and your joy in his love is greater. For instance run the hood over the stove and possibly consider an air cleaner in the kitchen, it'd be good for the rest of you as well.

 

[Furballsmom]

I gotta remember the "rottweiler costume", that's a good one!

 

[1 bruce 1]

What a dear baby boy!!
Can you do what you described as both? He wants to be with you so much! Then keep an eye on him, although I realize your hands are plenty full. Try and work this so your concern is less and your joy in his love is greater. For instance run the hood over the stove and possibly consider an air cleaner in the kitchen, it'd be good for the rest of you as well.

We have no hood stove here, which is kind of insane considering what we do and where we live...it's taken over by a pot rack housing pots and pans needing constant washing. We love food so it's OK =D
We have air cleaners that have an Ozone feature. We run the Ozone occasionally but my research (though, who knows how reliable the interwebz is?) says any Ozone machine is OK ran in a house without inhabitants. Inhabitants can return after airing the joint out, and is not really good for anyone or anything with existing respiration issues =/ It's great on cleaning days and great for air-sanitizing places at work that need it when no one is in that room, makes the air smell great...but now I'm worried that it would somehow make his asthma worse even if we ran the machines, opened the windows, aired things out, and shut windows and turned on the AC. I'm just so paranoid. If I did something stupid or ignorant to cause a fatal attack I wouldn't be able to forgive myself..)
Our living area in this place is really open. The kitchen opens to a living room that has a very 100% open set of steps up to a very open upstairs. It's kind of a hot mess, but a neat floor plan that we like. Closing things off would be do-able but would create a lot of dust.
On a cute note, all of our house dogs know our cats and routinely join us whenever we are doing things in the cattery or hanging out there. When this cat busted in, one of our dogs leaps up and greets him like his childhood best friend paid him a visit. It was so sweet.
He is quite a dear baby boy. His demeanor when faced with an angry, screaming cat amazes me. He can be inches away with a flimsy gate separating himself from the angry cat and himself, and will respond to hissing and spitting and slapping the gate with angry growls with a "nah, bruh, it's cool" and slowly, gently headbutting the gate and walking off like he just had the nicest tea with his closest friend. Most cats flip their crap when a cat greets them with anger.
I have had cats since I was a wee thing and I can NEVER remember having a cat that reacts like this. I probably never will again, which makes me think integrating him even as a part time visitor wouldn't be a problem provided we were around.
The good news is we use the same cleaning techniques here that we do in the cattery.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I gotta remember the "rottweiler costume", that's a good one!

She's tough as nails!!!...until someone raises a fist and whispers "boo" and she isn't seen for 50 years. She's very tough, but very sensitive in her own right!!!

 

[Furballsmom]

LOL, what a cat!!
I was envisioning having an air cleaner to remove the smoke from active cooking. And as long as you have pans without the bad nonstick chemicals, that will help immensely, of course.
I think that a compromise of both will work for everyone.