Oh, lord - feline asthma anyone?

[french_fry]

After an early AM visit to the vet hospital due to terrifying hacking/wheezing attacks and ongoing abdominal breathing our new five month old rescue kitten was diagnosed with feline asthma.

I am feeling beyond guilty because she was totally healthy when she came to us off the street last week and I’m worried that a combination of the litter we were using (Tidy Cats clumping, which is apparently a huge no-no for cats with breathing problems) and the stress of forcing the unrelated medication we’ve been giving her down her throat brought on a severe attack. We made our stray cat sicker than she was on the street!

Anyway, she is on antibiotics and steroids for now but does anyone have any tips for managing feline asthma long term? I’ve read both some encouraging things (“once I switched the litter it never happened again!”) and really scary things (“my cat died”) online and am hoping for some firsthand experiences.

Our “free” rescue kitten is racking up a vet bill that rivals my horse’s!

[red_mares]

My two Siamese have had asthma for about 10 years (they’re 15 now).

They hack and wheeze. There’s nothing like waking up to a cat coughing up a lung in your face a 2 am. They sound like they are going to die when they wake up. Once they move around, it clears up. I think a vet has heard raspy lungs maybe twice over the years.

When it gets really bad, they get a depo shot, about 2-3 times a year. Claritan used to help some, but doesn’t much anymore so I don’t bother with it. They are definitely worse when the pollen is bad (spring & fall). The depo doesn’t work quite as well as it used to, but they’ve been on it for 10 years.

This year I finally relented and have had the AC on for them most of the year. They don’t do well with hot & humid at all.

Long term depo use does increase the risk of diabetes, although my vet says cats are generally not as prone to it as dogs. Mine do wet quite a bit, but haven’t been diagnosed with anything beyond the occasional UTI and increasing age.

I used Tidy Cat clumping litter for years; I’ve never heard anything about not using it. Right now I’ve got one box with World’s Finest & one with Fresh Step Crystals, since the beginning of the year. I can’t say that I’ve noticed any significant difference in the cats. I have a Littermaid and it seems to work a little better with the WFCL.

My vet doesn’t require a full vet apt for a depo shot; a tech can do it. That helps with the vet bills quite a bit. Keeps that one around $30.

[french_fry]

Thanks for sharing your experience! She is getting prednisone (among a couple of other things) in pill form right now, which I believe functions similarly to the depo shots.

Did your vet have any theories as to why they both developed it? Were they littermates?

[shayaalliard]

Our asthmatic cat had no real issues- vet said if attacks were frequent we would get him an inhaler, but with minimal management, we kept him to 1-2 attacks a year. One thing I will caution you, is that cats are not like dogs- a mouth breathing cat is a true medical emergency…not the hairball sounding hacking, but if he is opening his mouth to breathe at rest, off the the vet you go, now.

[red_mares]

[QUOTE=french fry;7724572]
Thanks for sharing your experience! She is getting prednisone (among a couple of other things) in pill form right now, which I believe functions similarly to the depo shots.

Did your vet have any theories as to why they both developed it? Were they littermates?[/QUOTE]

Siamese are notorious for breathing problems. Mine are half sisters, so similar papers.

[java]

I would recommend inhaled steroids daily for any cat with asthma after you finish the initial course of oral steroids. The problem with asthma is that you can’t predict when your cat will have a severe attack again and the next attack could be fatal. I personally would not take a chance. My own cat is asthmatic and I treated her with oral prednisone at first and once she stabilized we switched to flovent (inhaled steroid) and she is doing well. Asthma can’t ever be cured but it can be managed. Short term bronchodilators are no longer recommended for treating asthma. I doubt you caused your cat’s asthma, you are awesome for rescuing her off the street!

[french_fry]

Well, it is definitely triggered by stress. Our kitten has been on a daily oral bronchodilator and steroid combo and didn’t have any further issues until a few hours after we took her to the vet for her vaccinations yesterday. She had numerous attacks throughout the night and her morning medication didn’t help. I called the vet who advised me that she wasn’t bad enough to bring in for oxygen but to “keep an eye on her.” How to do that when my BF and I work full time is beyond me. I am going home for lunch but can’t do this on a regular basis, let alone staying home from work with her as recommended.

We have ordered a rescue inhaler for her so if attaching the mask to her face doesn’t cause her to have an asthma attack on its own hopefully it will help in the future!

[Beaver_Breeze]

Inhalers work. Non-clay litters help (IME). It’s manageable. Even for people who work. Don’t kill yourself over the cat developing symptoms; it already HAD asthma, and the circumstances conspired to develop attacks. An asthmatic cat well-managed will undoubtedly do better than a feral one with no management. You’re doing right by the cat, and it will likely have a long and fulfilling life in your care. Remember-- the more stressed you get, the more stressed your cat will be. Try to relax; you will figure this out.

[SquishTheBunny]

Hope your kitty is doing ok! Was the asthma diagnosed by radiographs? Just asking because five months seems quite young to develop asthma. Hopefully it’s temporary and with yer cooler weather coming she will get some relief

[Beaver_Breeze]

[QUOTE=SquishTheBunny;7747174]
Hope your kitty is doing ok! Was the asthma diagnosed by radiographs? Just asking because five months seems quite young to develop asthma. Hopefully it’s temporary and with yer cooler weather coming she will get some relief :)[/QUOTE]

Mine was diagnosed not long after 5 months. I, myself, was born with asthma (and nearly died as a result). I don’t think age has much to do with it.

[Beethoven]

I have an 11 year old cat who was diagnosed with asthma at 11 months of age. He has done well over the years. He still runs around and plays even at 11 years old. I keep prednisone on hand for days he needs it. I have never used an inhaler with him but wouldn’t hesitate if I thought he needed it. He doesn’t frequently have asthma attacks, well that I see. He does always make an audible noise breathing which means he likely has an upper respiratory component as well. You know he is in the room with you if the tv isn’t on as you can hear him breathing.

He has overall been easy to manage. He maybe gets prednisone once a month and he had bad allergies this late spring/early summer where he had sneezing attacks so I put him on Zyrtec until the pollen died down some.

He is getting his first dental in a couple weeks and I am a bit of a nervous nelly about it. He tends to turn blue with restraint, so just worried about the whole induction of anesthesia and such, but once he is under then he should be fine. I have had in depth talks with a couple of boarded anesthesiologist about the matter. I’m also going to try to sneak up there when he is being induced. Well not sneak, but I won’t be on that rotation, so hopefully I will have some free time.