Feline asthma Puns

Hey,

So my cat has feline asthma and about 2 months ago I asked on this subreddit if I should transition her from prednisolone to Flixotide and most people said that I should try.

She's been on Flixotide for about a month (using an AeroKat inhaler addon), and the vet prescribed her two doses of ten breaths twice a day.

A few days ago, she started coughing again, so I wrote to the vet, and she told me to start doing 3 doses twice a day.

The question is: do I still make her do only 10 breaths, or does it not matter if she breathes more, because she is fine with up to 25 breaths as well.

Breed: Domestic Short Hair Cat Sex: Neutered Male Age: ~8 years

Backstory: My cat was diagnosed with asthma earlier this year. He also has a very well-managed case of heart disease. Because of the heart disease, he was put on a short-term dose of prednisolone and we put him on an inhaler as soon as we could. To avoid the...somewhat extreme costs of flovent inhalers in the US, I ordered from universal drugstore online and was sent an inhaler from New Zealand. The box looked legitimate, safety seals in place. We followed vet advice and kept him on predisolone once per day for a week, then tapered him off until he was only getting the inhaler. I admit, I only administered the inhaler once per day at this point rather than twice. Honestly, I was intimidated by the thing at first.

The issue: Once we took him off the pill form of predisolone, he started having asthma attacks again, pretty much as badly as he had been before he got the asthma diagnosis (4-5 coughing fits a day). I bumped the inhaler up to twice a day with no improvement. After about o week of no improvement, I called the vet and they recommended we try another round of prednisolone along with 2x/day inhaler to try and jumpstart his system again. Two days back on prednisolone pills and his attacks are nearly gone and his breathing is much better.

The questions: Have any of you heard of a cat with asthma not responding to an inhaler? Could this issue have been caused by user error on my end? Do any of you out there have experience with universal drugstore? I'd never used it but I read about some other asthmatic cat owners going there to save money on medication. The site looks legitimate, but now I'm worried I could have gotten some bootleg medicine or a bad batch.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Edit: I mistakenly called the website I ordered the inhaler from "universal pharmacy". The correct name is "universal drugstore".

My cat was diagnosed with asthma a few months ago. We took him to the vet where he was given a steroid shot of what I remembered was prednisone and it worked wonders. Didn’t have to use the inhaler once for like 2 months.

However it wore off and he started having attacks so we took him back to the vet for his shot. But this time it didn’t take. He continued to have attacks, multiple a day. So the vet gave us prednisone pills to give him. Been doing this and still nothing. Vet also told us to try fish oil, which we just started but he just had two attacks again tonight.

The vet is claiming that the winds have been picking up allergens causing the frequent attacks.

But I was just browsing this sub and came across the topic of prednisone vs prednisolone, and how cats sometimes can’t convert the inactive prednisone to the active prednisolone. Could that be the issue here? That were basically not helping at all with the prednisone?

Please help, I really want to help my little guy and I’m petrified somethings going to happen to him :(

Hi there,

I’m a first-time pet owner of an adopted cat who just got diagnosed with feline asthma. I’m planning on following all the vet’s advice/ get her on meds, etc., but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with feline asthma? How hard it it to use a cat inhaler? How expensive is it? How can I be sure I’m taking proper care of an asthmatic kitty?

Thanks! From a worried cat parent.

So, my kitty was diagnosed with feline asthma about 2 years ago (she just turned 4) and at first she got flixotide daily but administering it was really hard and half of the medicine didn't reach her lungs. One day, she had a massive asthma attack and almost died. Luckily, we got her to the vet in time and they saved her. After that unfortunate event, she was prescribed stronger oral corticosteroids (prednisolone). She has taken them daily for about a year and a half. We have used different brands because the ones we used keep getting banned because they can have serious side effects. At the moment, she is getting Dermipred 10mg tablets, but she's getting half of one, so it's 5mg. She hasn't coughed even once for about a year now and we are considering trying flixotide again, but this time we would administer it with the aerokat chamber so all the medicine would reach her lungs.  Do you guys think it's safe to go back to flixotide or should we keep using oral corticosteroids?

Hello! My cat was recently diagnosed with feline asthma at Bridgwater Vet Hospital and I am looking for a regular vet office that has experience and knowledge in managing this condition and the associated medication prescriptions. Would also appreciate a vet that is genuinely caring and compassionate.

Does anyone have personal experience with vets who fit the bill? Thanks!

Hi I am hoping for some insight and help from others who have dealt with this issue in their own cats. I have. 5 yr old male cat who has developed asthma in the last 2 years.

At first it started with what we assumed was allergies and alot of hairballs. He would get extremely watery eyes, itchy skin, wheezing /hacking attacks, vomiting / hairballs. My vet at the time recommended treating him with prescriptions food, coconut oil for his fur/ hairballs, giving him water in his food to help pass his fur through his stool ect. Alot of small things I could do at home to help him without putting him on a prescription medication.

He seemed to do better through last summer when his "allergies" peaked. Winter was better almost zero wheezing and hairballs. This summer however has been really difficult for him and I'm getting worried for his ongoing health. He started with hairballs almost every week, hacking wheezing, vomiting. Right when it started getting warmer outside. Since August however he hasn't had a single hairball or vomit but he hacks constantly, he does the goose neck pose and wheezing all throughout the day, He doesn't meow like he uses to. There is almost no "voice" to him. He lays around alot and doesn't want to move or play because when he gets excited he can't breathe.

My youngest cat is used to playing with him all the time and just now started to initiate a play session and my male cat was visibly scared and trying to stop the play fight. Younger cat persists and I have to intervene because my older male stopped breathing all together, he completely froze up. I had to sit with him for a few minutes while he got his breathe back.

looking up symptoms has me believing that he has asthma and that his allergies are exacerbating this condition.

Does anyone have any useful information on how to help him. I have read about the corticosteroids but I really dread starting him on medications.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I want him to be healthy and strong and feel safe around my other cat who is young and doesn't know to be careful with him.

I’m 90% sure my cat Luna is having asthma attacks. She recently moved locations from my parents house to be with me at my apartment. I suggested the move to my family for her after seeing how stressed out she was ..because my little sister brung a shiba inu puppy home… that thing is WILD and I’ve never heard her get more pissed off than when she’s around him.

Regardless, she was a indoor/outdoor cat at my parents and this went unnoticed until my mom assumed it was her struggling with hair balls and got her medicine for just that. After Luna being with me for a couple weeks, I felt like something still wasn’t right because that hairball medicine didn’t do much to help the actual “coughing up” she was doing because i never saw any hairballs. I looked up a video of cat with feline asthma and it’s pretty much identical to what my luna is struggling with. These “attacks” last anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute and it makes me SO sad I will do anything to help her at this point now that she’s my little angel with me at all times. My question is, because I’m a college student and wondering how to go about this .. what should I expect once taking her to the vet? I’m assuming it’s going to be pricy for treatments and the diagnosis , so I need to prepare myself financially or either ask my parents to help out with this situation. Any advice or words of wisdom is very appreciated!! Thank you 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Hi all, I want to first start off by saying I’m not asking for any medical advice, my cat is receiving vet treatments and they are figuring out what works best for her ATM.

What I’m seeking here however is some first hand advice from other cat owners who have had to deal with feline asthma, or some helpful articles because I’ve been struggling on figuring out how I can help on the home front. The only advice I got from the vet was to limit play and dust particles.

So, what strategies have worked for people?? Any particular low dust cat litter that isn’t going to wreck the planet and still clumps?

Also my cat LOVES to play, she is the most playful cat I’ve ever had and she just can’t play long without being out of breath anymore, obviously the vets are working on a solution but has anyone had different play strategies help to not aggravate lungs?

Lastly, I am considering an air purifier and would love suggestions as it’s a big investment. All other home front advice welcome. How I can contribute to helping her breathe better?

Her name is Azula and she just turned 1!

(If this is still considered seeking medical advice I understand feel free to remove)

Hi, I am on the road of figuring out whats wrong with my little guy. If anyone has ant advice on next steps it would be appreciated.

Cats info: 7 Mo * M/Neutered * Domestic short hair I think [brown tabby] 8 lbs:

He randomly goes into coughing fits. He also has a high breathing rate even at rest and open mouth breathes after play

Test so far:

X-Rays: Showed some spotting? Not exactly sure what it is but it is something irregular. Something irregular to see with the human eye. Not Pneumonia or heart worm.

Fecal: Negative

Blood Test: Came out normal

Waiting of Respiratory panel

He is currently on prednisone which does not seem to be helping.

We are suspecting Feline Asthma, but the vet is at a loss figuring out what it is. She is saying that there is an allergen that is causing the random coughing fits. He gets them about once a week- once bi-weekly. We can do a allergy test but it won't determine the cause of his attacks.

I am wondering what should my next step be, ask second opinion, go to a specialist or just let him be since the coughing attacks don't happen that often. He recovers from the attacks normally and they last about a minute or so. I am thinking about asking the vet for a emergency inhaler.

The only thing I am afraid of is

1. If he is home alone and has a attack and doesn't recover.
2. I am thinking about getting him a friend but don't want the friend to ware him out and he goes into a breathing attack.

Hi friends, I’m not sure if this is the correct forum to post in, but my 2 year old cat was recently diagnosed with feline asthma. I need to get him some Flovent, and I have quickly realized it is very expensive where I live (in the US). One of the veterinarians I work with recommended I try online pharmacies like a Canadian one. I do see a significant price difference, but curious to know if they’re legit. Does anyone recommend a specific online pharmacy? I’ve checked GoodRx, and I’m still looking at a cost of about $263. If it’s safer to buy it within the country, I will definitely do so. Just wanted to see what everyone’s thoughts were. I appreciate the help!

 I'm 39 and my wife is 35. We have been married 17 yrs. In year 1 we adopted a 1 yr old cat we named Sadie that become our only child. Sadly, the last 2 yes were full of stress. Kidney Failure & Heart Disease mainly which we maintained. She passed last year during the pandemic after fluid built up in her lungs a second time and we had to go down that road that pet owners know of (but never speak of).
 It's been over a year now and getting another cat has crossed my mind. I am homebound mostly because of Extreme OCD, Anxiety and some Agoraphobia...so I get lonely while my wife works. After a few weeks looking here & there (casually) we went Saturday to a new place. It was set up in rooms of 4 or 5 and the cats were cage free, so you could see their personality come out. After 30 mins we were gonna leave and my wife seen another cat by itself in an office. Her name was Libbey and she was a 2 yr old Tabby that looks like an Egyptian Princess with her unique eyes. The workers there said we could go in, and we did. This cat jumped right in my lap, was super relaxed and calm and my wife and I were just stunned. We asked about her and the volunteers there said she had kittens last yr and has been there over a year. She is very scared of other cats and needs to be by herself which explains her being alone, so we filled an application out and left saying "Omg, how has she not been adopted?" and  we were thinking very optimistically.
 Monday we went to see her again but the application wasn't approved yet, but on the way home my cell ranged and it was them telling us the good news, then they threw a curve @ me. The said she has asthma and has had 2 attacks in the last year that required a vet visit and shot. They said the vet says it seems to be caused by stress and nothing else, which explains why she was by herself in the office. Well, my heart dropped and went right back to last year and our cat. I just keep thinking these things...

What if she had an attack? What if it's bad? What happens if we leave for awhile and she has an attack?

More thoughts come and go all stress related. I'm just so scared of feeling that pain again so soon. I need help. So if anyone has or knows a cat with this please reply with any info that can help me with my decision. Sorry for the story but I needed you to understand my mindset and feelings.

The beginning of April my cat ended up in the ER with what looked to be asthma/pneumonia. The vet leaned towards asthma but he was treated for both and recovered well. After I began to wean him off the steroid for asthma, his symptoms started to return. I’ve kept his Aerokat inhaler just in case it was asthma and I used it for the first time yesterday. He seemed to feel a little better. This morning, he was breathing rapidly and wouldn’t eat. I gave him another puff and then noticed he was having diarrhea and just not feeling well. His breathing looks good now, but I’m wondering if the diarrhea is a symptom of the inhaler?

He never had problems taking the steroid in pill form. Does anyone else’s cat use that as opposed to the inhaler? I’m so worried and of course the vet is closed until Monday.

I have an 8 year old tuxedo DSH. I adopted her only a year ago, and she has asthma along with being born blind. She has several coughing fits every day. I take her to the vet often, but I'm losing faith quickly in her treatment plan. Albuterol and corticosteroids barely alleviate her struggle.

I'm a huge "let food be thy medicine" believer, and despite feeding her quality cat food, I can't shake the feeling that the food and especially meat she's eating is probably coming from a horribly unhealthy source only to be processed and packaged and eventually wreak havoc on her body.

I'm ready to try a vegan diet for her because nothing else has worked so far. I've seen the miracles when humans skip the processed foods and get their nutrients from a whole food source, and I think that my cat see a benefit as well.

Can anyone share your insights or experiences if you relate to this? Thank you.

This may be long winded, but here it is.

Just over a year ago, I adopted my boy, Rossi. When I adopted him, he had been in the shelter for 2.5 years out of his 5 years alive. He came to me with a snotty nose, and the discharge was yellowish/green. He was also dealing with what looked like hairballs, which turned out to be coughing fits(this wasn't figured out until now).He was taken to my vet Jan2020, was given 20 Clavamox 62.5mg as well as Lysine chews, and sent on his way. It was explained to me that he had feline herpes during this visit, that Rossi would always deal with this on, and off for rest of his life. The antibiotics seemed to help for a slightly amount of time, then he was back to snot nose. For many months we went on without trying to treat the problems(money related).

Nov2020 I took him back to my vet because of all the same issues, more specifically his increased amount of "hairballs" aka coughing fits. He was given an xray at this time, and I was informed he had some spots on his lungs, was told likely asthma. He was prescribed the Flovent inhaler, and was getting that twice a day until Jan2021. In that same visit he was given Clavamox 62.5mg, Prednisolone 5mg, and Doxycycline 100mg. 2 weeks worth of each. After all these medications were completed, we were still dealing with a snotty nose, and sneezing. I was told his inhaler could be irritating his nasal passage, and to reduce the amount given.

Dec2020 we have went back for another check up to figure out this issue. He was given a blood test finally to eliminate Leukemia, and Immunodeficiency Virus(came back negative). I was told this time we were going to try treating for Chylamidia but for an entire month this time, if issues still persisted after these pills that we were more likely to be looking at herpes as the underlying problem. He has been using Fortiflora, and Viralys powder in his wet/dry food since this visit as well.

End of Jan2021, STILL dealing with a snotty nose, sneezing, and random coughing fits. He was taken completely off the inhaler, and yet again given Doxycycline to treat for Chylamidia. He has been off that now for a week, and again STILL dealing with it.

My question in the end is, what in the actual hell is going on right now? I feel like I'm getting the run around, and my vets are guessing at this point. I've put a lot of money into Rossi in the last 2 months especially with the multiple blood tests, and xray. Will he forever have to live off antibiotics

Does anyone know any herbal remedies or alternative options to prednisone? I don’t want him to be on that long term and the inhalers are so expensive. Any suggestions of what other people have had luck with would be awesome. Thanks!

This has just been one of those weeks where when it rains it pours. I’m in the process of buying a house, my beloved cat was just diagnosed with feline asthma, ran into some roadblocks with my taxes, my birth control dose is causing horrible side effects including suicidal ideation.

Every time my kitty has an asthma attack I just feel horrible. It feels like her inhaler isn’t helping, but it’s only been a week since her diagnosis so I’m still working on environmental factors before adding other drugs to minimize possible negative side effects. I’m scheduling having our ducts cleaned, switched her over to a wet food diet, ordered an air purifier etc. but it still just doesn’t feel like enough. I’m losing sleep because most of her attacks come on in the middle of the night so I have to get up and administer her inhaler then stay up with her for a bit to see how she’s doing.

I’m in the process of buying the house I currently rent, which is extremely exciting but also stressful since it’s quite a fixer upper. It’s worth the work it’s just very daunting.

Turbo tax sucks and I knew I shouldn’t have gone through them so now I’m having to amend returns and a bunch of other stuff. My taxes were extra expensive this year since I had to do some contract work so there was no withholding there.

I’m trying to get through it all but it just feels like I’m slogging uphill in mud. I had to get my paragard IUD removed after some complications a few months ago and decided to try the hormonal arm implant instead. The hormones are destroying my mental health and have made me extremely anxious and depressed. I have an appointment to have it removed on Monday so I’m trying to hold it together until then.

I’m just so fucking tired.

My 2 year old (almost 3) domestic short hair has been diagnosed with mild asthma. After his first round of attacks and an X-ray that showed some signs of respiratory issues, my vet prescribed a low dose of Prednisolone that he took for a few weeks and stopped his attacks for about 3 months. After his second round of attacks I had him checked for heartworms (negative) and he was prescribed another round of Prednisolone and I was given a prescription for a fluticasone inhaler at 44 mcg. Now a couple months later, my baby has had another bout of attacks and I decided to finally purchase the fluticasone. When asking my vet about whether I should only give it to him when he's having attacks or daily, I got a very vague answer that left me a bit confused (something along the lines of that I was asking a very good question, and that it depends). After doing some research, I figured out that the fluticasone is not a rescue medicine, but rather preventative care. I don't know that I can afford $250 every 2 months for the medicine (I am a recent college grad who will be going back to law school this fall) and I feel weary of giving him the more affordable oral steroid pill long term due to his resulting side effects. I am feeling at such a loss, as my cat is pretty much my entire life and I would do anything to ensure his health and happiness, including figuring out a way to fork out the $250 every other month if it meant preventing another attack (this would obviously just be extremely difficult). I recently bought a Honeywell air purifier to try and mitigate his symptoms, but his recent attack makes me feel it hasn't helped much. I grew up with three cats and his attacks look very different than the gagging/wretching they do when producing a hairball, so I am fairly certain it's not a misdiagnosis (but who knows) & he does sometimes make an audible whistling noise when breathing. Other than the very occasional attack and on & off loud nose breathing, he is completely healthy and has a very energetic, curious, and affectionate personality. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Witnessing my cat's attacks is truly traumatizing and breaks my heart. I really just want to be sure I'm doing the right thing for him.

My one year old boy is suspected by the vet to have asthma. He’s going for a chest x ray soon to confirm it/rule things out, but the vet is fairly certain. I have a feeling it might be due to lower immunity because he had cat flu as a kitten and was very sickly, but I’m not sure. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to make his life easier, before he’s put on treatments? I’ve been so worried over this and watching him every second.

I'm 99% sure my cat has feline asthma. I'm taking him to the vet next week to confirm my guesswork.

I have this cat for almost 15 years. I don't live with him since a few years - he lives in my father's room (he's not there anymore - the room is pretty much abandonned) and my grandmother feeds him everyday. Unfortunately, the room is not very sterile - there's a lot of dust and probably mold somewhere. I can't take the cat home with me nor can't do anything with the room he lives in - it's a bit complicated. I visit him once a week, keep buying him food etc. What would you do if your were me knowing that he has feline asthma and should live in more sterile environment? Maybe air purifier would help?

I think my older cat has asthma, and she seems to have feline asthma attacks around 1-2 times-ish every 2-3 weeks, sometimes more. My idea is based on YouTube videos I found. And early one morning recently she seemed to be running around in distress while wheezing.

We were at the vet yesterday, and the vet seems to agree that it is asthma. And she is willing to take xrays to see if there is physical evidence of asthma in her lungs.

So I'm just curious what other people's experiences are with feline asthma, especially if you have tried Cerenia.

Thanks, and Happy Holidays!

Hi y'all! Vet assistant here- and looking for some advice! My 4 year old MN DLH just got diagnosed with kitty asthma. He started having this hacking cough at night time, I brought him into the specialty/er clinic where I work and we took radiographs. Looks like classic feline asthma to our vet who read them! We are sending off the rads for review to confirm, but in the meantime have started him on Prednisolone.

Now here's where I'd like advice- how can I alter my home environment to make him the most comfortable he can be? I'd like to try to reduce any respiratory stress that could be coming from our house, to go along with the medical treatments. I live in the high desert so the air is quite dry year-round. We're moving to another high desert town in a couple months, so the same will still apply for the next few years.

Has anyone else had an asthmatic kitty? I'm new to vet med and have only worked in specialty, so feline asthma is honestly something I'd never even heard of!

Thanks to everyone in advance! Stay strong fellow curb-side service warriors