# Feline Asthma



## Samuelowen (Oct 30, 2011)

Hey all 

Looking for some advice. 

One of our kittens has been having these coughing attacks, with no hairballs. After a bit on internet research (and watching video clips) we THINK he has feline asthma. 

Now is this something to worry about? Or will he be fine and just have these coughing fits for the rest of his life? 

We dont want him to be in any pain or discomfort but at the same time we dont exactly have the money to get him cat oxygen or anything. So is it worth us going to the vet? Or are they just going to charge us a lot and tell us to buy something we cant afford?

Many thanks in advance. 

Sam


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## ThatCatGirl (Jan 20, 2011)

My first inclination is always a vet visit. I would not want to wait until the kitten was suffering or in distress or in a life threatening situation before seeking professional advice. That said, I wonder if your kitty has a respiratory infection or something like that and some serious steam might help him breathe easier, even that isn't something I'd feel comfortable diagnosing myself. 

If he does have asthma, he may not need anything more than some prednisone tabs for a period of time. Our previous kitty had asthma. She was diagnosed the year we got her when she was four. I had just turned the furnace on for the first time of the winter season in our old apartment, kicking up all this dust. Our poor kitty started having coughing fits which I also misread as furballs. It became obvious pretty fast it was not that and something more serious. She did need oxygen and then took prednisone after that for a few weeks. After that, she lived another ten years with no further treatment for asthma. She never played very hard and stopped to rest when she did. It was actually kidney disease that took her life.

Good luck with your kitty. I really think a vet visit would be your best next step just to find out what's going on.


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## SpellQ (Dec 12, 2010)

Definitely a vet visit. Although this could be asthma it could also be related to several heart conditions too including a murmur or arrhythmias.  Be VERY up front with your vet about limited access to funds for this and they will hopefully guide you to what testing/treatment within what you are able to provide.

As for untreated asthma that can very quickly escalate to an enlarged heart & scarring in the lungs which will very much shorten kitty's lifespan and make that life much less comfy & healthy.

If there are meds prescribed check the price at a human pharmacy. In some cases it is actually slightly less expensive to buy it that way via a prescription from the vet. Plus if your pharmacy gives points of some sort then you're ahead that way  

Active asthma can mean prednisone & other pill meds plus often puffers. My Zoe had puffers for the first few years of her life and several rounds of prednisone. 

Hoping kitty is feeling better soon!


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## westfayetteville (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi Sam
I would agree with everyone else, you should see a vet mainly because he/she is the only one to give you a scrip for the meds.
We have a cat with asthma, and he was on prednisone 1/2 pill in am 1/2pill in pm and he would go to the vet every 3 months for a shot. He had a bad spell on sunday and we had to go to ER vet, they told us to keep up prednisone (of course after his spells, we had to up his dose of prednisone for a few days, than slowly tapper him down to 1/2 pill every day) but the ER vet also put him on Theophylline 100mg twice aday after that he has not had to go to the vet for over 3 years for a shot. Now they say Theophylline dose not have any bad side affects on cats, but prednisone dose have bad side affects, so I now use Flowvent and an inhaler in place of prednisone. But you need to train(get them use to it) your cat to use an inhaler
Good luck


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## Samuelowen (Oct 30, 2011)

Cheers for all the advice. 

Pill wise in people's experience is it for a long period of time or just a while? Again price issues but also he is still a very timid kitten cant even pick him up as yet so trying to get a pill down his throat may not be the easiest. 

Sam


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

My Molly is 4 years old. Our vet and I have been battling her asthma since this summer with shots of prednisone and respiratory treatments using a human nebulizer machine. For Molly the shots last about 3 weeks and then we need to do the treatments on a daily basis.
This works for us since we have a very hard time pilling her.

If you believe that your kitty may have asthma please bring her to the vet. With asthma she may be struggling to breathe and it seems cruel to me not to treat it.


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## westfayetteville (Sep 22, 2011)

Samuelowen said:


> Cheers for all the advice.
> 
> Pill wise in people's experience is it for a long period of time or just a while? Again price issues but also he is still a very timid kitten cant even pick him up as yet so trying to get a pill down his throat may not be the easiest.
> 
> Sam


 From My experience it will be for the rest of my cats life, going on 4 years now, Price wise( and trust me I have 9 cats I know what it is like to be cat poor) after you pay the first vet bill and they say it is asthma. The prednisone is cheap and Theophylline is about 40 dollars for 100 pills. However your vet may want to run blood work every year due to the fact, that prednisone is hard on the liver


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## adls29 (Oct 2, 2009)

I knows it's been about two weeks since your post but my cat was just diagnosed with a type of feline asthma today.

She's been having these same coughing fits for about three months and it got the the point where she was having these fits 3 or 4 times a day.

I am VERY tight on money, especially after the holidays. But I do know asthma can get very bad if left untreated, and I didn't want that to happen to me 3 year old kitty. It was required for her to get an xray to be prescribed the medication (which IMO was expensive, $135 US just for the xray!). Kitty was then given an inexpensive prednisone shot. 

The vet told me to watch and see if/when her symptoms come back, and if they come back badly. There may even be a chance that this may be seasonal, or just due to the woodstove and furnace running this winter. There could even be a chance that this could be the only treatment she needs. 

If you take your kitty to the vet, I'm interested in hearing what they have to say about it.


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## happyrocinante (Jan 18, 2012)

My one year old cat, "Mouth", was diagnosed with asthma about 2 months ago. The vet put him on Temaril - half a pill twice a day. When I took him in I kinda already knew, because I had done the research online and even watched a video on youtube of a cat having an attack. He was able to diagnose it without an x-ray since he had alot of congestion in his lungs. 

So far his treatment is doing ok. The first week or so I gave him the half a pill twice a day but after that I cut the dose to only once a day. He became so zonked that he was not even eating. The last time I gave him two doses his saliva was so think I was seriously worried he was becoming dehydrated. So I cut the dose and he did better. Still no coughing and he is at least active part of the day. A couple a times a week I give him the two half doses. 

Before he started coughing and such he was a very active cat. Hardly slept! He was always picking fights with his brother and waking him up to play lol. Now he sleeps as much as his brother and his brother is picking the fights. The Temaril really packs a punch. Like me on Benadryl! Sleep Sleep.....

And just so you know my baby has really sensitive tastebuds. And his pills do NOT have a coating on them. The first time I gave him his dose he fought me tooth and nail so to speak and foamed at the mouth trying to get the pill outta his mouth! After several days of practice, and more research on the internet, I found out how to get it down him without much fuss. I even tried the little pill guns they give you at the vets but it didn't really work for him. So your little one will get used to the pills if you have to do it on a regular basis. 

Price wise - his pills are $15 for 30 pills. Which is not bad IMO. Hopefully the vet can fix you up without those pricey x-rays!


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