# Old cat with labored breathing...?



## Clarice (Mar 24, 2006)

Hi, My girlfriend has a very old male cat (age approx 19) who has recently started to wheeze... labored breathing... like it's asthma... it takes a lot of effort for him to breathe, and it's through his mouth. 
Then other times, he's fine, and doesn't have a problem breathing at all.
We've taken him to the vet, and all they say is to do a whole load of tests... major expense like that is not an option... 
Many, I know, would say it's his time to go... but he seems happy, is eating well, and bathroom habits are pretty good, too.
Any suggestions, please, for any natural remedies...?
Thank you! 
Richard


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Until you can rule out a cause for the wheezing I'm not sure what to recommend. It can be caused my many things, asthma included. But it can also be because of heart trouble, pain of unknown origin, organ problems etc... The diagnostics your vet wants to do might point you in the right direction. I do understand how many can be a factor though.

As long as he is eating and seems content then I wouldn't worry about it being his "time to go". There is no need to euthanize a happy cat who is not in pain.


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## bailey'smom (Aug 19, 2010)

*Poor ol' kitty*

Since she has taken him to the vet, that's a good thing.....I lost a cat earlier this year (Cassidy--a beautiful calico) to what was "probably" lung cancer or some other lung disease. She started having labored breathing (she was about 15 yrs old) and it got pretty bad. We took her to a pet ER first because it happened over Thanksgiving (2010) and of course the vet wasn't open. They said her lung x-ray looked bad. I can't remember how it was explained, but it had areas that were white or something on the x-ray. We took her to the vet the next week and they said about the same thing. We only had 4 more months with her after that. She had to be euthanized. The breathing was so labored I just couldn't even watch her w/o wanting to cry. It was so horrible to see her like that. I knew she was struggling and I had to do the right thing for HER.
Tell your friend to really watch her kitty really close for signs of distress when breathing. Cassidy had to take really big breaths....it was sad to watch. It was like a series of big "sighs" all the time. I was totally convinced she was miserable. Good luck with the kitty.......Tell your friend to give her cat LOTS OF LOVE. Cassidy was on my lap almost every minute that I was sitting down. Sometimes I just carried her around. I have 4 other cats, and sometimes it's hard to "spread the love." During those last months, she got very special treatment and it was a very special time for us.:sad


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## Clarice (Mar 24, 2006)

Thank you for the great replies


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## bailey'smom (Aug 19, 2010)

Clarice, how is your friend's cat doing?


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

It's so hard to know when it's time, in the end you need to do what's best for your cat no matter how bad it hurts.


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