Kitty with asthma

[candylilacs]

I took Punky, the world's prettiest cat, to the vet last week because his eyes were gooey. Turns out he has conjunctivitis in both eyes and needs medicine three times a day for 10 days.

The vet tech told us how pretty Punky was and how everyone thought she was wonderful (despite the prettiness, Punky is a BOY, but he doesn't get offended when people mistake him for a girl.) And the vet was listening to him and said he noticed he was asthmatic.

I told him I do notice him breathing noisily when sleeping on the bed occasionally, but that's about it. He said not to worry since mild asthma doesn't have to be treated unless it's interfering with his life.

Anyone have any asthmatic kitties and any information to share?

c.

[Traci]

You might want to get Punky another followup checkup and learn how to watch for signs of asthma....despite your vet's comments, asthma in cats can be life-threatening if they have episodes that are left untreated. You really need to be in tune with his breathing, whether it being during playtime or at rest, if wheezing or difficulty in breathing occur, this could be an immediate emergency.

Things you can do to help in the immediate sense is keep his environment clear of pollens, smoke, dust, harsh cleaning agents, powders, etc. And if you ever notice him wheezing, breathing with his mouth open or any other signs of difficulty, do not delay in getting him to an ER clinic immediately.

If an episode occurs, no matter how slight, and if your vet hem-haws the situation, see a new vet promptly.

[candylilacs]

Punky does kind of snore when he's lying on the bed, but that's the only noise he makes. He doesn't wheeze at any other time, nor does he breathe with his mouth open.

My usual vet didn't notice anything unusual, this was the weekend vet who I actually like and got my other cat to stop vomiting (by taking hairball laxative.) He said his cat also has mild asthma and sometimes it doesn't require treatment but did say at some point I should take him in for a chest x-ray.

As for the dust and pollen....I live in the desert and dust/sand is almost impossible to get rid of completely. The vet said that the dust/sand can aggravate respiratory conditions in animals (and humans!)

I'll get rid of his conjunctivitis and take him in for an exam in a couple weeks.

c.

[Guest]

I recently went through the same thing you're going through now. I noticed about a month ago that one of my cats, Shank was coughing a lot, almost as if she was trying to get rid of a hairball, but without the hairball. I took her to the vet, she listened to her lungs, radiographed her and diagnosed her as asthmatic. The vet put her on a pill, I can't remember what it is called, once a day but after a week there was no change, if anything she was getting worst. So I took her back to the vet and the vet decided to give her a steroid shot once every four or five weeks as needed. Since then, about three weeks, Shank has coughed about once and sounds a lot less wheezy when she breaths and purrs.

The vet told me that there is a good chance that Shanks asthma is seasonal, being that it appeared about the time that it got very polleny down here in Georgia and that there is a good chance that she'll be fine for 10 months out of the year or if I ever happen to move someplace where the pollen and such aren't as bad.

I hope this helps. I've found that it really helps to ask as many questions as possible, even if they seem stupid...