Our boy Duffy has been diagnosed.
All the cats I’ve had this is the first time I’ve run into this. Has anyone else experienced it? If so, I’d really like to hear your story.
Our cat has it, too. I suppose you took him to the vet because of the horrible, wheezing coughing fits?
A couple of times we had noticed her coughing, but just thought it was probably hairballs. Then we went out-of-town to visit our parents for the weekend, and decided to leave her at home with an extra litterbox and food/water–it was just Saturday morning to Sunday evening, so we were sure she’d be fine (keep in mind, we’d only seen her coughing once or twice, and figured it was normal hairball stuff). Well, we got home late Sunday night, and found the cat lying on the bed, but this was definitely not normal. Her eyes were droopy, and her tongue was hanging out. I know enough about cats to know that it is never good when their tongues are sticking out. We took her to the emergency vet in the middle of the night, as she seemed on the verge of death, and X-rays showed “little doughnut-shaped things” on/in the lungs that indicated asthma.
I had to give her a prednisolone (or prednisone, something like that) pill twice a day for a couple of months, then decreased it to once a day, and now we’re down to once every two days or so. She still has the very occasional relapse/coughing fit, but nothing too serious anymore.
I used to have a cat who had it. When they go into an attack, it sounds like they are tying to cough up a huge hairball, but they are not.
I don’t know what else to say. I don’t think we ever got an official diagnosis of asthma, but my mom was pretty sure he had it.
Most likely, your cat will be able to live with it. Do you have to give it medicine?
My cat Abby has asthma. She was diagnosed, and the vet gave me medicine - pills, then liquids. Abby is one of those cats who absolutely refuses to take any type of oral meds. So we had to go to a shot about once a month. I can’t remember exactly what meds she was on because the good news is she rarely has attacks anymore. For the last few years she has been well enough that medicine has not been necessary. Which makes both of us much happier.
This is what I was told:
-
An air filter helps, we got a Hepa filter.
-
Don’t smoke
-
It can get worse if you keep windows open during allergy season. I noticed Abby’s asthma would get worse in the spring and fall when we had out windows wide open. The stuff people are allergic to can trigger asthma in cats.
He started coughing that terrible cough. We thought it was a terrible furball at first and then I started thinking he’d swollowed something. The retching sound is worse, much more disturbing then a furball except everything looked like he was fighting with a stubborn furball. It didn’t get better and we decided something was really wrong so took him to the dr.
He was put on prednisone for a few days. The coughing stopped right away. After the 5 day treatment ended, he started coughing … oh, I forgot he was coughing to hard he would throw up too. Anyway the coughing and barfing started again so the dr. put him on the predisone for 2 weeks. Duffy was fine during that time and then he’s had times when I haven’t seen any symptoms, other times he sounds like he’s wheezing and then other times he starts the terrible cough. He’s back on the prednisone as of last night and he’s been fine today.
Kathy
As strange timing would have it, my cat is being picked up at the vet right now, with symptoms exactly like those you have all described! I am grateful I’ve read your posts, and will be interested to hear the diagnosis. I never would have guessed asthma, I assumed she had a really bad hairball. She’s been coughing with increasing frequency, it always starts after she hisses at one of my other cats.
Asthma in cats is weird - I thought it was a hairball problem too! I wished I had my digital camera so I could tape it for the vet, but she knew right away what it was when I described Abby’s symptoms.
Ask your vet about the shots, when Abby had it bad the shots would keep her attack-free for 3-4 weeks. Of course she hates riding in the car and shots, but since she refused to take oral meds I had no choice.
Well, Sheba’s back from the vet – he gave her the shot for feline asthma. We’re supposed to monitor her coughing to see if it improves in the next couple of weeks. She would kill anyone who tried to give her oral medication, so it looks like we’ll be taking frequent trips to the vet from now on… 
She’s 10 years old and this is her first illness, so it’s got me depressed. Please tell me, someone, that asthma won’t shorten her life?
I wish I could tell you that. I’m hoping the same thing. Duffy is only 2 years old.
I found this site that has a lot of information.
I’m lucky. He’s the best pill taker I’ve ever had!
Kathy
Thank you for the link! There’s some good information there related to helping abate the symptoms (damn, I have to dust now??).
The odd thing is, she started coughing after we rescued a one-year old Persian cat that she hates - could she be allergic to another cat?! She loves our 4 month old rescued Siamese mutt, and never coughs around him even when they’re sparring.
There are tributes in that website that I wish I hadn’t read, very sad. Sheba’s the reigning cat queen of our household, and I’d go broke if I had to in order to extend her life, if she wasn’t in pain. I hope Duffy regains his health, and thank you for posting a very timely thread, in my case!
According to the info I found on the internet, this feline asthma happens in about 1% of cats.
Our little girl, Ashleigh, had been diagnosed earlier this spring/summer (forget just when) with allergies. The dr. didn’t give her a chest xray at the time. The prednisone worked and her symptoms seemed to fit more with “hay fever”.
We had to race her into the dr Sunday morning as she was having trouble breathing! Since we’re still really new here in Huntington Beach (read into that haven’t found a vet yet), and Ric started his new job yesterday (read into that had to see a dr who knows us and would work out payments) so we “raced” Ashy to our vet in Van Nuys - abt 1 hr drive from here.
Her chest xrays show she has a much more severe case of asthma then Duffy, and probably an infection from not treating her asthma.
For this 1% thing, I’m batting 66%. Out of our 3 furbabies, 2 have asthma.
If any of ya ever start thinking your cat has a very stubborn furball, ya might want to get it checked out.
Kathy
Here’s a very good site:
It explains how the diagnosis is made, and several treatment options including medications and feline inhalers.
Good luck.
Thanks richardb! I had missed that site and it does look very good. I’m off to read it all now.
btw, Brentwood… why haven’t we seen you at any of the dopefests? or is my memory failing more then usual 
Kathy