We have an elderly feral cat (fixed) who lives in our yard & we feed her (among many others). She has only been to the vet a couple of times–to be spayed, get shots, fecal sample, etc & this process caused her incredible distress. We had to borrow a trap in order to contain her, then get her into the crate in order to take her to the vet- prior to the trap, I was never Ever able to get her into the carrier & had to cancel numerous vet appointments.
So over the past year or so, she’s been wheezing. For the longest time, I thought it was a hairball & tried numerous remedies. After reading online, I now know that she has feline asthma & some sites said that is often triggered by stress.
So how do I handle this situation? Trap her and transport her to vet, which would cause extreme stress & possibly a fatal asthma attack. Or leave her be and let nature take it’s course?
I’ve read that the treatment for feline asthma is inhalers. I can only get my cat to take her flea/tick/heartworm medication because I can disguise it in food. I can’t imagine having to force an inhaler on her-she would resist with every fiber of her being.
There are no vets who make housecalls in our area. So what should I do???
I would leave her be, if she’s feral. Asthma is a chronic condition, and it doesn’t seem like she’d tolerate regular treatments. If she’s had it for a year, she’s managing to survive it on her own.
Talk to your vet and discuss the situation. If it is asthma, I think there are pills, or compounded medications, just like with people. You might have to separate her from other cats to feed her to get her the medication. I did find this helpful article, however, and there are other things to be concerned about.
- The cat could have co-infections. They picked up a fungus to go with a virus, for example. Their immune system isn’t handling the mix, or the virus is gone, but the fungus is still there.
- Your cat could infect your other cats.
- The best place for you cat to heal is inside. (I know, it’s hard to imagine getting that set up)
Again, talk to the vet, and see what they want to do. If they want to see the cat, you can go the trap route again OR you can get some tranquilizer from the vet, and feed the cat in an enclosed area like your garage or a porch to give it to this cat. Mix the tranquilizer into yummy, yummy canned food and wait for the cat to get lethargic. Carefully pop into carrier (you can use a laundry basket or towel to capture - we can help you out with suggestions) and take the animal to the vet. The vet can keep her until her appointment. Do not worry if you miss it the appointment, take her anyway.
tl;dr long term asthma care may not be practical. The cat may have other issues causing the symptoms that should be treated for her health and the health of the colony.
I suggest getting a real diagnosis. Wheeze /= asthma. A neighbors cat was wheezing horribly. They made an appointment to have her euthanized, assuming she had lung cancer (
).
Turns out she had a polyp in her middle ear extending into her pharynx. A cheap, quick surgery removed the polyp and cured the cat.
The vet wants me to bring her in but won’t prescribe sedatives since she hasn’t been in to see him in over 7 years. So it looks like I’m going to have to trap her. Dreading stressing her out again with the trap 
Tonka has had wheezing fits ever since we adopted him. The vet said there wasn’t anything she could do about it, unless we wanted to get him a mask. He’d never put up with that, and there’s no telling when they’re going to happen. And by the time we could get a mask and medication ready, he’d be over it. Fortunately, they occur less often nowadays. But they still occur.
Let nature take it’s course. It looks like you have done a hella job tending to her up to this time. It may be over for her. I don’t know what you can do if she’s contagious. Keep your other cats away as best you can.
Our indoor cat had persistent snorting/sneezing/wheezing sounds. Vet predicted nasal cancer, offered to run an MRI for $1,500, but said that would do little but confirm the highly-probable diagnosis, and since no cure was possible, advised against spending the money.
My wife noted that he had improved briefly during a round of antibiotics. The vet said that particular injection used a steroid base, and steroids sometimes shrink a tumor temporarily. Offered to give cat a steroid shot to see if that alleviated some of his symptoms.
Well, it fixed him entirely…for a while. He was frisky and sounded clear, like a new cat. Eventually when it returned, we had another steroid shot administered with identical results. After 3 or 4 such shots, his symptoms have never returned (it’s been at least 2 years).
Takeaway: ask your vet if a steroid injection might produce similarly dramatic results.
My first guess was hairball, but since I finally learned to read OPs I see that’s been ruled out already. I’d consider Sunny Daze’s mention of co-infections, or even physical damage from some previous condition.