Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I have a cat, male, neutered, 11 years old with what appear to be symptoms of asthma.He's an indoor cat. The problem started with what sounded like a bronchial wheeze, phlegm in the respiratory tract, no coughing but if I tapped him on the chest to clear it, it would end up sounding like a bronchial wheeze without clearing the phlegm.If I continue he will cough a cough that sounds like a bark but doesn't seem to want to cough the phelgm up on his own even if it's rattling.

A full day at the vet's to "observe" and he couldn't determine whether it was asthma or what it was but Dexamethasone was precribed to use on an "as needed" basis. Dexamethasone clears the symptoms in about an hour.

The problem is that I don't know what triggers it and I'm having to give 1 mg every day. It seems cold food(inadvertently given) triggers phelgm, wheezing, etc, in less than five minutes, so can any cool air and milk does too. I've eliminated any and all triggers I can think of and I find that I am having to give 1 mg at night if the symptoms have increased then he's OK the next day until the evening and then I have to give it again.

Dexamethasone, I find, can cause anemia, so I'm trying to find other alternatives. Any liquid I give him( I tried giving him colloidal silver), even with an eyedropper, will cause him to be croupy and get phlegm immediately, even if I give it very very slowly. He will drink water on his own without a problem.

Any help would be appreciated as to what I could give him that would correct this or make the bouts fewer and farther between. Thank you.

Hi,

Sometimes a hypoallergenic diet will help asthmatic cats. I would definitely avoid fish, and all grains, if possible. Perhaps ypu can find a rabbit, duck, or venison based diet for cats locally.......otherwise you might consider a home-cooked diet.

My asthmatic cat did very well on a bronchodilator pill, one of the old standbys, called Theodur, and received steroid injections as needed. I also kept inhalers onhand for her, which I administered with a feline oxygen mask. Some asthmatic cats do extremely well on inhalers alone. A hugh advantage is that a steroid inhaler will deliver the medication directly to where it is needed and not affect the cat's entire system.

My Emma lived to the ripe old age of 17, thanks to the excellent care she received for her asthma. When I lost her it was to a different health issue.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

Regards,
AshleyElla

Inhalers work, but they are often difficult to administer. Ephedra would probably work well, but it is very hard to find, thanks to the FDA. You might try giving fish oil as an anti-inflammatory. I would also try homeopathic Spongia or Drosera.

Thank you for your replies. I will look into the things mentioned. As it stands now, Dexamethasone worked, and quickly, to remove the symptoms, but today, I had to give him Novo Prednisone to control the symptoms. Still waiting to see if it works. I keep thinking there's a "trigger" when the symptoms flare up which is happening daily, and I'm still trying to find out what it is.

I'm trying to find out possible triggers and eliminate them. At the same time I'm coming across things mentioned to relieve asthma symptoms. Some are conflicting. For example, some say to eliminate grains from the diet, others say to be sure to include them. Some say that cold air will trigger asthma symptoms while others say that breathing cold air will greatly relieve symptoms. Some suggest using a vaporizer to increase humidity and say that will relieve asthma symptoms, while others say that the air must be dry and to use dehumidifiers. Who is right?

The other thing I'm coming across is that in cases of asthma there is an associated cough. Is this always the case because my
cat doesn't have a cough. There's just a great deal of rattling in the chest upon exertion and if I tap it so he will cough, sometimes he'll clear a bit, other times he'll make a barking sound if I do that and the rattling is still there but only heard if he has been exerting himself and he breathes out. Otherwise there's no sound and one isn't aware of the phlegm and rattling unless he exerts himself by running,etc.

Most animals, when they have an obstruction in the lungs such as due to mucous, will cough, but not all.
The triggers for the asthmatic conditions are similar to allergies. I have found butterbur useful for allergies, but even better would be to eliminate the triggers. The best way to do this is with an elimination diet. Find one kind of meat that your cat likes and feed that exclusively for one week, giving nothing else. Beef or chicken are good starts, unless you know that they cause the asthmatic attacks. If after a week, there are no more attacks, you can add in another food, see if all is going well, and continue adding one ingredient at a time, every 3 or 4 days,until you have a complete diet. You eventually want the cat to be getting meat, bone, omega-3 fatty acids, intestinal bacteria from tripe or a probiotic, and organ meat. If the asthmatic breathing starts, eliminate the last one or 2 ingredients you introduced until you know what your cat can tolerate and what it cannot.

Thank you. It may be more than a food allergy because cold air or afood triggers it too. I was wondering how to give homeopathics to a cat. The little small pellets are sometimes dissolvable and other times they're hard as a rock. I've read
that the pellets need to be placed under the tongue or in the pouch at the side of the mouth in order to be assimilated into the system but this would be difficult to do especially with the hard pellets that take a long time to dissolve. Is there a way to crush them and put them in a tiny amount of water and give that way? Would it work just as well? I'm trying to locate the Drosera and Spongia you mentioned and would like to know to to best give them. Thank you, again, for your reply and your very
helpful information. It is much appreciated.

Hello Again,

I think a chest x-ray might be beneficial, if one hasn't been taken yet. Just to rule out the possibility that something else is going on with your cat besides, or in addition to, feline asthma.

As far as diet, grains aren't great for cats anyway, so it might be beneficial for your cat's general health to be fed a grain-free diet. It will probably take awhile to find the diet that your cat does best on. I cooked up some ground chicken for my cats last night and all 8 of them inhaled it.........I am seriously considering switching to a home-made diet for my babies and now that I know they all like ground chicken, that will probably be what the diet is based on. Easy to cook, too!

Take care, and please keep us updated on how your baby does.

Regards,
Ashley