Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi again, I was wondering, beside x-rays, which proved "inconclusive" whether there was any other way to determine if a cat has asthma. I read where food allergies can
mimic asthma and there is a series of tests that a vet can do that will test the cat for a number of allergies in order to narrow down if the allergy is food, dust, pollen, mites, or anything else. Are you familiar with this? What is it called?Is it a good thing to do if there is the possibility of a number of allergens or whatever the triggers are aren't determined? What do you think of shredded newspaper kitty litter for asthmatic cats as an alternative to clay litter? I'm wondering too, it still hasn't been determined whether my cat has asthma or not yet meds were perscribed for asthma because the symptoms indicated it, but as I said, the symptoms can indicate other things too- what else could mimic asthma is a cat and it isn't asthma? There seems to be mucus or phlegm in the bronchial tubes or lungs, and when it drains he swallows it. It doesn't get digested so when he vomited over a supplement I gave him, there was alot of mucus he had swallowed. What gets rid of this?

I've been trying to find a hypoallergenic cat food and found one that doesn't have dairy, preservatives, grain, fish, corn, but it has carrageenan. I read where carrageenan can trigger asthma in some people but it's used alot in hypoallergenic pet foods. Have you heard of it as a trigger for asthma in cats?
Thank you for any information you may be able to offer on this.

I really don't know what I'm going to feed my cat. I was going to start with one ingredient, and go from there, but I think he may be allergic to beef, chicken, and fish and won't eat those on their own- not raw, not cooked. It has to be in some kind of product and I'm looking for canned because it contains more water. All the commercial natural type cat foods have fish, even the beef, chicken, duck. I went through 8 holistic-type pet foods and each had about 12 varieties and they either had
fish or chicken. Only one out of 72 cans was beef and it had fish added. Medi-cal hypoallergenic has brewer's rice, and others have grains. Royal Canin vet=prescribed diets have carrageenan and pea flour, the latter being a starch and I read that sugars and starches can produce more phlegm in the body. Hill's z/d hypoallergenic diet is preserved with BHA which has been found to be toxic. I see alot of known allergen-producing substances in hypoallergenic pet foods.

Try starting with ne type of meat, either raw or cooked, maybe ground venison or rabbit, so it would be available and not too expensive. Your cat will eventually eat something. As far as litter, try using the pellets for a pellet stove, as they do not have a strong odor and are dust free. Homeopathic pellets can be crushed between 2 matching spoons and the powder dropped into the cat's mouth. Conventional drugs for asthma do not cure asthma, simply alleviate the symptoms, so it doesn't matter what the diagnosis is, as they are only treating symptoms.