We just found out our 2 year old calico has asthma. She started sounding like she had a hairball so we took her to the vet. They said upper respiratory infection and gave her a steriod shot and some antibiotics. She was better for a few weeks, and then started up again. Two more trips to the vet and they finally sent us to a specialist, that's where we got the prognosis.
But now here's the kicker, the meds. I just ordered an Aerokat online for $50, but the asthma puffer is almost $300 for about a 2 month dose! Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions as to where to find the puffer for less? I'm thinking Mexico!
Yikes! That does sound high. Have you tried Petmeds.com? My sister buys her dogs arthritis meds there. If not you might need to make that trip to Mexico!
One of my cats had asthma. Same thing; coughing all the time like she had a hairball. I looked at some you tube videos of cats having asthma attacks and it was exactly what she was doing; plus the "heaving" of her sides when she was breathing. So off to the vet we go. He gave us some steroid pills for when it was bad; but he was reluctant to have her go on them all the time. He said if it kept being a problem we'd have to explore more med. options; but he also said she might outgrow it. (She was only about 1 year old when this was happening.) We gave her some of the pills when the attacks were bad, but after a few months, it stopped. Completely. She still occasionally has a coughing fit; but not real often. So she seems to have actually outgrown it. Hope you find a solution that works for your kitty!
And this whole time I thought my poor cat might have been suffering from heartworm (it is possible) but now that you mention it, she only has her coughing spells in the spring and summer months.
Veeery interesting! Sounds just like the hairball thing, just no hairball
Haven't dome a thing BUT change her diet. I'll keep her on what she's on now and see if it comes back in the Spring
I am a vet and my sister's cat is the worst asthma patient I have seen. His fits get so bad off meds he actually wets himself while gasping for air. I priced out my cost for the aerocat and meds and really figured I would probably be spending around 1,000 a year to keep him happy. Unfortunately it is not remotely in my sister's pricing range. Milo takes terbutaline orally as a pill and steroids when he has flare ups. Cat asthma can be very hard to get under control and everyone of them seems to respond differently to the medication. You might consider a hepa filter for your house. Milo really does seem better in fresh air but I also have patients that are worse outside when the pollen is put. I love the idea of the aerocat but for most people the medications are not in their budget.
Cat has asthma
Posted - Dec 09 2011 : 07:27:44 AM
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Good boy Hobbs! I love and miss you.