Cats With Asthma: Helping Your Cat Breathe Right
July 4, 2017
Cat with asthma occurs in 1% of cats with a higher incidence in Siamese cats. The disease is reversible with conventional and natural medications. It is believed that allergens in the environment such as pollen or other environmental toxins such as cigarette smoke trigger asthmatic episodes.
Asthma in cat symptoms are caused by inflammation in your cat’s airways. Even small amounts of inflammation in the airway have a disproportionate negative effect on your cat. Feline asthma treatment then, focuses on reducing this inflammation. The key is to prevent inflammation from occurring in the first place. If the inflammation is not brought under control it can actually remodel the airways, causing a condition that cannot be reversed with medications.
Common symptoms include coughing, wheezing and trouble breathing. You might also notice that your cat has trouble exercising. Some cats appear to tolerate the disease and only show mild symptoms, while others suffer more.
Asthma is not caused by infection. There can be a presence of infection due to other problems, but not from the asthma.
Conventional Treatment For Cat With Asthma
If your cat does not have a chronic or severe case then treatment is different than if the asthma in cat is a daily problem. The traditional approach is to hopefully identify the asthma trigger such as allergy and then the asthma should stop. One simple approach to try is to buy a heap air filter for your home. These filters can remove many of the allergens that a cat with asthma will react to.
If you can’t remove or identify the cause of the asthma in cat then the approach is to use prescription medications that are either oral or injected. There are two types of medications, steroids (prednisone) or bronchodilator drugs. For infrequent problems, you will need to keep an inhaler on hand that will only be used with the onset of symptoms. For severe cases, your veterinarian may start you on both types of medications (prednisolone and fluticasone) and then move to just the bronchodilator when the symptoms are brought under control.
Natural Approaches for a Cat With Asthma
Once you get the inflammation in the airways under control with conventional therapies, you may want to research adding a natural or holistic approach to the mix. This may help to reduce the frequency of asthma attacks. Certain herbal remedies such as Inula helenium (Elecampane) has been used for hundreds of years to support respiratory health. Others such as Althea officinalis (Marshmallow), have also been studied for its positive impact. Be sure to discuss this option with your veterinarian or holistic pet health professional.
Jeff Grill is passionate about cats and has written hundreds of articles on feline health. See this site for more information and research on cat with asthma treatment options.