Cat with asthma

[laurajill 10]

Hi guys

Just wondering if anyone has a cat with asthma? My cat who is 12 was diagnosed with a thyroid problem. Then last week she started breathing quickly and tests and scans later have revealed she also has asthma. She's had a steroid injection that should last until tomorrow when we go back to the vet. The only trouble is she's always been a sniffley cat and suffers with colds etc so my petplan doesn't cover her for upper respiratory problems. Just want to know a rough cost of treatment and if she'll be happy on meds .

[medusa 16]

Can I recommend something that may be worth a try for her ongoing sniffles? My Billy had his sinuses damaged by flu as a kitten and was always sniffly and sneezy. He had several courses of antibiotics which never seemed to have an effect, until....

 

He also has plasma cell pododermatitis (also known as pillow foot) and when that reached the point of needing treatment, steroid injections worked for a while but then just stopped having an effect. He had a scabby chin (which I now know is feline acne) too.

 

The next thing to try for the medically most important condition (the feet) was doxycycline, an antibiotic which has immune system moderating effects. It costs a pound a day and you give one pill a day for about 2 months, initially. Not only did his feet rapidly get better, but he stopped sneezing and sniffling within a week and his scabby chin disappeared too. The bonus effects of clearing three conditions with one course of pills was brilliant.

 

The aim of the doxycycline is to push the immune mediated problems into remission, which will last as long as it lasts and can be repeated periodically. Billy will pass his second anniversary of starting the doxycycline next month, and in all of that time all three of the conditions have just not been present. If he sneezes it's because he's got a bit of fluff up his nose, and there's just no drippy nose.

 

For anybody who has a cat that is a similar position, I'd say don't accept the sniffles and sneezes as a lifelong thing until you've tried an antibiotic that moderates the immune system. It amazed me, and in total only cost £60, for 2 years (and more, crossed fingers) of really brilliant health.

 

It's quite possible that you little one's asthma is autoimmune too, and it could be related to the sniffles and sinus issues, so it's worth discussing with your vet whether it could be appropriate for her.

 

As for the other treatments, bronchodilators are not in themselves expensive, so although the vet medical companies are renowned for increasing the cost of drugs for animals over the human cost, I would hope that it isn't going to be prohibitively expensive.

 

Good luck on making her more comfortable soon

[laurajill 10]

Thank you Medusa for your reply.

I will definitely ask the vet about that tomorrow.

Can I ask about your cats having vaccinations? Does it matter if they haven't could she still have the medication you proposed?

[medusa 16]

I'm not a fan of yearly vaccinations once they've had a few years of boosters. I don't keep up with any of mine to be honest and haven't done since they were 5 or 6, and Al has never seen a vet in his life apart from when I managed to trap him to get him neutered and chipped, as he doesn't let anybody touch him (he was trapped on a building site after his mum was killed by a JCB, but he was trapped too late to learn to trust humans).

 

Vaccinations are important for kittens and puppies though, and things like the Feline Leukaemia vaccine are desperately important. The issue is that I've yet to see any convincing evidence that animals' immune systems need yearly boosters once their immunity is established, and the entire basis for this appears to be the profits of the vaccine companies and the vets administering the vaccines.

 

Thankfully the vets have given up hassling clients over missed vaccinations (and if they did, I would move vets) and Billy was officially unvaccinated throughout this although he probably still has immunity from earlier jabs. There's no reason why they should affect whether your little one should have treatment either.

 

Crossed fingers that your vet has some smart ideas on getting her more comfortable