{"id":1363,"date":"2012-12-04T19:45:52","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T19:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.net\/blog\/?p=1363"},"modified":"2012-12-04T19:45:52","modified_gmt":"2012-12-04T19:45:52","slug":"feline-asthma-diagnosis-and-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/feline-asthma-diagnosis-and-treatment\/","title":{"rendered":"Feline asthma: Diagnosis and treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Asthma occurs when an allergen incites airway inflammation, resulting in varying levels of respiratory distress, more commonly in cats than in dogs, according to veterinarian Bernhard Pukay. Some cats experience mild symptoms such as coughing fits that resolve on their own, while others can have severe reactions that progress to panting and even death in rare cases, writes Dr. Pukay. X-rays help to make the diagnosis of asthma and rule out other conditions. Treatment depends on the severity of symptoms, according to Dr. Pukay, who points out that some cats may only need monitoring while others require medication.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Question: We have a four-year-old calico cat. About three months ago, she\u00a0 started wheezing and having coughing spells. These episodes only last for a few\u00a0 minutes and then she seems perfectly normal afterward. She is still very active\u00a0 and appears healthy otherwise.<\/p>\n

Our vet took chest X-rays and told us she had asthma.\u00a0 We were also told that\u00a0 medication was not really necessary at this time.\u00a0 Is this true? What are the\u00a0 chances that she will get worse and eventually need treatment?\u00a0 Could this kill\u00a0 her?<\/p>\n

Answer: Your cat has a condition called Feline Asthma, which has several\u00a0 other names, including bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis and allergic\u00a0 bronchitis.\u00a0 While it can be a problem in cats of all ages, it usually occurs\u00a0 most often in young and middle-aged cats. Dogs can also get asthma, but it is\u00a0 much more common in cats.<\/p>\n

Put simply, asthma is an inflammation of the airways that is caused by an\u00a0 adverse reaction to allergens. Specifically, inhaled allergens cause a sudden\u00a0 contraction of the muscles around the windpipe and this leads to symptoms such\u00a0 as wheezing and coughing. It is usually difficult to determine precisely which\u00a0 allergens will trigger a reaction, but grass and tree pollens, house dust,\u00a0 smoke, sprays (hair sprays, deodorants, etc..) have been implicated.<\/p>\n

Typically, a cat with a mild case of asthma will have a dry, hacking cough\u00a0 that may be confused with gagging, retching or vomiting. These cats will have\u00a0 episodes of coughing and wheezing, yet can be perfectly fine in between \u201cattacks\u201d.<\/p>\n

In more severely affected cats, the coughing and wheezing may become a daily\u00a0 occurrence and they may experience breathing difficulties to such an extent that\u00a0 they start open-mouth breathing and panting. In a very small number of cases,\u00a0 feline asthma can be life threatening. In these cases, an injection of\u00a0 epinephrine may be necessary during a severe attack.<\/p>\n

There are several other diseases that can mimic asthma. Heartworm disease,\u00a0 congestive heart failure, lung cancer and pneumonia can all show clinical signs\u00a0 similar to feline asthma. For this reason, veterinarians turn to diagnostic\u00a0 tools such as chest X-rays or ultrasound, blood tests (including heartworm\u00a0 testing) and tracheal and bronchial washings (i.e. taking cell samples by\u00a0 flushing the trachea and lungs).<\/p>\n

Depending on degree of severity, treatment of feline asthma can range from\u00a0 simple monitoring to symptomatic relief of clinical signs. Medications such\u00a0 steroids, antihistamines, and bronchodilators are usually effective.<\/p>\n

Corticosteroids are the most effective drugs for treating feline asthma\u00a0 because they reduce the inflammation in the windpipe and bronchi.\u00a0 Bronchodilators are also used in some cases because they help to open up the air\u00a0 passages to make breathing easier.<\/p>\n

While there is no cure for feline asthma, fatalities are extremely rare. In\u00a0 patients where respiratory distress is not a manifestation and inflammation can\u00a0 be kept under control with medication, the prognosis for control of this disease\u00a0 is excellent. Unfortunately if inflammation cannot be controlled, lung damage\u00a0 can occur and the prognosis is more guarded.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Asthma occurs when an allergen incites airway inflammation, resulting in varying levels of respiratory distress, more commonly in cats than in dogs, according to veterinarian Bernhard Pukay. Some cats experience mild symptoms such as coughing fits that resolve on their own, while others can have severe reactions that progress to panting and even death in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cats","category-medical-issues"],"yoast_head":"\nFeline asthma: Diagnosis and treatment | The Animal Health Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/feline-asthma-diagnosis-and-treatment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feline asthma: Diagnosis and treatment | The Animal Health Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Asthma occurs when an allergen incites airway inflammation, resulting in varying levels of respiratory distress, more commonly in cats than in dogs, according to veterinarian Bernhard Pukay. 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