Cat Asthma

Hi All,

Some weeks back I took my cat, Paste, to the vet and she determined that little Paste hads asthma. She gave me a steroid prescription to give to Paste and said taht when the bottle was gone, hopefully Paste would be asthma-free, but if not, he'd need to come in for shots. We are nearing the end of the bottle, and the hacking is starting again. I had been looking in to pet insurance so I could afford the shots, but then last week I learned that I am getting laid off. So the decisions I have to make are to either keep both cats in good health by keeping them housed and fed, or take Paste to the vet and risk my ability to pay rent.

So I'm here b/c I want to gauge how long I can safely go without getting Paste properly treated, and if there are any sort of over-the-counter supplements or meds I could buy to tide us over until I get another job or figure something else out. It kills me to hear him hacking, he's only over a year old and I still consider him my baby, but paying big vet fees right now is really really really not an option. If it were my health, I wouldn't be going to a doctor now, either, but Web MD'ing like it was my job. Please advise!

It depends on how bad his asthma is.
My Coco has had asthma for years and she did not need meds very often at first.
Its not good to give the shot all the time.
Coco got bladder problems from the shot and she has a inhaler now.
Otc meds are not good for cats with asthma.
Keep him inside.
It sudden attack can kill a cat if its bad.
My Coco has had real bad attacks that would make her throw up from coughing.
How bad is he coughing and is there wheezing.

I don't know how bad it is. He started hacking about 2 months ago, and I thought he was just tryign to cough up a hair ball. But after a month of not having to clean up any hairballs, I took him to the vet and after an xray discovered that his lungs were a little irritated. Now I am 4 pills away from the steroids being out, and he is only taking them every other day. He's an indoor cat, and i keep the apartment pretty clean, but since it's winter in NY, the apt is also really dry. The other night his hacking/wheezing (not sure what the dif is) woke me up, and I was parched, so I half wonder if I just need a humidifier. But then the next AM (yesterday) I gave him a pill and he was fine all day yesterday, last night, and this AM.

Thanks for writing back mews2much!

I hope he feels better.
Asthma can be bad some days and ok other days.

all I can say is when kitty coughs he is trying to breathe. They cough to try to open up the air passage because kitty can not breathe.

I would call your vet and explain your situation to them. They would be the best judge of how long your cat can live comfortably without meds. Our vet was charging us just for the shots and not a visit. It was 48$ for the shot. Maybe you can work something out with your vet that you can afford.

In my case, Molly has had asthma for many years without being medicated. One day she had her usual coughing fit which led to open mouth breathing (BAD). When she came on with her preds(pills) after a few days the coughing was back and we switched to the shots since the pills weren't enough. She is now on the preds again b/c she had the shot 3x's and they are hoping her lungs aren't as irritated and before and can handle just the pills.

moo has asthma and he responds REALLY well to hte shots...he ony gets one year usually in the winter and he's good for awhile.

My vet suggested switching to a Dust free litter and i Have ionic breeze air filters all over my apartment. It seems to help..but he gets bad in the winter.