The latest chapter in the kittens health issues.

Tanna started coughing more last night and today, so with this being labor day weekend I decided I better squeeze her in at the vet this afternoon. And that's where I've been for nearly the last 3 hours!

Some news: Tanna does have something in her lungs, maybe the start of what Blann has or maybe not. But it's there and luckily not that bad, yet.

This being a holiday weekend my vet's son was in town! He's a cardiologist who was kind of there in secret since he was technically just there visiting. His father must have mentioned this rather troubling case so he wanted to do a quick ultra sound on Tanna's heart (which is perfect) and took a look at the case himself. He's a little more current and obviously knows more about cardio and cardio-pulmonary so he's suggesting that maybe this isn't a fungal infection at all.
He said the x-rays look more like the bronchi are involved and thinks maybe this could be feline bronchitis/asthma... yes, in both of the cats already checked and possibly Blasa. (Blasa is mostly symptom free but has coughed before, she'll be in next week)

We'll have to see what the lab results say next week just to be sure.

For now, Blann stays on his current regime and Tanna gets azithromycin for 10 days.

I'm somewhat skeptical as I'm curious how this could happen in at least 2 of them at the same time, but apparently it can happen in siblings.

Anyone have any thoughts on chronic bronchitis or asthma happening in every kitten from a litter? And in ones just barely a year old?


Oh, and they Tanna was very well behaved. Jekyll and Hyde cat. I'm dreading medicating her later. Blann is also showing a little improvement, he was playful last night.

I can imagine a genetic link - are there any triggering factors in their home environment that you can think of? - carpeting, cleaners, dusty air ducts, anyone (god forbid) smoking at home, outside air quality not so great lately, or the cats being exposed to second hand smoke?

I have one carpet in the den. They spend most of their floor time in the bedroom, which is wood flooring.
NO smoking. It's disgusting, plus neither DH or I can really be around it.
No scented perfumes, air fresheners, detergents, etc. See above. DH does have asthma and my doctor thinks I have exercise induced. When I do clean the worst I use is bleach or murphy's oil soap and I lock the cats up until this it rinsed off of surfaces and aired out. I'm paranoid.

Air quality is pretty fair here. I live in a rural area. Air ducts could probably use another cleaning, filter gets changed every ~3 months.

The only thing I could possibly think of is having used WBCL and chicken feed as litter and they didn't think that was it. Though I won't rule it out at this point.

So really, I'm at a loss here. It's just weird.

I don't have any ideas at the time, just want to say I am keeping up with your threads on your kitties. It is confounding.

Maybe the litter has something to do with it?

Why does this kind of thing always happen on holiday weekends????

Continued vibes for all your furkids.

Don't have anything to contribute, just wanted to let you know I'm following and sending vibes to you and the kittens.

Originally Posted by farleyv

Why does this kind of thing always happen on holiday weekends????

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Well, this wasn't sudden. I was going to get Tanna and Blasa both checked this last week then Blann had to suddenly go in Monday and had that tracheal wash. We had decided to bump the girls' visit back until the results from that came back in hope that we might have some answers by then.
But it actually turned out well that I went yesterday. My vet always does his best to work me in as soon as they can (a big reason I use that clinic) and shockingly charges so little - yesterday Tanna's charges were only $101? I got her med at my pharmacy for another $19.99 (cats hate cherry flavor, btw..).

I'm still not sure about the litter. The chicken feed I use is very low dust. It's actually a larger crumble and looks only slightly finer than none clumping clay litter. If I have to go back to clay it probably will have to be a low dust non clumping.

I wonder, though, if it was the corn (which is considered hyper-allergenic) would not the corn in their food be a problem, too?
I remember a former member who had an asthma cat with several allergies and she couldn't even have turkey in her food or real cooked because it made her asthma worse.

Well as a human with this issue.. I should not eat wheat but wheat in shampoo or soap does not cause issue... grass on the other hand hits me both breathing and touching.. Bleach can cause issues... what is in murphys soap? does it leave a residue?

Originally Posted by sharky

what is in murphys soap? does it leave a residue?

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Wood and surface cleaner. It does leave a residue which is supposed to be rinsed, whether one has pets or not, because that residue will make a surface look dull and attract dirt. I don't scrub the wood floors as often as I should because it kills my back.
Bleach cleaning is restricted to bathrooms (no cats allowed anyways), and kitchen counters before preparing food directly on them - kneading dough in other words, or if blood from a package of meat drips. I'll occasionally use bleach on the floors, but usually use a bit of dish soap. I'll bleach spot clean if someone has a poopy butt and hops up on a hard surface.
Litter boxes get bleached outside and go in the shop for ~2 weeks.

I have an update!

Fungi has finally be fully ruled out. No more antifungal azoles!

Looks more like the acute bronchitis/inflammation that was suggested and they're going to treat for lung worm just in case.
They'll be going on pred, doxycycline, and fenbendazole - I can't remember which one they had to order but I'll probably be picking up the prednisone today.

I had actually considered lung worm early on, but supposedly that isn't too common here?

Any comments from anyone on this? LDG? (the only one on here I know for certain has dealt with it before)

Blasa goes in at 3pm CT to have her lungs checked. While she's the healthiest of the group she has coughed before.

Well, ruling things out is always good. I hope they've nailed it this time. Sounds like your original instincts were correct.

Well common sense says it's more likely that all three would have something that they could have been infected with from a common source. So that left me thinking heartworm, lungworm, and bacterial/fungal.
Because, honestly, 3 young cats getting asthma at the same time sounds pretty outrageous to me. Research on it suggests it's something that pops up at closer to 2-4 years of age. And even though they are siblings, each one of their bodies are going to respond differently - there's evidence enough of that by just looking at how they are affected by whatever this is. Though, while outrageous, it's not impossible.


ETA: Blasa had her vet visit and x-rays. She's showing the same changes in her lungs as her brother and sister. She's definitely sick, too, not that I doubted my intuition there but the vet needed confirmation for treatment.

Something's hinky here....I can't see how 3 cats and both humans in a home can all have asthma without it being environmental. I would have my house checked out. Might be dealing with Sick House Syndrome or something.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sick_building_syndrome

Oh no, DH has had asthma since he was 8 years old and I've had respiratory problems most of my life - parents are smokers so I had heavy exposure as a child. This wasn't sudden for us.