Asthma?

I took my Mal in to the vet today because she's been moving a bit slower this past week, and a few times her breathing has seemed quick, even when she's resting.  The vet thinks it could be asthma.  He gave her a steroid shot and we'll see how that goes over the next few days.

In terms of treatment, he mentioned an inhaler, orals, or ear cream.  The inhaler sounds like the best option, but it is just not within my monthly budget - I would rather my pet allotment go towards getting the best quality food. (Food - is it safe to feed cats with asthma raw food?  She's been really picky as of late, but she absolutely wolfs down raw food).  I am hoping that this will be a seasonal type of allergy, and that as soon as the really hot months go away, she might get better.  The long term side effects of steroids are making me very nervous.  I don't want her to suffer from diabetes, or anything else.

Any advice?  Experience?  Words of wisdom?

No chest x-rays were made?

The medication in inhalers also contains steroids. There is a big difference however: The dosage is far lower, since it is administered directly where it is needed. Personally I would go for quality of life. If this meant an inhaler, I would cut down costs on other things. But first I'd want a chest x-ray to validate the diagnosis. 

Since irreversible damage can occur in the lungs I would not wait too long with starting treatment if it actually is asthma. 

I agree that a chest x-ray would be needed to diagnose asthma in a cat. My cat Wendall has mild asthma. He is also eating a raw diet now. So, yes, you can still feed raw to a cat for asthma. The raw diet would be beneficial in many ways, IMO. See about asking the vet for the xray. I know it is more money to spend, but you don't want to treat the cat for asthma if it is not. Good luck and keep us posted

I actually had her in for x-rays this morning!  The vet said she saw things that could *possibly* be the little "donut holes" that usually indicate asthma, but that it wasn't 100%.  She said that if Mal's breathing still hasn't evened out in the next few days, call her up and she'd send the X-rays off to a radiologist.

Feralvr, how are you treating your Wendell?  Do you use an inhaler?  How much does the inhaler actually cost, per month?

My Flowerbelle has "early stage" asthma. She also has high blood pressure, so steroids are contra-indicated. She's on a raw diet. IMO, it's the best thing for them because there are no possible allergans to exacerbate the situation. :nod:

I did a lot of research on asthma treatment, because the steroids aren't an option for her. Unfortunately many of the asthma treatments are contra-indicated for her high blood pressure. One thing that isn't is an omega 3 supplement. I had recently started using one when she was diagnosed with the asthma. After a few weeks on the omega 3, my husband and I noticed that we never hear her coughing any more.

I have 8 cats, but given you'd be treating just one, you probably want to use a different omega 3 than I do. In cats, an omega 3 supplement has to come from an animal source (fish), and because of the issues with omega 3 processing, it's important a high quality supplement be used. Carolina found a good krill oil supplement. It's called MegaRed, and she uses the 500mg supplement. She squirts it on to one meal a day. She says the gel caps are hard to puncture with a knife, so she uses a needle, and then uses pliers to squish it out. :lol3: I'd ask the vet about it, but given the results we've seen in our Flowerbelle, I think it's worth a try.