Severe Asthma but vet says Flovent is no good?? please help

Hello,

Sorry this is long!

I am so worried about Zeus, he is almost 3 and was diagnosed with severe asthma 2 months ago, had to rush him to the animal emergency as he was in such distress breathing, he spent 3 days there and we were told he has asthma.

Came home with prednisolone and an inhaler with Albuterol, was told to use the inhaler every 8-12 hours, went to our local vet the next day, a few days after that he had a bad turn and our vet put him on Theophylline 1/2 100mg tablet at bedtime and not to use the albuterol unless in an emergency, keep him on the Prednisolone.

He seemed to improve for a few weeks, his breathing was still not normal but the vet said we have to get him on the right dosage which makes sense.

Over the last week his coughing has gotten worse again, last night he came over to me, started coughing then was breathing with his mouth open and his eyes were 1/2 closed, husband and I used the inhaler, had to use it again 15 mins later then he finally calmed down and was not breathing through his mouth.

Was up all night lying down with him then took him straight in to the local vet at 7am, she has taken him off  the prednisolone and started Triamcin 2 x day and Doxycycline 2 x a day and still keep giving him on the nightly Theophylline.

I asked about the inhaler with I think it's called "Flovent" as I've read a lot of asthmatic cats use this?? Our vet said this is like Albuterol and not to be used every day.

Literally 5 mins after being home he started hacking and coughing and again breathing with his mouth open, it was wider than it's ever been and I rushed to get the Albuterol and it worked.

I am so upset for Zeus, to watch him like this is terrible.

We have changed his litter, feed grain free canned food (Wellness which he loves!) don't spray anything in the house at all, use vinegar/water to clean, nobody ever smokes at all.

Hubby is at this minute buying a new filter for the furnace and we are getting all the carpets cleaned with hypoallergenic solutions.

Does anyone have any advice as what else to do?

I won't leave him alone in case he has an attack.

thank you for any help or advice.

"Oral (prednisolone, dexamethasone) or inhaled (fluticasone/FLOVENT, budesonide) corticosteroids are indicated for treatment of feline asthma. Bronchodilators (albuterol, terbutaline) may be considered for adjunctive therapy in combination with glucocorticoids but not as sole therapy for feline asthma. Feline aerosol chambers and inhaler therapy are available for aerosol drug delivery in cats with feline asthma. Cyprohepatidine, an antiserotonergic drug, has been suggested; however, studies have failed to show significant reduction in eosinophilic airway inflammation. Experimental studies suggest that cyclosporine A therapy may hold promise to inhibit development of eosinophilic airway inflammation and airway remodeling through inhibition of T-cell activation and cytokine synthesis. Avoidance of environmental aeroallergens (eg, cigarette smoke, perfumes, pollens, molds, dust) must be considered in management of these cats."

http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/res...imals/tracheobronchitis_in_small_animals.html

Zeus11 said:

 
Hello,
 
thank you for any help or advice.

Click to expand...

We have asthmatic cats at our shelter who are on inhalers every day out of necessity so I don't understand why your vet is against this.  I would suggest a second opinion.  We use this device on our cats.

 My first vet misdiagnosed my cat as hairballs for years-and it was asthma. Luckily I found a vet who owned an asthmatic cat and recognized the symptoms and agreed with my (internet fueled) diagnosis.

You may find these links helpful:

http://www.fritzthebrave.com/

 https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/felineasthma_inhaledmeds/info for friendly fellow feline asthma sufferers.

My cat was on 250 mcg Flixotide twice daily for a while, and was on prednisone a few times before it got under control using Albuterol during bad attacks. He also had a bad habit (still does) of holding his breath so I have to actually count his breaths (we go 15). Now he's on 125 mcg twice a day and hasn't needed albuterol in a few months. The last big pollen drop gave him a minor attack, but only needed one round of albuterol and I had to close the windows and run the a/c instead.

Is your cat overweight? Mine was at 16 lbs, putting him on a diet and he's now down to 12.5 really seemed to help the asthma symptoms.

The first few times you give flovent, the stress can indeed trigger an asthma attack. A sensitive cat can get an attack from you looking at it cross eyed...so the flovent probalby  did not cause the attack. Stay calm when doing the puffs, your cat will pick up on it! A treat afterwards sooths ruffled fur for mine .