Question About Possible Asthma

I am taking KeKe to the vet tomorrow for a workup for a possible asthma diagnosis.  She started having coughing fits in February of 2015, but they subsided within a couple of weeks.  I chalked it up to a hairball.  The cough was dry sounding and she would do some swallowing throughout.  The vet saw a video of her and said it could be a seasonal allergy or post nasal drip.  Fast forward to August 2015 when it started up again.  First she coughed a few times a week, then once a day, and now several times a day.   When I called to schedule her appointment, the vet still didn't seem to think it would be a significant condition.

 Over the weekend it got to be 2 or 3 times an hour for a couple of hours.  I almost took her to the emergency vet, but she wasn't mouth breathing.  Now though she has some noisy breathing and sounds a bit like a little pig snorting and snuffling.  She had been staying with my parents while I traveled and I was home to pick her up.  We have now been back at my house for 4 hours and she has only coughed once.

She was running and playing all weekend and her appetite was fine right up until the bad fit she had Saturday night.  She never coughs during or after playing or eating.  Typically the coughing starts while she is at rest.  She is still eating and drinking fine, but seems a bit tired.  I don't think she slept much last night after the coughing fits.

Does this sound like asthma in other people's experience?  I'm scared that it will be something horrible with her heart or lungs instead.  I had a kitty years ago that had very subtle changes in his breathing and upon x-ray had an eggplant sized tumor in his chest cavity.  Her vet is going to do x-rays and also some kind of procedure that will let her look at the back of the throat for anything that could be lodged there.  I completely trust my vet.  She's great.  

Thanks for any feedback anyone has.  I'm super worried about my KeKe.  I lost my Mindy last year to cancer and am scared I could lose KeKe too 

Yes, it does, especially since it seems to be triggered when the seasons are changing.  Just like in humans, asthma can be triggered by seasonal changes and changes in climate.  Be sure they take an x-ray to check her lungs.  I took my kitty in a few weeks ago because she was sneezing and she's not my sneezy kitty.  The vet just listened to her lungs and confirmed that she had asthma.  I have long suspected it and even took a video of her during one of her coughing attacks many months ago and showed it to the vet.  At the time, she wasn't diagnosed, but this time she was.  This time, the vet gave her a steroid shot and she's been great ever since. 

Thank you!  She will be getting both x-rays of her chest and the throat scope tomorrow.  Right now her breathing sounds like a an engine revving.  Kind of like a purr and a snore.  I feel so bad for her.  I hope she can get some relief tomorrow.  I have to go to work in the AM and worry about leaving her alone for the day.

KeKe had her visit today.  Didn't go so well.  The vet saw lung abnormalities on the xray film and showed me the "donuts" that would show up with asthma.  But, she also showed me that her heart wasn't clearly visible in one view that it would be and in the other it could possibly have some areas of thickening.  She wasn't super confident about that though, so she referred me to an internal medicine specialist.  I'm going to take KeKe out of town as the local specialist can't get her in for over 3 weeks.  The out of town place can get her in Friday.  Both are board certified.  She did say as well that all of the "noise" she heard from KeKe's breathing was in the upper respiratory area-which she said was good.

So my head is kind of spinning.  We went from post nasal drip, to allergies, to asthma, to maybe lung disease to maybe heart disease.  KeKe does seem to be doing better 24 hours now into being back at our house.  That made the vet lean back towards asthma too and the trigger being at my parent's house.  She did not treat her at this point as if she has a heart issue it would make it worse.  I feel so bad for my baby.  She's eating and drinking but I know she doesn't feel well.  Friday can't come soon enough to get more information.

On an unrelated note, the xray also showed spondylosis-which is apparently quite rare in a cat her age?  I have zero experience with that.  I can barely wrap my mind around the other medical issues at this point.   

Spondylosis is arthritis and happens to all kitties.  How old is your girl?

KeKe is 6.  She was abandoned in a carrier with a note at the shelter I adopted her from.  I believe her age was on the note and not just what they estimated (I hope)!

Also, does this seem like heart disease to anyone who has had that experience?  The vet gave me several reasons why it probably isn't, but as soon as she put it on the table, that's all I could think of. 

KeKe had another coughing "spell" last night between 3-5am.  I myself woke up coughing too a couple of times.  All together there were 3 episodes of coughing that lasted about 40 seconds or so.  Her breathing sounds a bit better though.  Before that we went about 24 hours without coughing.  This morning she had me up bright and early for her breakfast.

My gut says this is asthma, but I have no experience with it either.  She looks just like the videos on-line of cats having asthma attacks.  Sometimes it seems like she brings up stuff and swallows it back down.  Very very rarely I will find that she has thrown up clear foam or liquid. 

So KeKe saw the specialist yesterday. She spent the day there and had a sample taken of yuck in her lung. The dr is leaning towards chronic bronchitis over asthma, but is going to wait for all the cultures to come back. KeKe was such a good girl for it all!
She will do 3 weeks-ish of prednisolone and then we will transition to the aerokat inhaler when the formal diagnosis is made. That's going to be an adventure for us both . Miss KeKe might have to get a job to help pay for all of this lol.
Also, the Dr thinks her heart is fine and what the regular vet saw in the X-ray was just fat