Cat Balding and asthma

[PuppyCatESP]

I found this forum searching why my cat with Asthma was balding behind her ears. She is using Flovent twice a day and right now she its doing Prednisolone 2.5mg every other day. Exactly the same situation. She is also losing weight so we are pretty worried. I will be asking my vet about this possibility you talk about and hopefully thats the reason. She is 1 year and a half old! My poor baby

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Is your cat on both Flovent and Prednisolone? Milly's vet had her doing both of these for a time period. After a while --using both meds--, this is when we got into trouble, with the increased balding ears, et cetera. Too many steroids, although it did seem that the use of the Aerokat/Flovent in particular was increasingly the main irritation to her face and jawline. She was losing whiskers, too.

Did you catch the "Spots in Ears" thread, too?
Spots In Ears (scabs?)

 

[PuppyCatESP]

Yes, she is on both medications, she was doing good with Prednisolone but we switch to Flovent because would be less harsh on her body, when we made the change she started to lose weight again and the vet put her back on Prednisolone while on Flovent but tbh even though her weight seems more stable its still losing it gradually, I believe she its not underweight yet but its a worry of us since she used to love eating way more than she does now.

She started Prednisolone back in January, switched to Flovent in late February and its been a month today that she started with Prednisolone and Flovent at the same time (and the ears started balding a couple weeks ago). After reading this post I started wiping her face with a wet paper towel after using the inhaler so hopefully that helps discoloration (hasn’t happen yet)
Just today we switched the dose of Prednisolone to every other day as the vet instructed so hopefully that helps with the ears.

I just checked the post you linked, so far we haven’t notice spots on her hears but, she it’s been on these medications for a couple of months.
Im so glad to read that Milly turned 7yo, my wife it’s been struggling thinking our cat would be gone in a couple of years because of the medications so this would give her some relief 🥲

Do you remember if Milly lost weight at some point because of the asthma?

 

[PuppyCatESP]

Ours cat got diagnosed with Asthma last January, we took her to the ER because of a huge weight loss and some coughing, the vet mentioned that sometimes cats with asthma just lose their appetite, Prednisolone seemed to help her at first but now she it’s on both Flovent and Prednisolone and back to losing weight. As far as I know she doesn’t have anemia. Did the goat milk help? I already tried kitten food but my other cat end up eating it I try to feed them in separate rooms but she still just eat a little and walk away for a while

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Milly did not lose weight; her weight has stayed pretty stable throughout.

Does your cat have any trouble eating regularly and well? I know that when a cat has a stuffy nose, they are less inclined to eat as much since it is more difficult to breathe while eating.
Esophagostomy tube

Maybe a cat could also not feel like eating if they are having any taste issues or nausea issues with the Flovent inhaled medicine. It could also just change the taste of her food, and she feels less inclined to eat her fave foods. Could that be possible in your cat's case, or is she eating just fine?

I think I would worry, like you, if my cat was losing weight. Has your cat had a recent thorough exam to see if she has anything else going on health-wise besides the asthma?

 

[PuppyCatESP]

We took her for a follow up after the ER visit but it was all good, and at the ER they said the same.
We will probably have check her again soon because of her ears.

She eats but not as much on one go, she does come back after a while to eat more but if we leave it out our other cat will eat it her ration before she finish it. She still eats though, and she has gotten better since being in both medications, just not as much as she used to.

I did send this post to her regular vet in regards of her ears, maybe that will help finding the right way towards going back to “normal”

 

[Nebaug]

I got nothing just admiring your kitties

 

[FeebysOwner]

There is more going in with your cat, and she needs a thorough exam including full spectrum blood work. If she hasn't seen a regular vet, that would be the thing to do. I hope you have already pursued this aspect. Please let us know.

 

[PuppyCatESP]

Sorry, since you posted to an older thread, I didn't see this until now. There is more going in with your cat, and she needs a thorough exam including full spectrum blood work. If she hasn't seen a regular vet, that would be the thing to do. I hope you have already pursued this aspect. Please let us know.

Yes I did! She had high volume of white cells so the vet recommended a shot for a possible infection she might have. We have to get another blood work in a month. Hopefully this is the end of it tbh, its been a crazy couple of months back and forth figuring out whats wrong with her.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Yes I did! She had high volume of white cells so the vet recommended a shot for a possible infection she might have. We have to get another blood work in a month. Hopefully this is the end of it tbh, its been a crazy couple of months back and forth figuring out whats wrong with her.

Keep at it! It may not be the end, because all cats are different and have different genes, but it is a great start! Keep us posted!

 

[PuppyCatESP]

I found out the reason why she was not eating. For the last few days she was acting lethargic and she would trip walking when she walked, took her to the ER and after and X-rays they found out a huge mass all over the place in her abdomen. It wasn’t attach to any specific organ and she was in a lot of pain so the best option was euthanasia. Surgery was possible but most likely to be useless and sadly I cant afford it either. I have been putting a lot of money in the last fee months on her vet, medicines and changes since she got diagnosed with asthma. She was only one year and 6 months old. She will be miss every day.

 

[PuppyCatESP]

Does your cat have any trouble eating regularly and well? I know that when a cat has a stuffy nose, they are less inclined to eat as much since it is more difficult to breathe while eating.
Esophagostomy tube

Maybe a cat could also not feel like eating if they are having any taste issues or nausea issues with the Flovent inhaled medicine. It could also just change the taste of her food, and she feels less inclined to eat her fave foods. Could that be possible in your cat's case, or is she eating just fine?

I think I would worry, like you, if my cat was losing weight. Has your cat had a recent thorough exam to see if she has anything else going on health-wise besides the asthma?

Sorry for the double post but I just came back from the pet ER, my cat had to get euthanized. Turns out Asthma was not the only thing that she had going on. A big mass was growing inside her abdomen, not attach to an specific organ, looked like cancer but the test to make sure would have been way to expensive to me and that didnt include the surgery if it actually turned out as option after the testing. And even if the surgery was an option, they couldn’t tell if it would be a success or just buy some time since it wasn’t an specific organ. The less painful and less stressful option for my baby was to end things today. So sorry to lose her but at least she is not on pain anymore and finally found the reason for her not eating even though it had to be this way.

 

[AbbysMom]

On behalf of the site Team, we are very sorry for your loss. Threads are closed after such a loss as a sign of respect. If you feel up to it, please consider starting a memorial thread in our Crossing the Bridge forum.

Rest in peace, little one.