rapid breathing

[dane]

Hi, My 3 year old cat was diagnosed with possible ear infection but is not yet ruled out by the vet since they sent us home for observation after I brought Casper to the vet for being disoriented a night before, they said it cannot be the earmites since earmites cannot cause loss in appetite, it cannot be also neuro they said since the disorientation only occur once they gave us vitamin & prednisolone to help with his appetite since he’s not eating & force fed for 4 days, he also had eardrops (due to black discharge from his ears and now gone) first day of his medication I saw some improvements, he’s eating little by little, walking properly without being out of balanced, but - his breathing is kinda off, i noticed that he’s putting too much effort breathing, idk if it’s a side effect or normal, he’s easily tired aswell after doing a little activity such as eating a spoonful of recovery diet or cleaning himself, he also make some noise when he’s sleeping like something is blocking the passage, now I don’t have enough money yet to bring him back to vet considering all the exams I had with him & my other cats. Do u guys think I should worry & rush to vet or this is some kind of good-side effect from the meds his taking? since there is indeed improvements alongside of it. I counted his breathing while his sleeping its about 60-70 per minute. I’m no pro but I guess that’s a little too fast? I can also see sides, chest and stomach moving out rapidly when breathing when he’s stress or done some movements.

thank you in advance for the help & advise!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Sorry no one has responded to your post yet. I presume the vet prescribed Prednisolone for more than just an appetite stimulant, as there are other options out there for that. I don't believe I have ever heard of breathing issues being a side effect of Pred, especially when it has not been given longer term. Was it an injection? And I cannot imagine a vitamin having that impact either. No antibiotics? Any mention of the ear issue being tied to an upper respiratory problem, which could affect his breathing.

60-70 breaths per minute is pretty much double-plus the higher end of normal. 15 - 30 is more in line with normal. I know it probably seems like a silly question to ask, but are you only counting one breath per each rise OR fall of his chest? Courting breaths per minute any other time than when he is sleeping or at full rest is not a valuable reading.

Can you at least call the vet and ask them about the breathing you are seeing? They would know if anything they gave him, or anything they might think is going on with him, could impact his breathing. Keep monitoring him and make sure things stay stable, or improve. But either way, get in touch with the vet. Perhaps, they would consider it a follow up to his previous visit and not charge, or not charge as much.

I hope others come along soon and offer some ideas for you. Any more information you can give us might be helpful too!

 

[dane]

Hello, thanks for this, I called the vet but only the front desk is available, the vet is currently handling a patient she said but I left them my concern the front desk said she will rely it to the vet and will get back to me. I haven't heard from them since then maybe I'll call them back a little later..

The Prednisolone is not injected, we are orally giving it to Casper twice daily after meal for 1.5ml every 12 hours as prescribed..
I counted his breathing every each exhale and timer it for 1 min, did I do it wrong?

He was not prescribed with any antibiotic, that's when I am a bit confused because I expected for it to be on the list ( based on experience, mostly they prescribe it alongside the other meds)

You mentioned that it is tied up with upper respiratory problem, is it serious? I'm worried because I can only bring Casper to vet on Saturday.. It's few days from now..

 

[FeebysOwner]

It sounds like you counted correctly. I merely suggested that his ear issue could be part of an upper respiratory condition. I would not automatically think or assume that makes it serious - it could be from a bacterial or viral infection, or there is no connection at all. I was just speculating about things you could ask the vet. I did not mean to scare you. Just keep pestering the vet until you can get to talk to them about your observations.