Vet Talks: Feline Asthma And What You Can Do To Help Your Cat

Vet Talks 2 min read

Feline asthma is the most commonly diagnosed respiratory disease in cats. Although it is incurable, feline asthma is still manageable for your kitty.

What Is Feline Asthma?

Asthma in a cat means that there is a constriction of the airways caused by an overreaction to the presence of an allergen.

When your cat has asthma, it means that there is a constriction of the airways caused by an overreaction to the presence of an allergen. The body responds by releasing stimulants that cause inflammation and swelling of the bronchi and contraction of the surrounding muscles, which results in the narrowing of the airways and causes difficulty breathing, especially on exhalation.

What Causes Feline Asthma?

Allergens, which potentially cause your kitty to become asthmatic include cigarette smoke, dust mites, and other bronchial irritants such as chemical cat litter and cleaning chemicals. There can also be other allergies to the environment.

If your cat has an asthma attack, it can be mild, moderate, or severe to life-threatening.

Signs of Feline Asthma

Signs include increased respiration at rest, wheezing, coughing, or inability to breathe – indicated by open-mouth breathing. At any of these stages, veterinary care is essential to diagnose and manage the disease and alleviate the clinical signs. Depending on how bad the attack is if lips and tongue are blue, oxygen therapy is necessary at first to stabilize along with other medications. If stable enough, an x-ray of the chest will reveal classic patterns in the lungs indicative of feline asthma. Heartworm disease should always be ruled out as the clinical signs of feline heartworm disease mimic feline asthma. Lungworms should also be ruled out as a cause of feline asthma.

Treatment of Asthma in Cats

Treatment includes decreasing allergens in the environment, a hypoallergenic diet, hepa filters in the home, no smoking inside or near pets, natural litters, and natural cleaning supplies. I’ve even seen cases where allergies are triggered by new rugs in the house. It can be useful to have allergy testing done on your pet. Tests can be done for all sorts of allergens, including environmental allergens such as weeds, trees, parasites, grasses, etc.

Western medical management usually involves steroid treatment in various forms. Alternatively, or in addition to western medications, we recommend high levels of omega 3 fatty acids (NHV PetOmega 3), a hypoallergenic diet, acupuncture, and other NHV formulations such as NHV Resp Aid, which help with upper respiratory congestion, and help relieve shortness of breath; as well as NHV Alge-Ex for environmental allergies, and NHV Stimmune to boost the immune system and aid with food allergies. The management of the disease should never be stopped even if the clinical signs are at bay.

If your pet is suffering from allergies, please contact us for an online consultation. We can take a look at blood work, test results, and come up with an integrative approach (a balance of western medications, diet, supplements, and other therapy) that can help your pet.

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Stimmune for cats

USD $43.95

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Asthma Kit For Respiratory Support

USD $94.90

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Natural Allergy Kit with Histamine Support

USD $72.90

Dr. Hillary Cook DVM

Dr. Hillary Cook is a graduate of Virginia Maryland Regional Veterinary Medical school. She has been practicing holistic and integrative veterinary medicine for over 20 years. She certified in Veterinary acupuncture and is fully qualified in Western and Chinese herbalism. She is the owner of Animal Wellness Center, an integrative veterinary clinic in Crozet, VA. She enjoys spending time with her husband, two children, and a menagerie of pets including dogs, cats, and chickens. When time allows, you can find her in the garden or on the tennis court!