? 11/02 Chanel 5 asthma attacks in 7 days...sorry no AMPS this morning PMPS 131-at the vet AGAIN

Laura & Chanel

Laura & Chanel

Active Member
Chanel had her last asthma attack last night, that is 5 attacks in 7 days, 3 times going to the doctor, 2 times ending with dexa and oxygen therapy. If the first time in ER showed improvement, the second time was not.

I wonder if we actually are not giving her enough medication to help. She cannot breathe, so she gets scared of feeling that and also because she knows I will get her to the doctor, so double fear.
I stopped using any cosmetics including sunscreen, no sprays in the house. I stopped the AC and bought an air purifier but after turning that on, she started have another attack so I told my husband to come with a way to prove me that the air purifier is actually an improvement.

The doctor gave us albuterol as rescue inhaler and fluticasone (twice a day). The fluticasone does not do much and I remember in humans usually takes a while to show effects, no idea how fast is acting in cats.
Last night in spite of having the fluticasone and Zyrtec, Chanel had another asthma attack. She went to use the litterbox and came with her mouth open then she put her head down and started to breathe hard (same now, I can hear her breathing). We gave her the albuterol, I was an inch away from giving her the dexa shot (the doctor said that stress is actually making the asthma worse and she wants us to avoid going to the ER unless there is no other choice). I changed the litter, we had for years the Pretty Litter which I am upset with because Chanel's urine pH was 8.5 and no blue shade was in the box, so she probably suffered due to struvites for days/weeks/months.
Sorry for ranting, I spent my night watching her and asking myself when I have to go back to ER, hoping she will feel better.

Could you please tell me what is the regimen you keep your cats on for asthma? Maybe her treatment is not aggressive enough?
@Ale & Minnie (GA)
@Jackie and Biggie

Many thanks and again, sorry for the ranting..just tired and scared
 
@Laura & Chanel I’m so sorry Chanel’s asthma is getting worse. That sounds so scary!

I’m curious if anything so far seems to have improved, in any way? Have any of the meds seemed to help even temporarily?

I am also curious what kind of litter you are using now? For a long time I used Dr. Elsey’s Respiratory Relief but it changed and got very dusty and now I use Naturally Strong from Tidy Cats in the unscented version…I have to say though, it sometimes has a lingering scent just from sitting next to other scented litters I think..If I ordered it online it might be better. But it’s the least dusty litter I have tried. I don’t think any of the non-clay litters are good for asthmatics, like the corn and wheat and walnut; they are just too dusty and aggravating, in my opinion.

Good for you for stopping all cosmetics that might have scents. Candles, incense, plug ins, etc, even scented shampoos can be culprits. I think an air purifier can help, but sometimes when they are new they stink from the plastic. I actually made one out of air filters and a box fan. You can buy the filters to make it here: https://www.texairfilters.com/filters-for-box-fan-and-merv-13-filters-air-cleaner/ And google how to make a corsi-Rosenthal box, if you want to make one.

You might ask your vet about trying a different allergy medication- I use: chlorpheniramine maleate which is the generic of Chlor-Trimeton. Biggie gets 1/4 tablet twice a day, but you can give up to 1/2 tablet and possibly more. It definitely helps him. I haven’t tried Zyrtec.

The Flovent does take a few weeks to start working- usually you see some improvement pretty soon, though, but she might need longer for it to kick in. Is she also on prednisolone? It might help keep you from having to give the dexa. I know it’s not ideal in diabetic cats, but she needs to breathe, poor thing.
 
It’s been a minute but Minnie was on Flixotide for maintenance and Sabutamol when she has an asthma attack. I guess hers wasn’t so severe. Mosh of her breathing issues came from the cardiomyopathy not the asthma. Sorry I can’t be of more help :(
 
Jackie and Biggie said:
@Laura & Chanel I’m so sorry Chanel’s asthma is getting worse. That sounds so scary!

I’m curious if anything so far seems to have improved, in any way? Have any of the meds seemed to help even temporarily?

I am also curious what kind of litter you are using now? For a long time I used Dr. Elsey’s Respiratory Relief but it changed and got very dusty and now I use Naturally Strong from Tidy Cats in the unscented version…I have to say though, it sometimes has a lingering scent just from sitting next to other scented litters I think..If I ordered it online it might be better. But it’s the least dusty litter I have tried. I don’t think any of the non-clay litters are good for asthmatics, like the corn and wheat and walnut; they are just too dusty and aggravating, in my opinion.

Good for you for stopping all cosmetics that might have scents. Candles, incense, plug ins, etc, even scented shampoos can be culprits. I think an air purifier can help, but sometimes when they are new they stink from the plastic. I actually made one out of air filters and a box fan. You can buy the filters to make it here: https://www.texairfilters.com/filters-for-box-fan-and-merv-13-filters-air-cleaner/ And google how to make a corsi-Rosenthal box, if you want to make one.

You might ask your vet about trying a different allergy medication- I use: chlorpheniramine maleate which is the generic of Chlor-Trimeton. Biggie gets 1/4 tablet twice a day, but you can give up to 1/2 tablet and possibly more. It definitely helps him. I haven’t tried Zyrtec.

The Flovent does take a few weeks to start working- usually you see some improvement pretty soon, though, but she might need longer for it to kick in. Is she also on prednisolone? It might help keep you from having to give the dexa. I know it’s not ideal in diabetic cats, but she needs to breathe, poor thing.
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Oh CRAP, so that was plastic I was smelling. OMG, I knew something was messed up and told my husband that oxygen smells differently, but he tried to argue with me. We do not use candles or incense because I do not like them, never liked the strong smells. I will start making my own shampoo (no scent). I got the arm and hammer one (no-cloudy) and the tidy cats (24/7 non-clumping...heavy as heck but she used that before the Pretty Litter).
I ordered from Chewy the World's Best (corn, sorry did not know, the vet said it is no-dusty one), and Dr. Elsey's one for respiratory issues. Chanel is very picky but in this case, probably I will try them myself by pouring them in the box and inhale...if I feel something...that bag is out.
Waiting for the doctor's input today. I sent her the updates on Chanel's situation, she does not cough, she just breathes faster than I like, this morning she was breathing so hard that I thought she was wheezing (in asthma attacks she was breathing fast and shallow and wheezing).
She is not on prednisolone, the doctor does not want to mess her up. Also, she gave me the dexa and said she trusts me to use it only in emergencies. Also recommended to get an oxygen cage at home, so Chanel will be less stressed by avoiding going to the doctor.
Thank you very much for the info, I will look it up and see if I am good with crafts.
 
Ale & Minnie (GA) said:
It’s been a minute but Minnie was on Flixotide for maintenance and Sabutamol when she has an asthma attack. I guess hers wasn’t so severe. Mosh of her breathing issues came from the cardiomyopathy not the asthma. Sorry I can’t be of more help :(
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We already tested her for heart/kidney/liver function. Heart is fine (it was called cardiopet something, sorry I do not remember).
It has to be something wrong in the apartment that makes her like that. Monday when we went to her usual doctor she LITERALLY meowed the round trip, for like every 5 seconds...that is like an hour continuously. I was wondering if she will lose her voice doing that. She was fine outside, it seems, if I take into account the complaining she provided loudly.
 
I’m glad you tested her heart because I was thinking it could be other health issues. Even constipation can cause rapid breathing. I would say though if things don’t improve it might be worth seeing an internal medicine specialist.

You can also get a very high quality air filter for your Hvac unit. A lot of people get good results with those.

when you said she was in the box and then had an asthma attack, was it possibly from the litter? One of the least dusty litters is yesterday’s news but it is a real pain because the pellets get everywhere but if you want to try something with zero dust just to see if it helps it would be worth a try. My cats used it without issues when Biggie’s sister started eating clay litter and I had to switch. But you almost have to throw it out daily because it gets a little gross after they pee in it. It’s really not bad litter though.
 
Jackie and Biggie said:
I’m glad you tested her heart because I was thinking it could be other health issues. Even constipation can cause rapid breathing. I would say though if things don’t improve it might be worth seeing an internal medicine specialist.

You can also get a very high quality air filter for your Hvac unit. A lot of people get good results with those.

when you said she was in the box and then had an asthma attack, was it possibly from the litter? One of the least dusty litters is yesterday’s news but it is a real pain because the pellets get everywhere but if you want to try something with zero dust just to see if it helps it would be worth a try. My cats used it without issues when Biggie’s sister started eating clay litter and I had to switch. But you almost have to throw it out daily because it gets a little gross after they pee in it. It’s really not bad litter though.
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True, did not think about the constipation until now. she had diarrhea (I think it was related to dexa), then she jumped to normal bowels, although not the right amount she used to. It does not look like constipation, but definitely a great idea to try and push more liquid (she gets liquid with every meal, but I guess the Cerenia, Orbax and the rest of the medication took a toll on her).
We bought the Honeywell filter for allergies, please let me know if you know something that is tried and true.
I am willing to try any litter no matter how gross it becomes. I work from home and I clean her box every time after she uses it, so no biggies about that. It is up to her to like it. I can tell she does not like the litter from arm & hammer and she did not even want to touch the Tidy Cats litter.
I clean every weekend (vacuum & dusting), we do not have any plants except one little succulent. We are barefoot in the house, shoes get in the closet the moment you get in the house. We did all these for a long time because we wanted to give her a stress-free environment so she can have better BGs in her diabetes journey.
Anything you can think of, please let me know. I do not mind the costs, it scares me the stress I can read on her little face. My husband said last night that her face shrunk with fear and her eyes were so big that she scared us too.
 
Laura & Chanel said:
True, did not think about the constipation until now. she had diarrhea (I think it was related to dexa), then she jumped to normal bowels, although not the right amount she used to. It does not look like constipation, but definitely a great idea to try and push more liquid (she gets liquid with every meal, but I guess the Cerenia, Orbax and the rest of the medication took a toll on her).
We bought the Honeywell filter for allergies, please let me know if you know something that is tried and true.
I am willing to try any litter no matter how gross it becomes. I work from home and I clean her box every time after she uses it, so no biggies about that. It is up to her to like it. I can tell she does not like the litter from arm & hammer and she did not even want to touch the Tidy Cats litter.
I clean every weekend (vacuum & dusting), we do not have any plants except one little succulent. We are barefoot in the house, shoes get in the closet the moment you get in the house. We did all these for a long time because we wanted to give her a stress-free environment so she can have better BGs in her diabetes journey.
Anything you can think of, please let me know. I do not mind the costs, it scares me the stress I can read on her little face. My husband said last night that her face shrunk with fear and her eyes were so big that she scared us too.
Click to expand...

Btw, She sounds like she lives up to the Siamese reputation of being a talker. I love her already.

I was mainly bringing up the constipation b/c there are other things that can lead to increased respirations and mimic asthma, but if there is an irritant in the apt and she seems better outside the apt it could well be asthma.
I got the filtrete filter recommended here b/c I could easily pick it up at Target: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/furnace-and-air-conditioner-filters-we-would-buy/
The other thing I thought of- if you have hard floors make sure you are not using anything that could be irritating her. And if you have carpet, which unfortunately is dusty no matter what, make sure you aren’t using any kind of powders at all in the carpet.
 
Jackie and Biggie said:
Btw, She sounds like she lives up to the Siamese reputation of being a talker. I love her already.

I was mainly bringing up the constipation b/c there are other things that can lead to increased respirations and mimic asthma, but if there is an irritant in the apt and she seems better outside the apt it could well be asthma.
I got the filtrete filter recommended here b/c I could easily pick it up at Target: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/furnace-and-air-conditioner-filters-we-would-buy/
The other thing I thought of- if you have hard floors make sure you are not using anything that could be irritating her. And if you have carpet, which unfortunately is dusty no matter what, make sure you aren’t using any kind of powders at all in the carpet.
Click to expand...
You may have a strong point with the constipation because, hey, if she is straining in the litterbox, that is definitely a negative for her health. I am going to get that filtrete filter, thank you for that
I had a special solution pet-friendly, but hey I will use water (they are fake hardwood floors, so they can take it). Nothing but vacuuming the carpets. We are looking into stanley steemer services to come and clean the floors, we definitely need to get that done asap.
meanwhile the doctor is looking for alternatives for her treatment, she is not happy about albuterol not working and I found a note saying that unlike levalbuterol, albuterol is a racemic mix and the S compound can give paradoxical side effects as increased heart rate, inflammation and bronchoconstriction in some patients.
 
The old go-to for feline asthma information was the Fritz the Brave website. www.fritzthebrave.com

The site is still active but I don’t know if it’s still being updated. Even if not, you might find valuable tidbits and suggestions there. I remember reading and poking around the site for hours when dealing with my first asthmatic cat.
 
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