? 12/17 Phoenix asthma question

[Scdal]

@Margaret (and Pearl)
This last Wednesday, Phoenix started breathing hard again. He is not panting a lot and walks around and is eating fine.

I started him on the Levalbuterol breathing treatments twice a day along with his Flovent inhaler. Usually, after 1 day, Phoenix is back to normal but this time he is still breathing hard. I called the vet on Thursday and he told me to give Phoenix 10mg of prednisone for 2 or 3 days to see if that would help. I gave him the first one this morning. I have also received my AeroKat chamber and will try using it this evening when he is sleepy. I have been getting him used to it.

What is odd is that when Phoenix and I go to bed, he will still be breathing hard. In the middle of the night, his breathing is back to normal and stays normal until he eats his breakfast. About 30 minutes later, his breathing is heavy. I give him his Zyrtec with his breakfast and I wonder if this could cause the heavy breathing. Tomorrow, I am going to wait on the Zyrtec and see how his breathing is. He eats different food every day so it isn't related to what he has eaten.

Is this something all asthmatic cats do? Does their breathing slow down at night because they aren't active. This is the first time Phoenix’s breathing hard has lasted this long and it is worrying me. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[Margaret and Pearl (GA)]

@Margaret (and Pearl)
This last Wednesday, Phoenix started breathing hard again. He is not panting a lot and walks around and is eating fine.

I started him on the Levalbuterol breathing treatments twice a day along with his Flovent inhaler. Usually, after 1 day, Phoenix is back to normal but this time he is still breathing hard. I called the vet on Thursday and he told me to give Phoenix 10mg of prednisone for 2 or 3 days to see if that would help. I gave him the first one this morning. I have also received my AeroKat chamber and will try using it this evening when he is sleepy. I have been getting him used to it.

What is odd is that when Phoenix and I go to bed, he will still be breathing hard. In the middle of the night, his breathing is back to normal and stays normal until he eats his breakfast. About 30 minutes later, his breathing is heavy. I give him his Zyrtec with his breakfast and I wonder if this could cause the heavy breathing. Tomorrow, I am going to wait on the Zyrtec and see how his breathing is. He eats different food every day so it isn't related to what he has eaten.

Is this something all asthmatic cats do? Does their breathing slow down at night because they aren't active. This is the first time Phoenix’s breathing hard has lasted this long and it is worrying me. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you

Cats who breathe hard (like you can see sides of body using more force to breathe) is a medical emergency and indicates he is not getting enough oxygen. Can you take a video? If this is what you’re talking about, he likely needs to go to the hospital to stay in the oxygen tent. The fact that it recurs indicates to me that he isn’t able to keep oxygen flow that he needs. I do not know why it happens at some times and not others. How long does it last?

I am not a fan of using the Albuterol in non-attack moments personally, though I know some people to to help support open airways further. This is not what it’s intended for though. I don’t know how this relates to nebulizing it on a regular basis. It’s meant to be used during attacks to stop attacks. So those breathing hard times, he needs the Areokat mask on his face and Albuterol administered or in the nebulizer (out of curiosity is ghe nevulizer box closed? Bc if it’s open for airflow like in a carrier, it’s less likely to help - if this is the case I would drape a towel over the carrier for sure to try to seal in as much as possible so it can’t escape in the air. You actually might want to get an Albuterol inhaler for attacks it’s easier to administer that way. One puff every 30 min for as long as attack lasts. He needs to inhale about 10-15 times on that single puff. There is a little nub on the Aerokat where you can see this flap move indicating he is inhaling.)

If administering Albuterol/Lev during those episodes does not stop the hard forceful breathing without hesitation I would go to the hospital. Call in advance and say you’re bringing in an asthmatic who can’t breathe so they are ready for you and confirm there is an oxygen tent for him.

to me the whole thing sounds like the asthma is too much for him right now, and extra support may be needed. I do agree with the high dose Pred to start, it is meant to quickly calm down the inflammation to manageable levels. Your vet will likely have you try to taper it down quickly in a few days with the assumption the Pred stops these episodes.

now about the Flovent. Without the mask on, he unfortunately isn’t really getting anything to help. And Flovent takes 2 weeks to build to full efficacy (given every 12 hours every day), so you can’t rely on the Flovent to be making a big difference with the current episodes. Definitely keep at it, but don’t rely on it to help right this moment.

so, sorry this is so long. Keep on the Pred for sure and administer Albuterol via the Aerokat for attacks and hard breathing. At this point you might just have to force him to wear it, the breathing is very concerning and intervention is required at those times.

If it was me and Pearl starting forcefully breathing and I couldn’t break it off with the Albuterol in the Areokat, we would be on way to hospital to oxygen tent. You can give Albuterol via the mask one puff every 30 min up to 5 hours. But if you don’t get the attack to stop between administrations I wouldn’t wait.
Does this help at all? I really hope so!