Elvis...breathing better but not eating, update in post belo

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fourcatsmama

fourcatsmama

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It could be time for a vet appt if his prednisone doesn't kick in. When he was younger he started wheezing, but it was so long ago I don't remember what the actual diagnosis was. I remember hearing asthma, kennel cough, etc. and that he'd probably be on the prednisone forever. But I'd give him the pred and it would go away and then every once in awhile it would start back up. He hasn't wheezed in about two years now, and all of a sudden it is starting again. When he first got it and some other times he'd get so bad before the pred kicked in I'd think I was going to wake up and find him dead because he'd get all lethargic and you can just see his chest heaving. He is like that again and he didn't eat at all yesterday and for most of saturday. Of course I can't find any of my old syringes from feeding Jericho so I can't even squirt food or water in his mouth. I've got some of his old prednisone, but I don't know if it is any good anymore. He looks miserable. Sometimes it seems like there is always something going on with one of the cats. I just had Presley at the vets and a few months ago it was Sophie, and in between Jax had his neuter, vet bills up the butthole. Sigh... I guess it is just the price we pay for having multiple furbabies, but multiple love also! :)
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

fourcatsmama said:
But I'd give him the pred and it would go away and then every once in awhile it would start back up. He hasn't wheezed in about two years now, and all of a sudden it is starting again.
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That's the problem. Asthma doesn't go away--the pred just got it under control. Think of it like having a diet controlled diabetic. The diet is the "drug" that keeps the diabetes under control. If you stop the "drug", you may start to see the disease symptoms again.

Asthma is a chronic, progressive lung disease that needs a regular maintenance regimen. If he's wheezing, please get him to a vet ASAP. By the time you hit the wheezing phase, there's a lot of chest constriction involved. As a human asthmatic, I can tell you this---it's a horrible feeling!
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

I've already put a call in to the vet. I feel like a hypocrite, working in a day care I always tell parents if their child is on medicine that they have to follow through until the med is gone, and here I've gone and done exactly the opposite with my cat! I should have asked if there are any alternatives besides the steroid, because I'd rather not have him on a steroid for the rest of his life.
 
Aerokat.com and fritzthebrave.com

Both excellent asthma resources for inhaled meds- definitely the route to go for feline asthma as opposed to the oral or injected.. My Clouseau was treated with inhaled from 2002 until his death in July 09- and went from a severe asthmatic who suffered routine ER crisis visits to a stable and happy cat. If they had been available when he was first dx w/ asthma I would have gone with them immediately- and if we had I am certain that he would never have suffered from diabetes.
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

Thanks for posting that! I'll definitely check into it. You would think it would make more sense to have something like that available if it is known that prolonged steroid use can be a cause of diabetes. But the vet has never mentioned those options. I am going to ask. And all this time I wondered what an 'aerocat' was when I saw it mentioned, now I know. What is an acrocat, then?
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

I just called the vet again and she was on her lunch break, but I left a message for her to call me or set aside time tonight when I'm there to pick up the pred so we can discuss the aerocat and inhalers etc. Of course they don't carry any at their site, but with the cat's breathing so labored I'd rather have something more quick acting than a steroid.
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

fourcatsmama said:
I just called the vet again and she was on her lunch break, but I left a message for her to call me or set aside time tonight when I'm there to pick up the pred so we can discuss the aerocat and inhalers etc. Of course they don't carry any at their site, but with the cat's breathing so labored I'd rather have something more quick acting than a steroid.
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Well, it may take a little while for the inhaled meds to start working so a short course of pred really isn't a bad idea at this point. Hey, I have a Flovent inhaler that's due to expire at the end of April. If you want, you can have it for free. It beats throwing it out. It's the 110 mcg dose.
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

I don't know if this is something I should run by the vet first? I suppose it depends on what kind of vet you have. Would it be wrong to take it and use it without talking to vet? I have a really good relationship with her so I don't want to strain it. I guess I'm just not sure how I would approach it. I don't know if I sound silly asking those questions. I ask because I remember when Jericho was first diagnosed w/ diabetes or reading other stories about cats who are first diagnosed and how opinions between vets/clients/ board people differ as far as treatment of the diabetes. Does that seem to be typical for other things as well? But I guess I'd have to tell her if I was going to be doing that in conjunction with the steroids.
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

Hi Amy

Please, if this happens again, he needs to get to the vet asap for oxygen and therapy with a broncho-dilator. People and animals die from asthma attacks and it is not a pretty death. As Deanie said too, it is painful and very frightening to have an attack.

You need to speak to your vet about a course of pred while you start inhaled meds; you also need to get a "rescue" inhaler for acute attacks. This is not Flovent, it's albuterol and you give it during emergencies like the one yesterday.
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

I did not realize there was a difference in the inhalers, so that is good to know. I will definitely ask vet about that. Here is the dosage of the pred they gave me "2x daily for 3 days, then 1x daily for three days, then 1x every other day for 3 days and lastly 1/2 pill every other day. This last dose I'm guessing is what he would stay on indefinitely as a preventative measure, but how large/small of a dose is known to cause diabetes? When they say steroids are known to be a cause, is there any research on how much?
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

fourcatsmama said:
I did not realize there was a difference in the inhalers, so that is good to know. I will definitely ask vet about that. Here is the dosage of the pred they gave me "2x daily for 3 days, then 1x daily for three days, then 1x every other day for 3 days and lastly 1/2 pill every other day. This last dose I'm guessing is what he would stay on indefinitely as a preventative measure, but how large/small of a dose is known to cause diabetes? When they say steroids are known to be a cause, is there any research on how much?
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ECID. Merlyn was probably genetically predisposed to diabetes. You arent going to know that in advance. We were doing a 2 weeks pred, 2 weeks of nothing, 2 weeks of abs, and keep doing that, for a mild case of stomatitis. After the first 2 weeks of prednisolone, in the 2 weeks of nothing, wham..peeing like crazy messed up hair..diabetes.

Funny thing is I had ASKED about diabetes beforehand and vet said very small chance, that the shots of steroids were more likely to cause FD. Later, I had my animal communicator friend talk to him about it and Merlyns comments indicated to me that he may have been pre diabetic or diabetic at least 2 years before diagnosis with me.
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

I know that for humans - Flovent is a maintenance inhaler, you take it daily to keep things under control.
Rescue inhalers (my human one is Ventolin) are taken when an asthma attack is occurring.
I get short courses of Prednisone only when having a severe flare-up. I have to say it's amazing stuff (I've never breathed so well!), but humans cannot stay on it long-term.

I've never dealt with an asthmatic cat, so I'm not sure how different it is for them.
 
Re: Elvis...breathing update= hellish night so far

Good thing I got out of work early because I feel like if I hadn't gotten home when I did, he may have been dead by the time I got here. As it was, I came in and put my bags on the counter, got his pill and went to go give it to him, only to find him laying with his eyes wide open and his mouth wide open sounding like no air was going in. I called the vet and they said bring him right in. Course I'm trying to go fast but not go fast b/c roads are flooded and it is raining, but they took him right in to triage and put him in the oxygen. They sedated him so they could give him fluid and steroid shot but said they didn't have the inhalers. They took xrays and said all looks good and the oxygen perked him up. He bit one of the techs so the vet had to tell me that if something happened like it got really bad and they had to euthanize or he passed on his own, that b/c he bit someone he would have to be tested for rabies. Is that true? He's an indoor cat always kept up to date on his rabies vaccine. At any rate, they gave me his charts and xrrays to take to the 24 hr care for observation and I wasn't sure what to do because it probably would have been close to a thousand bucks which I didn't have half up front. So I was driving towards home then decided to call the vet Jericho used to go to. They are a bigger practice so I thought maybe they could give me an inhaler. They said they wouldn't mind seeing him but would need to charge it as an 'urgent' visit. They had no inhalers either but the vet put him back in the oxygen and checked out his xrays and what the first vet did for meds, gave him more med and also recommended taking him to 24 hr care for observation. But she at least prescribed me an inhaler. But he (thank god) has totally perked up and is breathing much better. The inhalers were expensive but this was cheaper than the 24 hr care and will help him more quickly. So I came home to find four piles of throw up from the other cats who got up on the counter and ate the plastic bag with food that I left on the counter in my rush to get the cat to the vet. Any idea how long eggs and ham can stay out on a counter? It's been about 5 hrs. They still feel semi cold, but I'm exhausted b/c of crying for the last 5 hrs.
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

omg, what an evening you've had! That must have been so scary. Sounds like you literally saved his life tonight.

I'm glad to hear that Elvis is feeling somewhat better though and that you got him an inhaler. What kind of inhaler is it?
(out of curiosity, how do you give a cat an inhaler?)

Sorry, no idea about the eggs and ham... but I imagine there would be a quick answer somewhere if you googled. I've looked up stuff like that before.

How are you doing now? Hang in there.
 
Re: Elvis...trouble breathing :(

Right after I posted last night I went to sit and eat a sandwich finally but I was so in knots it was an effort to eat. It was almost eleven when I went to bed and here I am again, have to get up at 5:30 to go to wk but was up before that anyway. So now I'm tired with an awful headache from the tiredness and stress. Elvis actually did pretty good with the inhaler. You put the inhaler in the tube and a mask on the other end of the tube, put the mask over their nose/mouth and press the inhaler. The hard part is keeping the mask over their face long enough for them to breathe in and out a couple of times, so I kind of had him wedged in my lap. I think it will get tougher as he perks up more but when I got him out of the carrier last night he came out purring, and he's been purring most of the night. Hopefully it means he's feeling better and happy to be home. He isn't breathing as open mouthed as before. It is open slightly but not gaping, but with the purring you can tell they are deeper breaths and it isn't so labored. But now of course my concern is that he hasn't eaten since sunday. How long can a cat go? I keep taking my little syringe and trying to squirt little bits of watered down canned food, which he takes well but I don't know how much to give and how effective it is since the more it is watered the more it loses it's caloric content. He did drink some water on his own when we got home last night. And he peeed on his towel in the carrier during the ride home. Just as I sat to eat the piggy kitten threw up again. Husband gags and gets grossed out cleaning that stuff and he almost puked himself, but I looked at him and said "if you have me clean that up after the night I've been through...!" and he did it, gags and all!
One of the worst parts of this that made me so emotional is having to go into the vet's office where we took Jericho. I haven't been there since he passed away in 2008 since the other cats go to a different vet. I started shaking as soon as I turned into the driveway and felt like I was going to hurl. Immediately I started to cry and couldn't breathe myself. But they remembered me and Jericho and knew the whole story, so they understood.
 
His breathing is much, much better, he is purring all the time and seems very happy except for the fact that he is still not eating, so now this has been since Sunday. On Wednesday I kept him in the bathroom all day so I could monitor what he ate, and hubby got home first and let him out and said it looked like he ate some, but since he doesn't know how much food there was to begin with, how would he know how much the cat ate? Thursday I kept him in the bathroom again with canned food, dry food, tuna, deli meat and he ate nothing. The vet was supposed to call in an appetite stimulant (they didn't have it on site but said they could call it into cvs pharmacy) I got to cvs pharmacy and there was no record of it being called in, and of course by that time both vet's offices were closed. I was rippin! I left them a long, upset message and they called me this morning to say that it had been called in. But the problem with that is that the cat won't get this now until another 24 hrs after he should have had it if they had called in the damn prescription like they said they would. Before I left cvs I bought three flavors of baby food and he didn't touch those last night either. But he did, however eat on his own this morning. Not alot, but at least he is starting to eat. I just hope that his insides aren't all screwed up after not eating for five days. But he started jumping on and off the bed and my lap, which is good considering he has spent the last week just laying in the corner of the room.
 
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