OT - Cat with possible asthma

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harrysmom

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At the shelter I volunteer at we recently had a cat abandoned that we think may have asthma. At first we thought she had an URI but after a couple rounds of meds with no change we began to suspect asthma. We sent her to the vet and she had a chest xray and they said they 'think' she has asthma and gave her a shot of depo. It doesn't seem to have worked and are now at a loss since this is a first for our shelter.
Does anyone have any suggestions for things we should be doing and meds we should be using - please keep in mind that this a small shelter that relies completly on donations so don't have a lot of money. We have changed her litter to yesterday's news to avoid the dust but what's next???

Thanks for any ideas and advice!!
Sharon
 
Check out fritzthebrave.com and consider joining Feline Asthma Inhaled Meds on yahoo groups. I would also recommend that the vet give you an rx for prednisone and terbutaline to begin daily treatment- if the pills start working to control the symptoms, it makes asthma more likely the issue.

The best treatment for asthma is inhaled meds- flovent in particular, with a rescue inhaler as a backup- but the treatment is expensive. Pred +terb is a cheaper alternative to buy time for adoption.
 
I had a cat with asthma - we got it under control with prednisone but then switched to a Flovent inhaler. You have to buy a aerocat inhaler (its a mask that you put over the cats face - the inhaler fits in a slot underneath). The flovent is expensive (it was $120 for an inhaler but that was a few years ago) but I got around that by ordering it from a Canadian pharmacy (saved about $40 an inhaler).
 
Thanks for the info!!
We actually found a foster home for Gumdrop where they have another cat with asthma so foster mom already has the meds and she is willing to share with Gumdrop. :-D
 
That's wonderful! If she doesn't know about 4Corners online, where you can buy the Flovent/Flixotide at about a quarter of the price w/o a prescription for overseas, please tell her. Also Albuterol for emergency attacks. This will save another vet trip.

Melanie & Racci
 
Just wanted to make sure she was tested for heartworms since it can present with asthmatic symptoms. Glad you got a foster home already and they are prepared.
 
If they will work with the cat and manage his symptoms with an inhaler I would be happy to donate Maverick's aerokat chamber. I really want it to go to a needy home. I lost him suddenly last April and he was managed on flovent only - 250mcg. The Feline Inhaled Meds group on yahoo is truly wonderful. If you need it earlier the moderator of Feline asthma relief distributes donated inhalers - I can email you her contact information. I believe this is the other yahoo asthma group. Please join. Prednisone can cause diabetes as you know and flovent is much kinder once they are stabilized. We learned how to use the aerokat from fritz the brave site and within a week Maverick was purring his head off with the chamber.

The inhaled meds group got Maverick back on track after six months of coughing. They told me to double the flovent to 250mcg twice a day. His vet didn't know asthma so resisted this. Within a week at the two puffs he was back to 100%.
 
Karrie - thanks for the offer but I found out she actually already ordered one. I don't know anything about asthma but I will pass on all the info to the foster mom.

Thanks again!!
 
Great update. You are in great hands with Fritz the Brave and the feline asthma groups. They are very knowledgeable and can answer all your fosters questions. Remember forums like these know often so much more than vets do. A vet may see one or two asthmatic cats, where as the forums live and breath specific diseases and are up on the latest treatments.
 
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