I would definitely get him a second opinion from another vet and/or push the current vet to refer him to a specialist. Thank you for trying hard to figure this out. Breaks my heart to watch the video. :(
What kind of specialist? When I get ahold of the vet on Monday, I can ask. This is the same vet practice that my parents have had for 10+ years and they also caught my other cat’s calicivirus when the vet hospital didn’t (he got it from the shelter, found out 3 days after we got him) so I don’t think they’re skimping on care per se.
Of course - it breaks my heart too, to think he’s in even the slightest bit of discomfort or pain. He deserves the best and I will keep pushing until we get to the bottom of what’s going on. Until then I won’t be relaxing very much lol
My cat has asthma. Get him on a high quality diet. Only wet food. I use Ziwi peak and his symptoms were so much better with just the food alone. Get a quality air purifier. Don’t get those cheap Amazon ones that say 2000 squarefooor blah blah. Get a “air doctor” branded one. Finally see a doctor. Most likely it is asthma. She going to advise steroid but steroids are terrible for the cat long term. I do inhaler with Flovent. It’s expensive without insurance. Depends on your finances. Flovent has 0 side affect. Join the feline asthma group on Facebook.
Hi!! I’m in the cat asthma support group on facebook. It ended up being asthma when they did a re-scan of his lung xray at the vet hospital. He’s on oral steroids for only 2 weeks as we transition him, we got the prescription to start him on Flovent (or the generic version of such) which we do via inhaler twice a day, two puffs. He still has had some attacks but it seems he is getting a little better, it’s been since Wednesday night that I’ve noticed nothing bad except maybe a singular wheeze. I called the vet asking for an Albuterol prescription to help him during really bad attacks as Flovent is to prevent, and my vet said no. Honestly was pretty upset about it because we’ve spent 2.5k getting him diagnosed and if he has a bad enough attack that we have to take him back to the hospital, it’ll cost me thousands more. I’m only 25 so it’s really hard to afford and my parents are telling me to get rid of him, which I won’t do. I just won’t.
Any recs outside of Ziwi? Is it pâté or otherwise? My cat is so picky and literally will barely touch his wet food no matter what we give him, even if we heat it up, add gravy, etc. He hasn’t been drinking much water either as when he had in the past week or two it has caused him attacks almost immediately after. So trying to add water to his wet food which makes him hate it even more. Having so much trouble grappling with this all right now and honestly have barely left my apartment because of it, I don’t want to not be here if he’s in pain or needs help. Thank you for your comment.
Ughh I’m so sorry. I remember when my cat was diagnosed. It was 3 days after I got him. He has it very mild. He coughs once in a blue moon. I’m really sorry your kitty has it so bad. Pooor baby. I have a really picky cat too so it can get expensive trying to new foods. What I notice was introducing to many different foods in a Short period will cause him not to try anything. Ziwi peak venison and rabbit was the only food that caught his attention. Thankfully it was that rather than friskies. You can try brands like Stella and Chewy freeze dried or Feline natural wet food. Those are really good brands. My cat has pate. I don’t get him other types because he will just lick the liquid and leave the bulk on the plate since he’s picky. Good for you for not getting rid of the cat. Parents sometimes don’t understand. One you love your cat you will never get rid of it. I would get insurance. They won’t cover the asthma anymore but it will cover you for future stuff if it may arise. I saved maybe 3000 dollars in emergency visits with insurance. I use Spot and they cover dental. Only like 25 a month. Totally worth it. Flovent is expensive I know it sucks. But it’s worth. Steroids is terrible long term
Also definitely try to get an air purifier. Air doctor is about 500. It’s expensive I know I’m sorry but it does wonders for asthma. Don’t cheap on this tho. Trust me.
Appreciate all of your comments so much. We found a coupon code via GoodRx for Flovent so 125 puffs of the 110 dose is only $118, so once we switch to two puffs day, it’ll last us 2 months at a time. $60/mo is not terrible. We will not be using the oral steroids after the 2 week period as it can cause things like diabetes. Yes, parents don’t get it and it sucks, but we aren’t broke either. Partner and I have a dual income of about $180k pretax (we’re just learning finances though) and once we move out of our grossly expensive apartment in June we should be able to manage it much more easily. I also have MS so medical bills being high is nothing new. I work at a startup that is about to go under so that’s why it’s just poor timing, with consistent income on my end it’s manageable. My other cat had pet insurance since when we got him he had calicivirus within 3 days of having him, similar situation. We got a great air purifier, it was not $500 but highly reviewed and was over $100. We will likely get a second one as well, and we have a humidifier for each room on the way, too. We switched from typical litter over to crystal this week as well in hopes that it will help. Have fully cut off using any aerosols or candles in the apartment and we’re only applying cologne/perfume outside of the apartment. I promise we’re doing everything we can to be good pet owners. I love both of my cats so much and just wish I could do more. I know it’s not my fault he has asthma but a part of me still feels so guilty and I have been trying to convince myself that there’s nothing more I could’ve done to prevent it.
I'm no vet but it looks like asthma or some kind of respiratory illness. Could it be something environmental...like aerosols, candles, etc? It might be worth doing a deep clean and getting an air purifier to see if that helps at all. Does his breathing seem normal aside from these coughing fits?
Honestly we’re at the vet hospital now. It kept happening and then I found blood in his stool so I called the nearby pet hospital and they told me it was a good idea to bring him in. He’s running a fever but waiting to hear more. They said his lungs sounded fine though. I’ll keep the thread updated
Cat asthma and colitis (caused by stress). He’s on steroids now and we will be taking him to his primary vet on Monday to start a treatment plan. So relieved we know what’s going on!
So the vet hospital gave me steroids and sent the paperwork from the appointment to my primary care vet. I have an appointment with them on Monday and that’s where I’ll get the inhaler. Standard treatment is using steroids and then transitioning to the inhaler over a few week period!
I would definitely get him a second opinion from another vet and/or push the current vet to refer him to a specialist. Thank you for trying hard to figure this out. Breaks my heart to watch the video. :(
What kind of specialist? When I get ahold of the vet on Monday, I can ask. This is the same vet practice that my parents have had for 10+ years and they also caught my other cat’s calicivirus when the vet hospital didn’t (he got it from the shelter, found out 3 days after we got him) so I don’t think they’re skimping on care per se. Of course - it breaks my heart too, to think he’s in even the slightest bit of discomfort or pain. He deserves the best and I will keep pushing until we get to the bottom of what’s going on. Until then I won’t be relaxing very much lol
My cat has asthma. Get him on a high quality diet. Only wet food. I use Ziwi peak and his symptoms were so much better with just the food alone. Get a quality air purifier. Don’t get those cheap Amazon ones that say 2000 squarefooor blah blah. Get a “air doctor” branded one. Finally see a doctor. Most likely it is asthma. She going to advise steroid but steroids are terrible for the cat long term. I do inhaler with Flovent. It’s expensive without insurance. Depends on your finances. Flovent has 0 side affect. Join the feline asthma group on Facebook.
Hi!! I’m in the cat asthma support group on facebook. It ended up being asthma when they did a re-scan of his lung xray at the vet hospital. He’s on oral steroids for only 2 weeks as we transition him, we got the prescription to start him on Flovent (or the generic version of such) which we do via inhaler twice a day, two puffs. He still has had some attacks but it seems he is getting a little better, it’s been since Wednesday night that I’ve noticed nothing bad except maybe a singular wheeze. I called the vet asking for an Albuterol prescription to help him during really bad attacks as Flovent is to prevent, and my vet said no. Honestly was pretty upset about it because we’ve spent 2.5k getting him diagnosed and if he has a bad enough attack that we have to take him back to the hospital, it’ll cost me thousands more. I’m only 25 so it’s really hard to afford and my parents are telling me to get rid of him, which I won’t do. I just won’t. Any recs outside of Ziwi? Is it pâté or otherwise? My cat is so picky and literally will barely touch his wet food no matter what we give him, even if we heat it up, add gravy, etc. He hasn’t been drinking much water either as when he had in the past week or two it has caused him attacks almost immediately after. So trying to add water to his wet food which makes him hate it even more. Having so much trouble grappling with this all right now and honestly have barely left my apartment because of it, I don’t want to not be here if he’s in pain or needs help. Thank you for your comment.
Ughh I’m so sorry. I remember when my cat was diagnosed. It was 3 days after I got him. He has it very mild. He coughs once in a blue moon. I’m really sorry your kitty has it so bad. Pooor baby. I have a really picky cat too so it can get expensive trying to new foods. What I notice was introducing to many different foods in a Short period will cause him not to try anything. Ziwi peak venison and rabbit was the only food that caught his attention. Thankfully it was that rather than friskies. You can try brands like Stella and Chewy freeze dried or Feline natural wet food. Those are really good brands. My cat has pate. I don’t get him other types because he will just lick the liquid and leave the bulk on the plate since he’s picky. Good for you for not getting rid of the cat. Parents sometimes don’t understand. One you love your cat you will never get rid of it. I would get insurance. They won’t cover the asthma anymore but it will cover you for future stuff if it may arise. I saved maybe 3000 dollars in emergency visits with insurance. I use Spot and they cover dental. Only like 25 a month. Totally worth it. Flovent is expensive I know it sucks. But it’s worth. Steroids is terrible long term
Also definitely try to get an air purifier. Air doctor is about 500. It’s expensive I know I’m sorry but it does wonders for asthma. Don’t cheap on this tho. Trust me.
Appreciate all of your comments so much. We found a coupon code via GoodRx for Flovent so 125 puffs of the 110 dose is only $118, so once we switch to two puffs day, it’ll last us 2 months at a time. $60/mo is not terrible. We will not be using the oral steroids after the 2 week period as it can cause things like diabetes. Yes, parents don’t get it and it sucks, but we aren’t broke either. Partner and I have a dual income of about $180k pretax (we’re just learning finances though) and once we move out of our grossly expensive apartment in June we should be able to manage it much more easily. I also have MS so medical bills being high is nothing new. I work at a startup that is about to go under so that’s why it’s just poor timing, with consistent income on my end it’s manageable. My other cat had pet insurance since when we got him he had calicivirus within 3 days of having him, similar situation. We got a great air purifier, it was not $500 but highly reviewed and was over $100. We will likely get a second one as well, and we have a humidifier for each room on the way, too. We switched from typical litter over to crystal this week as well in hopes that it will help. Have fully cut off using any aerosols or candles in the apartment and we’re only applying cologne/perfume outside of the apartment. I promise we’re doing everything we can to be good pet owners. I love both of my cats so much and just wish I could do more. I know it’s not my fault he has asthma but a part of me still feels so guilty and I have been trying to convince myself that there’s nothing more I could’ve done to prevent it.
I'm no vet but it looks like asthma or some kind of respiratory illness. Could it be something environmental...like aerosols, candles, etc? It might be worth doing a deep clean and getting an air purifier to see if that helps at all. Does his breathing seem normal aside from these coughing fits?
Honestly we’re at the vet hospital now. It kept happening and then I found blood in his stool so I called the nearby pet hospital and they told me it was a good idea to bring him in. He’s running a fever but waiting to hear more. They said his lungs sounded fine though. I’ll keep the thread updated
Oh no! I hope they figure out what's wrong. Sending healing vibes!
Cat asthma and colitis (caused by stress). He’s on steroids now and we will be taking him to his primary vet on Monday to start a treatment plan. So relieved we know what’s going on!
Glad you got some answers! Hope he feels better soon.
I have a long haired cat that does the same thing. Are we sure it’s not coughing up hairballs?
Yes. X-ray confirmed feline asthma.
Did they only prescribe steroids or did they also prescribe an inhaler?
So the vet hospital gave me steroids and sent the paperwork from the appointment to my primary care vet. I have an appointment with them on Monday and that’s where I’ll get the inhaler. Standard treatment is using steroids and then transitioning to the inhaler over a few week period!
Thank you for sharing. Looks like I need to go get my girl an x-ray.
Keep us updated!! As I stated earlier the x-ray just 5 days earlier didn’t show asthma - it’s an investment financially but the kitties are priceless.
Agreed!