Question:
My friend recently rescued a very friendly female stray
cat. He got all her shots and had her spayed. She is
about 4 years old.
The thing is, this cat does a weird cough-type thing, it is a
combination of a cough and a wheeze, sort of like she
may be having trouble breathing or, like in people,
asthma. It never lasts more than a minute or two,
and is sparatic. He doesn't have the money to take
her to the vet anymore, but we are curious what this
could be. She eats well, is playful and extremely
happy in her new home, and has normal litterbox
activity. She has been on amoxicillian for an eye
infection, so we figured any infections would be
wiped out with that.
Any ideas? One note: he got her shots
for feline leukemia without having the test because
the test was $40 and he was out of money. Could wheezing
be a symptom of that?
Answer:
Indeed, some cats do have asthma just like people (I have an asthmatic
cat), and all the symptoms you describe are absolutely consistent with
classic asthma symptoms. As you describe, most feline asthma attacks
will result in some wheezing for a couple of minutes and then
spontaneously resolve. The asthma symptoms will probably be mostly wheezing and a dry cough
which can be helped by oral administration of small doses of steroids
(prednisone) for a few days. However, if there is any nasal discharge
or the cough is productive, you're cat probably has an upper respiratory
infection that needs to be treated with antibiotics. In any case, a veterinary workup is mandatory. Owning a cat can often
be a financial burden, but most vets are willing to work with folks who
are short of cash.
I've got a 12 year old who was diagnosed with asthma about a
year ago. He responded very well to prednisone, but the dosage was too
high for regular treatment. I've had him on a Becotide 50 inhaler
since the early summer last year with great success (using a crude
spacer with the inhaler).
