Kitty asthma - help!

[Bonne]

My precious kitty has been having some breathing issues lately - snoring raspy sound when breathing - basically it sounds like he's snoring but hes awake. The vet thinks it may be asthma, allergies, or possibly cancer (though his lung biopsy came back with no malignancies found - apparently that doesn't rule it out 100%). He is now on prednisone which is helping greatly with his appetite (which has always been great up until last week) and has put a little pep back in his step, and he's also on a diuretic to help clear any fluid from his lungs. He is still having some snoring sounds, but otherwise acts like he is fine. Do any of you cat lovers have any experiences with these issues? Advice, tips, thoughts...?

 

[PhyllisG]

I haven't had any personal experience but my friends have 2 asthmatic cats and they use a kitty inhaler which they say works great. Took a little getting used to for the cats but now that is no longer a problem. I don't know why this is but I hear more and more of cats' having asthma--not to mention children.

 

[syzygy314]

A friend of mine has a cat with breathing issues, but it's a blockage in his sinus cavity. He's had surgery, but it's never really completely cleared up. It sounds like your vet hasn't come to a final diagnosis yet, but I hope it's just asthma or allergies and nothing more serious!

 

[Bonne]

Thanks guys! Ya it is interesting I had never even heard of feline asthma until about a year ago, and now I've been hearing about it more and more - weird how its more common these days My kitty is 15 so I am reluctant to put him through too much invasive testing, but at the same time I want to give him the best care that I can and also get him the best most effective treatment which is hard to do without all the answers but so many of the tests sound so brutal...just so hard to know what to do!

 

[kathryn]

Isn't steam supposed to help asthma? I've heard of people putting on a hot shower and holding a child near the steam (not a pleasant thought in this hot summer weather!). A vaporizer might help as well?