Chronic bronchial asthma in cats is usually found in certain breeds such as Siamese or Himalayan, as well as other Asian short haired breeds.
The symptoms of this condition are coughing, wheezing, and in some case, even dyspnea, which is shortness of breath and in the severest of cases, difficulty in breathing, which can be extremely dangerous for your cat.
Dyspnea, in medical terms, is a shortness of breath that is not caused by excessive exertion, but rather is often linked to the respiratory tract.
The symptoms of this condition may be random or occasional, intermittent to quite frequent, or very persistent.
Cats that demonstrate these symptoms are generally diagnosed as having either chronic bronchitis or what is referred to a feline asthma. However, most experts will agree that it is very difficult to distinguish the two from each other.
What is agreed upon, is that both symptoms can, if not properly treated, become life threatening to you cat as it affects their breathing and lung capacity.
Again these episodes can be quite frequent or may be separated by several months of actual attacks.
Actual true forms of asthma are often characterized by hyper-activity in the airways and are accompanied by a reversible bronchoconstriction, as compared to chronic bronchitis, where the symptoms are characterized by excessive mucus and inflammation of the airway.
This can in some cases, lead to an irreversible narrowing of the air passages. The exact cause of asthma is not fully known, but a lot of experts agree it is most probably a type of allergic reaction.
In cats, it could be the result of inhaling dust from the cat-box litter.
This condition will affect cats in different ways, but a large number will display both the signs of obstruction of the air passages as well as chronic coughing, and will range from quite mild, to the other extreme, where it can be very severe.
There is no real sex differential of this condition in cats as it affects both male and females. However, although it is most prevalent in young to middle aged cats, it can also be found in kittens and can also suddenly develop in elderly adult cats as well.
By far and away the best methodology of a proper diagnosis is a detailed examination by your veterinarian.
Treatment:
Treatment of this aliment will vary.
Mild bronchial asthma can easily be treated at your home. If they are very mild and quite infrequent spells, they may not need to be treated at all. Severe cases may require immediate treatment by your veterinarian,
If attacks of bronchial do occur in your feline companion, it is very important to try to relate to what your pet may have recently been in contact with.
As suggested, some experts believe that this is an allergy type of disease and it will be extremely important to try to narrow down the source and pass that information along to your veterinarian.
Medications will typically include steroids such as Prednisolone, Cyproheptadine, Bronchial dilators, and antibiotics. Pediatric inhalers (used by infants with asthma), have also been used for mild forms as treatment. The most important treatment, however, will still be in trying to find the common source and than avoiding it.
I am an avid lover of pets and my wife and I have had several pets throughout our years. We are especially fond of dogs, and we have a 12 year old Dalmatian (our 3rd) and a "mutt" that we rescued when someone threw him away to die in a vacant field.
He found us, nearly starved to death, and weighed about 2 pounds.
After severe bouts of mange and severe dehydration, and over 1,000.00 in veterinarian bills, we saved the little guys life, and he is one of the best, if not the best, dogs we have ever had and today is a muscular, fit, and firm 70 pound best friend.
After finishing my MBA, which at middle age was not easy, I decided to keep the research work ethics that I acquired, and devote about two hours each night in understanding the health benefits of supplementation for both humans and pets and how they might strengthen our, as well as our pets, immune system in a pre-emptive approach to health rather than a reactionary approach.
Both of my daughters are avid cat lovers, and asked me to help them with health concerns and challenges with their cats.
I am not a veterinarian nor claim to be, just a lover of pets that loves to research and pass on some knowledge that might be helpful, or at least stimulating to the thought process.
Several of the articles that I have written can be found on my website;
Liquid Vitamins & Minerals for Humans & Pets http://www.liquid-vitamins-minerals-humans-pets.com/
