Imagine, that furry little feline speeding like a rocket with the fur waving against his body pounding towards you. Suddenly he pauses, gasps for air with abdomen crunched and neck extended. Then you realize that he is having another asthma attack! Isn’t this a heart-breaking sight for any cat- parent?

 It is completely natural to be perplexed in such situations. In conditions like asthma, you will be often caught unrehearsed or ill-prepared. If you have a cat who is likely to suffer from frequent asthma attacks, here is everything that you should know about feline Asthma.

What is feline asthma and what causes it?

Asthma is a common lower airway inflammatory disease of cats. It is described as paroxysmal (sudden recurrence or sudden outburst) inflammation of the lower airways mostly allergic origin accompanied by coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing. According to the studies, 1-5% of the feline population is affected by asthma. The age of 4-8 years is more prone to the condition. Both tom and queen cats are equally susceptible. Although brachycephalic breeds (Persians and Himalayan breeds) are more prone to respiratory problems, the Siamese breed is more predisposed to feline asthma. Since asthma and chronic bronchitis are often associated with each other it is quite hard to differentiate between both of them. Asthma is mediated by an allergic response. The common factors that trigger the allergic response are as follows:

• Pollen grains
• Air pollutants
• Dust mites
• Cotton fibres from the clothes
• Dust from the litter box
• Air fresheners
• Perfumes
• Cigarette smoke
• Carpet cleaners
• Any chemicals substances

What happens when the allergens are inhaled?

 A cat’s respiratory system are generally sensitive. When allergy-causing substances or allergens (antigens) are inhaled for the first time, they get exposed to the T cells and B cells (cells responsible for the adaptive immunity). When allergens/antigen gets attached to these cells they produce various chemical substances like IL4 and IL5. These substances activate B cells and produce antibodies (IgE).  So on re-exposure with the same antigen, will trigger a cascade of reactions, this will ultimately lead to excessive production of mucus (obstructing the airways), inflammation of the respiratory passages, and bronchial constriction.

What are the symptoms of feline asthma?

Symptoms can vary from cat to cat. Certain cats may not have any overt clinical signs, but the condition of the respiratory system may be deteriorating. General symptoms include:

• sternal recumbency with a crunched abdomen,
• extended neck,
• laboured breathing
• coughing and wheezing,
• foamy mucus on coughing,
• overall weakness, lethargy,
• blue lips, and gums (due to lack of oxygen).

The two scenarios where a cat-parent consults the veterinarian are asthma crisis medically called ‘status asthmaticus’. This is when your cat is having an actual asthma attack. This condition is quite challenging to handle, especially when your cat is newly diagnosed with asthma. In such conditions rush to the vet for emergency care.  The other type is when there are chronic/ long term respiratory signs accompanied by shortness of breath, open mouth breathing, intermittent vomiting, hacking, coughing, and wheezing. In both described clinical manifestations consultation with your vet is important.

What to do if he/she has shown the symptoms?

If you doubt that your cat may have asthma, take him/her to the vet and get a thorough check-up done. Your vet will thoroughly examine your pet’s health status and notify you accordingly. Since asthma is a very challenging disease to diagnose, the vet may recommend a radiographic examination, bronchoscopy, or experimental allergen study. He may also suggest some laboratory tests to rule out the differential diseases (possibilities of other diseases). Other disease conditions that may have similar clinical signs are lungworms, heartworms (less common in cats), urinary tract infection, lung tumours or abnormal growths, cardiomyopathy, food allergies, etc.

What can you do to make your cat’s life better?

• Remember the time when you took a drag in your open balcony enjoying the air and your feline friend was right there giving you a company? Has it occurred to you, that you may be unknowingly compromising your cat’s health by exposing him/her to smoke? Studies prove that cigarette smoking is one of the main triggering factors for asthma for not only humans but cats too. They can also act as a passive smoker. Either consider changing your lifestyle or do not allow your cat anywhere near you while smoking. There are cases where the smoke and soot from the fireplace triggers asthma in pet animals. Keep them away from all kinds of smoke.  

     

• If your feline friend has respiratory troubles avoid using any type of room fresheners or aerosolized sprays at home. Remove scented candles, plugins that are used for the aroma.
• Try to replace the harsh chemicals cleaners with more organic or natural ones. Normally used household chemical cleaners are so harsh that it can make the cat more susceptible to asthma and other lower airway conditions.
• Most of the cat-parents are quite worried about cat odour when a visitor walks into their home. Since the cat’s litter box is mostly placed inside the house, the worry is even more. As a solution to this issue, there is a lot of scented commercial litter material available these days. If you find that after purchasing scented litter your cat started developing clinical signs of asthma try to avoid it.  Dust from litter is also an important source of allergens. Hence try to get unscented low dust/dust free litter for your cats.

• Bleach is a commonly used economically feasible disinfectant used in every household. At the same time, it is one of the harsh chemicals too. It is one of the commonly used disinfectants to clean litter boxes. This can also act as an allergen to your cat. In such cases, it will be better to use vinegar or dishwashing soap along with warm water to clean the litter boxes.
• Stress can also act as a triggering factor for asthma. Therefore try to provide a stress-free environment for your felines.
• Fat accumulation on the body especially near the chest and abdomen area will interfere with the normal breathing and puts pressure on the respiratory tracts. Fat tissues can produce a certain inflammatory substance that can contribute to asthma. (American Lung Association). So balance your cat’s diet if he /she is obese.

• Try to avoid carbohydrates completely from your cat’s diet. Avoid pro-inflammatory ingredients from the diet like corn, millet wheat, etc
• It is very hard to differentiate between systemic allergy and asthma. In the case of systemic allergy when it is manifested in the form of respiratory signs can be very tricky. Systemic allergies are mainly caused by food source i.e on the consumption of certain food like shellfish, milk, etc can cause systemic allergy. Therefore, it is important to study the history and daily diet of the cats before starting the treatment for asthma.

The fact is if your cat is diagnosed with asthma there is no going back, nevertheless, you can reduce the asthma attacks. The reduction of the asthma episodes can be simply done by limiting the exposure to the triggering factors. Finding what triggers the asthma episodes is the problematic part, it might need a thorough investigation and scrupulous observation. Another important factor is that sometimes the reason of asthma attacks can be a systemic cause. Food allergies are one of them, but they can also be manifested as a typical asthma episode. Therefore it will beneficial to monitor the diet too. The only way to rule out the agents which cause asthma is by deliberate removal of one agent at a time and waiting for the symptoms to show. This can be a tedious process but be patient. Treatment that your vet may suggest will be corticosteroids and bronchodilators. Nebulization of (steroids, and bronchodilators) have also shown useful. Be patient and continue the treatment. Help your feline friend in every step this condition can be very hard for them to handle alone. Most importantly give your cat a positive, and stress-free environment!