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Pre-Surgical Information
Spaying or neutering your pet is a big step! There is a lot to consider
when we are planning your pet’s surgery. Here is some information to help
you make wise decisions.
Click here . . .
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Special LibraryOur Special Library
is a collection of informative articles on a variety of health topics.
Click here . . .
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Discharge InstructionsClick here for
information on how to care for your pet at home.
Click here . . .
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Asthma and Allergies
in Cats
Cats have allergy problems just like humans.
They just show different symptoms. The following
is a crash course in cat allergies.
Probably the most common form of allergies we see in
cats is asthma. Cats with asthma have a visibly
difficult time breathing. It can have a very
sudden onset, or a slow gradual onset. Sometimes
they even start open-mouthed breathing when it is
especially severe. When it is this bad, it can be
life-threatening.
A common medication used to treat asthma in cats was and
is injectable steroids. While not an ideal
medication because of the side-effects, it is useful
because they are easy to give, and are usually very
effective. What kinds of side effects?
Click here
to go to a list of all the possible side effects.
Cats in particular are especially susceptible to a
couple of the side effects on that list. We're
talking about diabetes and heart failure. It is
well known that long-term steroid injections can cause
diabetes in cats. Less well-known is the
association between steroids and heart failure. To
quote Dr. Keith Hnilica, DVM, MS, DACVD, professor of
dermatology at the University of Tennessee, "In cats I'm
really not sure what to do about steroid injections.
I've talked to enough cardiologists to scare me because
they say injectable steroids are the number-one cause of
congestive heart failure in cats." Enough said.
 This leaves us with some difficult choices. We can use the injectable steriods anyway and hope that we do not have an adverse reaction. Many cats do fine long-term but there are some that will have adverse reactions to injectable steriods. Or, we can use oral steriods, but these can be very difficult to give to many cats and they have most of the same side effects as injectable steriods. Or, we can use an inhaler-type device.
 Inhalers can be used in many cats, and it isn't as hard as it sounds, usually. We use a device like the AeroKat inhaler.
Click here to go to the AeroKat website for more information. Inhalers and the medications that go in them do cost more than either injectable or oral steroids, and they are certainly less convenient to use. However, they have much less risk of adverse side effects.
The bottom line is that you, the owner, will have to make some tough choices regarding risk, cost, and convenience. Asthma in cats is generally a life-long problem, but it can generally be successfully managed.
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