Update: Treating Asthma and EGC

For the newcomers, I adopted a little gray tabby named Gracie, then about a
year old, from a shelter here in Raleigh in 2001. She had respiratory
distress, and when tested for heartworms, happily came up negative, but a
chest xray showed asthma. A little while later she had bumps on the backs of
her legs, and scratched a bunch. And sometimes got a swelling lesion on her
lower lip. This turned out to be an allergy-related condition called
Eosiniphilic granuloma--not life threatening like asthma but distressing and
uncomfortable for the cat.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/eosi...granuloma.html


There are different treatments. I opted for Depo Medrol (anti-inflammatory
steroid shots) even though there can be serious complications such as
diabetes with overuse. Why? Because she has asthma AND EGC. And, initially,
the vet said, "you two are just getting to know one another, so why add
pilling into the mix?"

I want to stress that I also changed her food to high protein, low grain, as
grains are known to aggravate allergies in cats; I also stopped wearing
perfume, got Hepa filters for the bedrooms, bought a vacuum with a hepa
filter attached, changed to unscented litter and changed cleaning products,
being careful not to expose her to irritating inhalants like Tilex or Lysol
spray. And, I already keep dust and mold to a minimum since I am allergic to
both. (It's a conundrum, but what you do is clean with a cotton mask!).

Anyway, now, five years later, she gets by with only two Depo shots a year.
And, when I took her in on Friday, it was because she coughed a little, not
because she had lesions or had an asthma attack, which is usually when I
take her. (You want to wait as long as possible because the less Depo the
better, with regard to developing diabetes and other problems.) In addition,
the vet said she had just the tiniest bit of congestion in her lungs, from
what she could hear. So these conditions are controllable, and (keep your
fingers crossed) Depo might be used with few harmful side effects. At least
so far. Below are some photos of Gracie (age 7), and Boo (age 12), our
tuxedo girl. Boo has an overactive thyroid and a heart condition that we
control with pills twice daily. She is very feisty!

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/cyberpurrs/

(The rubber snake is the one that Gracie conquers and presents to me several
times a day, accompanied by much howling and Great Satisfied Hunter
behavior.)

Has your vet suggested any lasix yet? I had a cat who was severely
asthmatic I did everything you have and eventually she needed to be put on
lasix because she was getting fluid in her around her heart. I would keep
and eye on the congestion and if it's not leaving get her back to the vets
and ask him about it. Excess fluid in the lungs and around the heart is
very hard for them. Eventually with my Skippi it was the fluid which lead
to her having a heart attack and dieing.

Celeste



"cybercat" wrote in message
...
For the newcomers, I adopted a little gray tabby named Gracie, then about
a year old, from a shelter here in Raleigh in 2001. She had respiratory
distress, and when tested for heartworms, happily came up negative, but a
chest xray showed asthma. A little while later she had bumps on the backs
of her legs, and scratched a bunch. And sometimes got a swelling lesion on
her lower lip. This turned out to be an allergy-related condition called
Eosiniphilic granuloma--not life threatening like asthma but distressing
and uncomfortable for the cat.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/eosi...granuloma.html


There are different treatments. I opted for Depo Medrol (anti-inflammatory
steroid shots) even though there can be serious complications such as
diabetes with overuse. Why? Because she has asthma AND EGC. And,
initially, the vet said, "you two are just getting to know one another, so
why add pilling into the mix?"

I want to stress that I also changed her food to high protein, low grain,
as grains are known to aggravate allergies in cats; I also stopped wearing
perfume, got Hepa filters for the bedrooms, bought a vacuum with a hepa
filter attached, changed to unscented litter and changed cleaning
products, being careful not to expose her to irritating inhalants like
Tilex or Lysol spray. And, I already keep dust and mold to a minimum since
I am allergic to both. (It's a conundrum, but what you do is clean with a
cotton mask!).

Anyway, now, five years later, she gets by with only two Depo shots a
year. And, when I took her in on Friday, it was because she coughed a
little, not because she had lesions or had an asthma attack, which is
usually when I take her. (You want to wait as long as possible because the
less Depo the better, with regard to developing diabetes and other
problems.) In addition, the vet said she had just the tiniest bit of
congestion in her lungs, from what she could hear. So these conditions are
controllable, and (keep your fingers crossed) Depo might be used with few
harmful side effects. At least so far. Below are some photos of Gracie
(age 7), and Boo (age 12), our tuxedo girl. Boo has an overactive thyroid
and a heart condition that we control with pills twice daily. She is very
feisty!

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/cyberpurrs/

(The rubber snake is the one that Gracie conquers and presents to me
several times a day, accompanied by much howling and Great Satisfied
Hunter behavior.)

on Sun, 10 Dec 2006 17:52:52 GMT, "cybercat"
wrote:

Below are some photos of Gracie (age 7), and Boo (age 12), our
tuxedo girl. Boo has an overactive thyroid and a heart condition that
we control with pills twice daily. She is very feisty!

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/cyberpurrs/

(The rubber snake is the one that Gracie conquers and presents to me
several times a day, accompanied by much howling and Great Satisfied
Hunter behavior.)

Gracie is a beauty! Boo, too. Sounds like you've worked very hard to keep
them both healthy and happy. Good work, Cybercat.

The first time I saw that snake I thought it was real. Haha.

--
Lynne

http://picasaweb.google.com/what.the.hell.is.it/

Spot wrote:
Has your vet suggested any lasix yet? I had a cat who was severely
asthmatic I did everything you have and eventually she needed to be put on
lasix because she was getting fluid in her around her heart. I would keep
and eye on the congestion and if it's not leaving get her back to the vets
and ask him about it. Excess fluid in the lungs and around the heart is
very hard for them. Eventually with my Skippi it was the fluid which lead
to her having a heart attack and dieing.

Celeste



Celeste,
Could you, please, tell more about lasix? I have had an asthmatic cat
who was treated with inhaled medicines after many other treatments were
tried - I have never heard of lasix?? I would be interested in learning
more for future reference.
Camilla

"Spot" wrote in message
news:hO0fh.2899$Li6.2078@trndny03...
Has your vet suggested any lasix yet? I had a cat who was severely
asthmatic I did everything you have and eventually she needed to be put on
lasix because she was getting fluid in her around her heart. I would keep
and eye on the congestion and if it's not leaving get her back to the vets
and ask him about it. Excess fluid in the lungs and around the heart is
very hard for them. Eventually with my Skippi it was the fluid which lead
to her having a heart attack and dieing.


Thanks, Celeste, I did not know about this, and I appreciate your telling
me.
I'm sorry about Skippi, that must have been really hard. It seems Gracie's
asthma is under control now, it was much more severe when she was
young, probably just because she was not being treated, and they had
to use a lot of pretty heavy-duty disinfectants and things at the shelter.
I will certainly bring up the Lasix if her congestion worsens. Was it
this way with Skippi--you could tell when her purrs got "thick?"



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