Here we are, almost one month after dealing with Oscar’s liver disease and death, and now we are going through a whole new adventure with our other cat Charlie, who is 14 and has been with me since 1996.
My cat has had asthma for years and I never knew it. I took him to the vet for his dry cough many years ago, but the vet didn’t seem to know what it was. He asked if there was vomiting or hairballs (there weren’t), said “I wish he’d cough right now so I could see it,” and sent me home with a shrug and a 7-day course of antibiotic which didn’t help. Since he didn’t seem concerned, I wasn’t concerned. Charlie never wheezed or seemed out of breath. He just coughed once in a while.
So years went by, and then Oscar passed away. Oscar passed on the eve of an August heat wave. For the next two weeks, I slowly started to notice–perhaps because I now didn’t have an eye on Oscar every minute of the day–that Charlie’s coughing was increasing. We tried to bring home a new cat in a foster-to-adopt situation, but the stress made Charlie cough more. So off to the vet we went.
Charlie was x-rayed and his lungs had the “classic donuts” associated with the inflamed airways of asthma. The vet said old, dead heartworms couldn’t be ruled out, but she wanted to lean toward asthma and either way, the treatment was with steroids. I was very nervous about this, but I felt better that so was she. She wanted me to start him on 5 mg of prednisone twice a day for a week, and slowly taper off until we found the smallest amount that kept his coughing under control. I was nervous still, because I knew from previous research that steroids can give cats diabetes, and Charlie is a bigger cat. So I did my research, as always, and became a less compliant cat mom for my veterinarian, as usual.
In my research, I found out about a better way to treat asthma that I knew was for me – Flovent (Fluticasone, a steroid spray) sent directly to the lungs by the Aerokat chamber made especially for cats. It’s true that steroids are the way to treat feline asthma, but if the steroid goes straight to the lungs it stays out of the bloodstream and there is no chance of the terrible side effects that come with oral steroids. I myself have been taking Flonase nasal spray for years, and it has helped guard me against sinus infections, so I was excited to hear that the inhaled version could also help Charlie! (Please don’t confuse Flonase and Flovent. While both are Fluticasone, Flonase must only be used for the nose and is only for humans. Flovent and Flixotide are orally administered sprays that are safe for cats.)
I called my vet to ask if I could try the inhaler. She said I could try it, but warned me that “it’s expensive and my cat will hate it.” More supportive than some veterinarians, but less than others. She gave me a prescription for Flovent, but only for the 110. I would soon learn that that dose is not enough for most cats.
I was nervous about the price at first, but found out at the VERY helpful FAIM Yahoo Group (Feline Asthma Inhaled Meds) that you can get the inhaler MUCH cheaper at safe, overseas pharmacies like 4 Corners Pharmacy, where I placed my first order for Flixotide as it is called there. Whereas the inhaler would be about $150 or more from my local pharmacy, I purchased one from them for just $50. Since it takes a few weeks to arrive from 4Corners in the mail, a very compassionate member of FAIM sent me some Flovent so I could get Charlie started quicker! When my own Flovent arrives, I’ll just send one back to her to keep in the FAIM stash. It’s amazing the help you can find if you just look!
- Treat placement for getting my cat used to the Aerokat chamber
I also would like to thank Phil at MaxsHouse.com. Their amazing rescue group supplies adopters of their cats with asthma Flovent for the life of the cat! He sometimes has extra inhalers, and I was able to get some from him at a very reduced rate as well, for a donation to help them get surgery for an abandoned cat.
Now it was time to learn how to get my cat to use the Aerokat. I ordered my Aerokat Chamber last week and as soon as it arrived, I started to get Charlie used to it by showing it to him during “treat” time (giving him his prednisone in a Pill Pocket, which he loves). I would place the Pill Pocket in my hand directly in front of the Aerokat so that his nose was almost up against the mask when he took his treat. Then I started putting it on his face for 2 seconds and giving him more treats immediately after. Then I gradually increased the amount of time I left the mask on his face, all while I waited for my Flovent to arrive in the mail. The first time he saw the mask coming at him he did not look happy, and did try to avoid it, but surprisingly he has been better than I thought he would be.
Below is video of Charlie getting his Flovent for only the 6th time! I am shocked at how well he is taking it. Although you can’t see it in the video, rest assured that I did shake the canister for 15 seconds before giving him a puff. And unfortunately my cameraman stopped recording, so you don’t hear Charlie purring as I pick him up and take him to his food, where he begins to devour his breakfast happily.
Please know that not all vets are up to speed on inhaled meds for feline asthma. My vet never would have mentioned it to me had I not asked. And, she gave me a prescription for the 110, but I soon learned through the FAIM group that I needed to give Charlie a larger dose than that…and I got the larger dose without my Vet’s prescription. I also found out that I have to keep Charlie on his prednisone at a steady rate, not decreasing it until the Flovent builds up in his system for at least two weeks. This was an instance where I had to listen to people with years of experience in treating their own cats with asthma, because sometimes such experience gives you more insight.
I give Charlie two puffs (220 mcg each) of Flovent per day, one in morning and one at night. When dosing asthma meds for cats, it is always better to give too much than too little. If I hear Charlie’s throat “humming” when he breathes or eats, I up his puffs to one in morning and two at night, or two twice a day.
Update-February of 2010: Charlie is doing so well on his asthma medicine! He has not coughed once since I started treating him with Flovent and Aerokat. He is over six months completely cough free.
Update-March of 2010: I’ve written a few articles on learning about the Aerokat:
Feline Asthma: Treating Safely with Aerokat
Inhaled Asthma Medication for Cats: Correct Dosage
Train Your Cat to Use the Aerokat: How to Get Cats Used to Asthma Mask
Update-January of 2012: My sweet, naughty Charlie passed away of liver disease on December 8, 2011. This was completely unrelated to asthma, unless the liver disease and asthma were both caused by environmental toxins like air fresheners, dust, etc. Aerokat allowed him to live a comfortable life, breathing comfortably until his last breath. I love you Charlie!!!
Authors bio is coming up shortly.
Charlie, you are one very handsome boy ….and what a trooper about getting your puff!
We also found that in the beginning, giving treats helped create a positive association with administering the inhaled meds, but then we had to cut out the post-med treat. Our kitty started getting worse about trying to shake off the mask, and we realized it was because he wanted to hurry up and get his snack!
Sandy
and Brooks (another very handsome boy, but not a fan of deferred gratification)
Im so glad to hear that you found something that will work for him AND you. What a relief!
Jaime
I am currently looking to purchase the aerokat inhaler to treat my kitty. Any suggestions where to go for a reasonable price?
Hi Beth, good luck with your kitty! I actually purchased from the Aerokat maker directly (linked above) and didn’t find it unaffordable. I didn’t even search elsewhere for a cheaper price, which is unlike me. If anyone has other ideas of purchase points I’d be interested. I wonder if anyone on eBay or Amazon sells it?
OK I just checked both places. Nothing on Amazon and only one on eBay – an old model that does not have the breath counter flap, which is very helpful for counting how many breaths they take….it’s also very cute to watch it vibrate when your kitty starts to purr while taking his puffs like Charlie now does. He doesn’t purr because he loves taking his puffs, but I think because mom is petting him during and he knows he’s about to have treats or dinner
It is incredible that so many vets are still not able or aware enough to diagnose pets with allergies, even though it has become such a familiar phenomena. Well, I am glad to hear that you figured out wat it was and found a solution that offers relief for your cat!
Wait, so is Charlie still on the prednisone? My cat has mild asthma and I’ve been planning to put him on flovent to treat it. My vet prescribed some prednisone, but like you I became reluctant to put give it to him after reading about all the side effects and I have yet to even open the bottle. Would you recommend putting a cat on flovent alone?
By the way, thank you so much for your articles. You’ve been a much bigger help to me than any of the vets I’ve spoken to so far.
Thank you Mitch! Yes, I definitely recommend putting a cat on flovent alone, and NO, Charlie was only on prednisone for about 2 weeks, long enough for the flovent to kick in (it can take at least 7 days to start working, but the prednisone usually only takes 2 days). Flovent should help a mild case of asthma. Charlie’s case was pretty severe, and he hasn’t coughed in almost a year now using flovent only! In some rare, very severe cases, I have heard of prednisone being used in addition to flovent.
That’s a huge relief. Thanks again.
Hello again! So my aerokat metered chamber came in the mail, along with a 250 mcg flovent inhaler. Trouble is that I found out after placing my order that the recommended dosage for mild asthma cases (which my beloved kitty Manny has) is 110 mcg. Would you happen to know if there are any risks/side effects involved in using an excessively large dose to treat a mild case? Would you recommend it or not? Sorry to be bugging you for advice, but I posted my concern to the FAIM yahoo forum and haven’t had any feedback in over a week, so I’m asking around elsewhere in the meantime. Thanks for your time =).
Hi Mitch! We’ve discussed this a lot and the consensus is that more is better than not enough. Especially since you are just getting started, it’s important for you to knock the asthma down initially. There are no risks that we have seen. If you want to taper down to 110 later, you can try that. You should do it slowly so as not to create a sudden dip in the medication and create an asthma attack. Good luck Mitch, Manny is so lucky he has you!!!
I quote:
“…steroids are the way to treat feline asthma, but if the steroid goes straight to the lungs it stays out of the bloodstream and there is no chance of the terrible side effects that come with oral steroids.
“I have to keep Charlie on his prednisone at a steady rate, not decreasing it until the Flovent builds up in his system for at least two weeks.
How do you reconcile these contradictory statements? How can a drug both “stay out of the bloodstream” and “build up in the system”?
The statements are not contradictory at all. Steroid injections flow through the blood stream to all the organs, and can cause issues in those other organs.
Inhaled steroids are delievered straight to the lungs where they are needed, and the other organs are not touched. But it still needs time to “build up in the system,” ie the lungs, to begin working. The effect is not immediate.
For more info, see http://www.fritzthebrave.com/meds/inhaled.html
First, thank you for all the great information! My Ollie cat has had asthma and been on prednisone most her life. I would never have opted for this route had I knows about the Aerokat and the flovent. Although an inhaler was mentioned with her original diagnoses, it was mentioned as a last resort if the other meds stop working. Poor kitty! Do you use the 4 corners pharmacy to purchase the flixotide still? I just want to make sure the meds work since there isn’t a prescription needed. Also, the 4 coners site has different levels of mcg’s…50; 125; and 250. Ollie doesn’t cough everyday, so i’m gonna say she has mild asthma. BUT, like me (and probably most people), her allergies are seasonal… worse with weather change and in the spring. During these times she is coughing at least once a day. Any advice you have would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Stasha!! Yes the 4 corners pharmacy flixotide works perfectly. But if Ollie is on prednisone right now, that may be masking how much coughing she would do. I would go with the 250 if I were you. It is perfectly safe to give more than needed, but dangerous to give too little. I thought Charlie had mild asthma too, but I use the 250 on him 3 puffs a day (2 in morning, 1 at night). Good luck!!
I bought the aerokat for my cat with asthma. I have never been successful getting her to use it. She is so traumatized by this thing it’s ridiculous. I have asthma myself, so I decided to give her one quarter of my albuterol pill(which is about 1mg) and see if it would open her lungs the way it does for me. It did! My cat hasn’t had this much energy since we got her. You can order albuterol pills online without a prescription oversees and it is dirt cheap. Cut the pills into small pieces to start to make sure your cat can tolerate it. Like I said, my cat gets about 1mg and she weighs only 6 pounds. She looks forward to me giving her a pill every morning. I think she knows I’m helping her breath. If an albuterol inhaler is safe to take, why wouldn’t the albuterol pills be safe? Just a cheaper way to go and less traumatic to your cat.
Hi….I have a 9 yr. old female who has had asthma for about 1 1/2 years. In those years she has had 8 prednisone shots. My vet suggested an inhaler and set me up with the Aerokat and picked up my meds at pharmacy. Now the fun has begun. I have watched every you tube video I could and read all kind of articles on how to get your cat comfortable using the inhaler but my cat continuously shakes her head back and forth and makes it very difficult. We are still practicing but tomorrow I must start her puffs as the last shot is about 2 weeks old and need to start inhaler. How do I keep her still long enough without stressing her out to give her a good 10 puffs? I know I won’t get that for for awhile. Seem to get maybe 5-6 breaths before she really starts to freek out so I leave her go and always give her a treat. Is she getting anything out of the 5-6 breaths and by moving her head around is the med leaking out of the chamber? Thank you so much. It looks like you have good success so I hope you are able to give me some advice!
Hi Cathy! My Charlie shakes his head back and forth too. This might sound silly but are you holding onto the mask? If you hold onto the mask rather than the end of the Aerokat, where the inhaler is, you can hold it on her face while she shakes her head back and forth. Just be gentle, don’t scare her with more pressure. Are you holding her between your legs so she can’t back out? Also, getting 5-6 breaths in the beginning is OK, usually the kitty calms down after a couple weeks. She might be thinking she is getting a treat BECAUSE she freaks out and you let her go. And no, the chamber is designed so that the medicine doesn’t come out (within a reasonable amount of time) unless the cat is pulling it out with her breath.
My kitten is skittish already and we are still just getting her to sit with us, on her terms only of course. Now she has asthma and the Aerokat scares her to death. I have tried treats, having it near her when she plays with her favorite toy and placing it near her when she sleeps, but any time I have it in my hand she scratches me to death to get away from it. Have you read anything about administering to skittish cats>
Nicole, I’m sorry your kitty is skittish! What is scaring her about it? Did you introduce it to her slowly, or did you put it on her muzzle the first time she saw it? Or is it the noise? When I hold onto my cat, I have my arms in front of his so he can’t really scratch me, as he can’t lift his arms. You may need to try the toweling method where she is wrapped in a towel. See info at http://fritzthebrave.com/treatment/hints.html#Towel
Thanks for the tips! Sitting on the floor with her beween my legs does help alot but we still struggle. Only at it for a week so I am hopeful it will get better! I did get a tip from a support group on FB to put the mask in some cat nip. Boy oh boy what a mistake!! The worst ever…won’t do that again. Maybe it does work for some cats but unfortunately not mine. Got her too excited! Guess you don’t know until you try. I also checked out sites to purchase the Flovent. I paid $158.00 for it and $46.00 for ProAir. I just can’t find one that sells the 110 mcg. I only seem to find 125 mcg. Guess I need to check with my vet to see if that dose is okay. Thanks Again For your help!
Cathy, most cats need 225. Too much is way better than not enough. My vet prescribed the 110, but that isn’t enough for my cat. There is no difference between 125 and 110 except that it may not be enough. Also I order 250 from 4cornerspharmacy.com for $50 each. They sell the 125 for $30 each. They are safe and no prescription needed.
Since I don’t need a perscription should I order the 225 or wait until my next vet appt. in about three weeks? Patches has been on inhaler for 1 week. The only other thing in her system is the pred. shot she got earlier this month along with 1 pill 1 mg. in between puffs. (One morning, one night). So far she seems okay but once the shot totally wears off will I truely know what’s up. The shot usually only last one month anymore. Thanks!
That’s a tough one, I’d ask the Feline Asthma Inhaled Meds group on Yahoo that question. You’re right, you can’t really know what she needs until the shot wears off. But I would say safer to start and 225 and see if you can pull back. That’s safer than not giving enough. How much was she coughing before? Is she still getting prednisone in pill form? I hope I read that wrong and she isn’t.
Hello! I will ask the Feline Asthma Group. I do have a vet appt. in a couple of weeks so they can see how she’s doing. The shot should have worn off by then since they only seem to last a month with her. The vet said in the beginning if I felt she wasn’t getting enough from the inhaler I could give her the pred. pill up to 5 mg. a day. Since she had the shot I wondered so I did give he only 1 mg the past few days. Now that she seems alittle better with the inhaler do you think I should cut out that 1 pill and not give it to her or do I have to taper down not knowing how much of the shot is left in her. The month is about up for the shot. Thanks Again!
Hi…just want to says thanks for all your insight to the Aerokat. Patches now takes it like a trooper and is doing great! Thanks Again for all the helpful information!
Way to go Patches!!
Just found out my kitty has asthma and researching all the treatment options. This method seems like the safest route, but the price of the inhaler seems steep and I am leery of using online distributors. I’m curious about how long one inhaler lasts? Maybe that would make me feel better about the cost. The cost of kitty’s other medical needs is already over $100 a month (not to mention my other cats’ medical needs). She is taking hyperthyroidism medication and getting blood work every month or two (to monitor her hyperthyroidism). Thanks for your help!
Hi Kristina, I’m glad you’re looking into this option for treatment. If you get an inhaler from 3cornerspharmacy, it’s about $50 for a puffer. That’s 120 puffs. So if you find you have to give 2 puffs a day, a puffer will last 2 months at $25 a month. If you find you have to give 4 puffs a day, like I do with Charlie, it will only last 1 month @ $50/month. But try to buy a puffer at your local pharmacy and that cost will go up over $100. Good luck!!
THANK YOU!!! With that said, thank you so very much for the pharmacy info and general kitty info. Our cat Smokey was diagnosed with feline asthma, after I mentioned it as a possibility to the vet. We were prescribed two inhalers. Both flovent for everyday use and albuterol for when he has an attack. We didn’t notice much change with the flovent but the rescue inhaler seems to work during an attack. I have decide to try the flovent once again utilizing the pharmacy you suggested. SO much cheaper then the Canadian pharmacy I had used and WAY cheaper then the pharmacies here in NV. I am still going to try the 125 but up the usage per day. The vet had suggested 110 or 125 and we opted for the 125. Since we didn’t notice too much of a change I really appreciate what you said about 225 being safe. If this one more go of 125 doesn’t work too well, then I am going for the higher dosage. Luckily Smokey is okay most of the time w/out steroid pills, but with the weather getting colder I am noticing his flare ups happening more frequently. I am also considering buying a humidifier since our weather here in the desert is horribly dry. Once again THANK YOU for all of your help. Although our vet actually called me at home after she researched various pharmacies and prices (very nice and out of her way) your knowledge about the disease and the treatment has far surpassed what I have gotten elsewhere. Continued good health for your beautiful boy Charlie and I am hoping with time and patience our boy Smokey is as good a boy as Charlie when using the inhaler. THAT is a work in progress. And I have the scratch marks to prove it!
Great to hear Melissa!!! Good luck to you! And don’t fear about getting the higher dosage. I have even heard that too much is safer for them than not enough.
Hi! I just went to the 4 corners website and am confused as to the dosing of the flovent. My cat Moby has asthma and has a flovent inhaler and an albuterol rescue inhaler that I got from my vet. His flovent dose is 110mcg…on the 4 corners website it has 125 or 250…but I saw that you said you use the 220mcg…where did you get that dosage? I just want to make sure I give my guy the exact med he needs. My cat is also 20lbs so I am considering upping him to the 220mcg dose because of his size. Any info would be great! Thanks!
Hi Beth!
Sorry, I just use the two numbers interchangeably because they are basically the same. I did sometimes get the brand name to use on Charlie too. My vet also prescribed Charlie the 110, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough so I never got that dose. If I were you I’d start with the 250. He needs a kick start, and too much won’t hurt him. Too little might, however!
Hi Beth. I just want to say thank you for all the advice. Like you, it took us years to realize our cat Puppy was asthmatic. Always ascribed it to “difficulty coughing up furballs.” And we too found that our vet does not seem to know a lot about asthmatic cats. Worse, Puppy went into a panic attack when he went in for the appointment to investigate his very brief and infrequent spells of labored breathing, and the vet jus assumed he was ALWAYS in such a distressed state. I have had a very difficult time convincing our vet to please trust what we tell him about Puppy’s daily behavior, to please understand that we LIVE with this cat, not him, so we know what’s “normal” and what isn’t. He also does not want to hear anything about our online research, research which has proven invaluable to us, from the first I heard “it could be asthma” — and then found so many online videos of cats having asthma attacks. A “Eureka” moment, but we felt terrible that for years we thought it was merely furballs and were not treating Puppy as we should have. Our vet knew of this “furball” issue, yet never once suggested it could be asthma. Now we understand the difference, and that is thanks to sites like yours, not thanks to our vet. We now have to start Puppy on Flovent. And find another vet. Some vets just really do not understand cats, and that no cat acts normally when visiting the vet. I came to your site just to double check the prescribed dosage, and discovered so much more information. Thank you, I’m sure I’ll be back!
That’s great Johanna, that you are getting everything on track. Just goes to show that while we do need vets, they just don’t always know everything. How many times have you had to look up an answer to something you once knew by heart in a book or something? Happens to us all the time, yet we never see vets do it. They don’t always have all the answers, and some of them get very insulted if they feel you are trying to “do their job” for them. When I suspect something, I think my vet usually welcomes it because he knows I will OK extra testing above the norm….so he makes more money!
Anyway, not sure if you meant your comment for me (I’m the blog owner, and my name is Leigh), but thank you for sharing your story!!! Good luck to Puppy!
Hi have read all the posts with much interest. We have just acquired a cat who has been living outside for several years & now the neighbours old cat & dog have sadly gone he has been living in the garden. After feeding him for a few days he used to stare in through the window. Couldn’t take the sad look for long and he has now moved in & totally taken over the house! He has a very bad cough. Coughs at least 4 times a day, mainly at night. No sign of fur balls, just a wheezy dry cough that upsets us more than him. Checked out YouTube and it does seem he has asthma. Do you think I should go ahead with the Flovent? It’s just money is very tight & just a visit to the vets would pay for a Flovent? Would it be bad to not go to the vets for a proper diagnosis?
I understand Amanda
It’s just that it COULD be other things, and if you have to wait for the flovent to arrive, the vet could start you on a steroid pill to take care of the coughing while you wait. An xray can confirm asthma. Good luck!!!