Feline asthma causes episodic respiratory distress that significantly impairs cat welfare. Modern management with inhaled medications offers transformative welfare improvement.
Feline asthma welfare impacts range from chronic low-grade respiratory limitation to acute life-threatening crisis. Between episodes, many asthmatic cats live with subclinical airway inflammation that limits exercise tolerance and impairs their ability to breathe easily — welfare costs that owners may not notice without careful observation. During episodes, the acute respiratory distress of bronchospasm causes intense suffering. Modern inhaled therapy — delivering corticosteroids directly to the airway via feline spacer — has transformed management: it achieves better bronchial control than systemic steroids at lower overall steroid doses with fewer side effects. The welfare improvement in well-managed asthmatic cats using inhaled therapy is dramatic — many cats transition from frequent episodes to near-normal respiratory function.