Feline asthma requires long-term management to reduce chronic airway inflammation and prevent acute attacks, with inhaled therapy offering significant welfare advantages.
Long-term feline asthma management has been transformed by the availability of inhaled corticosteroid therapy that delivers medication directly to airways, reducing chronic bronchial inflammation with minimal systemic side effects. Oral corticosteroid therapy, while effective, causes significant systemic effects including diabetes, muscle wasting, and immunosuppression with prolonged use. Inhaled therapy allows equivalent or better local airway control with dramatically reduced systemic exposure. Training cats to accept spacer device use requires patience but is achievable in most cats with positive reinforcement. The welfare benefit of effective chronic airway inflammation control is substantial - cats with well-managed asthma can live normal active lives with infrequent attacks, compared to poorly managed cats experiencing frequent respiratory distress.