Feline asthma (feline allergic bronchitis) is an allergic airway disease causing chronic airway inflammation, bronchoconstriction, and episodic respiratory distress. With appropriate long-term management, most affected cats maintain good quality of life, but inadequately controlled asthma causes significant recurring suffering.
Feline asthma involves hypersensitivity of the lower airways to inhaled allergens, resulting in eosinophilic inflammation, increased mucus production, and smooth muscle hypertrophy and hyperresponsiveness. The result is variable airway narrowing that causes characteristic signs: episodic coughing, wheezing, and in acute attacks, open-mouth breathing and respiratory distress. Diagnosis requires ruling out other causes of coughing and radiographic evidence of airway disease (often hyperinflation and bronchial pattern).
Acute asthma attacks are frightening and dangerous — cats in acute bronchospasm adopt a characteristic elbows-out, neck-extended posture, breathe with significant effort, and may show open-mouth breathing indicating severe hypoxaemia. These episodes cause intense anxiety and distress. Chronic low-grade asthma with persistent airway inflammation causes reduced exercise tolerance, chronic coughing (particularly early morning), and impaired quality of life even between obvious attacks. Good management prevents both acute episodes and chronic airway damage.
Corticosteroids: The mainstay of feline asthma management. Inhaled corticosteroids (fluticasone via spacer and cat-specific mask) target the airway directly with minimal systemic effects — preferred for long-term management. Systemic corticosteroids (prednisolone) are effective but carry long-term risks (diabetes, iatrogenic hyperadrenocorticism). Inhaled therapy requires owner training and cat acceptance training, but most cats accept it well with gradual conditioning.
Bronchodilators: Inhaled salbutamol (albuterol) provides rapid bronchodilation for acute episodes. Oral bronchodilators (theophylline, terbutaline) are used in some cases. Bronchodilators treat bronchoconstriction but not the underlying inflammation — they should not be used as sole long-term therapy.
Environmental trigger management: Identifying and reducing allergen exposure reduces the frequency of airway reactivity episodes. Common triggers: cigarette smoke, dusty litter (switching to low-dust or pellet litter can significantly reduce symptoms), strong cleaning products, air fresheners, and candles. HEPA air filtration in the cat's primary environment reduces airborne allergen load.
Teaching cats to accept inhaled medication requires a patient, reward-based approach. A feline spacer device (AeroKat) with a well-fitting mask is essential — inhalers cannot be used directly. Training involves: conditioning the cat to accept the spacer near their face, conditioning to the mask contact, building from brief contact to full mask placement, and finally to actual drug delivery. Most cats can be trained within 1–2 weeks with daily short sessions and high-value food rewards.
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