Shiloh Acres - RAIN!!!!!!! and maple syrup! ;)

[savingdogs]

I think Aerocat must be what I've heard termed as a "nebulizer" but it sounds like you have found a much better vet so I'll leave you in his more capable hands to answer your questions. It sounds like this person you are seeing now is much better at working with people. That is a skill they are not taught in vet school you know and some vets are not very good with people or at managing their practice. But some medicine is given through breathing it in a vapor, right?

I'm hoping that your kitty takes a turn for the better with or without the new Rx.

 

[MetalSmitten]

yay! glad to hear i hope it helps! asthma is totally manageable as long as you're able to get the meds.

 

[LovinLife]

I can imagine you feel like a ton has been lifted from your shoulders. I want some ducklings too.....

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Thanks all.

She hasn't had an acute-type attack in well over 24 hours, do I guess she's better than she was anyway. The vet said she can have it if she has more than one of the smaller spasms in an hour. It's basically Albuterol.

I'm not one to run to the doc (or vet) at the drop of a hat and push prescriptions. I'd rather handle things more naturally. But ... there is a time too, IMO, when things are critical and I'm glad the meds are available. Now I need to learn to manage triggers as well as possible so to reduce reliance on the prescription -- but I am so thankful it's there for emergencies.

Oh and the Aerocat is basically a tube since you can't put the inhaler in a cat's mouth. It covers the cat's mouth and nose and meds go in the other end. There are none on eBay, and I can't pay $80 for a tube. This is where I get to be SS and build something.

If anything I think this week has made her sweeter. I don't normally let the cats sleep in my room (don't like having what feels like a herd of elephants racing over my face at 4am!) but I've kept her with me to listen to her breathing. Now that she's better, she is TOTALLY underfoot and spent half the night curled just like a baby in my arms before I made her move to the foot of the bed so I could sleep. And I don't even mind a bit.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

In addition to the albuterol, you can place a cotton ball with a bit of peppermint oil on it, under her nose.
I alos am aware that raw milk and cream is very helpful for humans with asthma, so maybe giving her some each day would be helpful.
I have used this remedy on myself when sick and have also used it on my livestock with great success.
http://www.naturessunshine.com/us/product/four-100-caps/sku-892.aspx

Description: Four [Nervous, Respiratory] is a nutritional aid for the nervous and respiratory systems.

This formula supports the function of breathing.

It is so named because there are four herbs in the formula:
Blessed thistle aerial parts
Catnip leaves
Pleurisy root
Yerba santa leaves

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Thanks, BubB. I thought that formula looked familiar. We used to sell "Four".

Kitty continues to improve, I think. She had about 4 small attacks one after another tonight, and the vet said to use the inhaler for a major attack or if she had more than 2 small ones in an hour.

I took a tiny paper Dixie cup, cut the base to fit the inhaler, covered the open part with plastic wrap held on with a rubber band and cut a hole in the plastic big enough for the tip of her muzzle.

I gave her a quick puff, and probably didn't leave it on long enough since you are supposed to inhale it. She does NOT like having things "done to" her, and fights it harder than any cat I've ever medicated. That's why it was a quick puff. But ... that was probably 2 hours ago, and she has breathed perfectly normally ever since. She even forgave me quickly and wanted to be picked up only a couple of minutes after dosing her .... I wonder if she realizes it helped her.

She's eating now.

But ... I AM going to look for ways to manage it as far as I can naturally. She'd love the catnip part of that ... she enjoys it.

Edit: I forgot to comment on the first part ... I was interested in what you said about raw milk and cream. I wonder if it particularly helps in asthma, or I wonder if it's the ABSENCE of the type of milk we often get in the store, which can increase mucous and breathing difficulties. That's interesting.

No raw milk or cream here though, until I either get more goats or my little girls grow up ...

 

[dragonlaurel]

Essential oils can be great medicine, but since she is tiny compared to a human- I'd only use one drop.

You might also stuff some Valerian in a piece of scrap material, tie it off good, and give it to her for a toy. Kitties are devoted to the stuff. Hope you and her both sleep good tonight.

 

[savingdogs]

Try this when you to to medicate your kitty.

Start by petting and loving on her till you have her fooled that is all you are doing, but have everything you need ready and real handy. Then wrap her up in a towel. Lay it over her shoulders first with just her head exposed and then tuck the ends down under her body like you would swaddle a baby, and leave just her head sticking out. Lay her on the table and with your dominant hand, gently grab her scruff and hold her still and with the other bring your dixie cup arrangement to her face. It sounds strange, but if she is being fussy, with the hand you have her scruffed by, gentle shake her head or tap her head against the table, kind of a slow jiggly motion. Vet offices use that hold alot to get medication down cats and that is how one person can accomplish that kind of thing without a helper. The head jiggling distracts their brain from anything else. But the motion is slow and gentle, not rough.

If you have a helper it is easier. Some cats get easier to treat after they learn you help them and others just get more mad at you whenever they see the equipment. Or doing something the first few times with a helper sometimes they get used to it and let you do it to them later without help.

I've also seen cats nebulized by putting them in a fish aquarium with a solid lid on it and just a hole with a tube attachment for the vapor to go inside. The whole aquarium needs to fill with the air and you just leave kitty inside till you are sure it is used up. This method works better with unfriendly cats, but sometimes they can become unfriendly if they don't like the treatment.

While your cat is resting, trim her toenails with a toenail trimmer so that she cannot "get" you if she decides she does not care for your treatments.

Also with cats, make sure you have the "I'm the boss" attitude but with gentleness, that works best. Try to finish what you mean to start so that the kitty does not learn to fight you because it makes you stop. Even if you stop before you are done, act like that is all you meant to do. Try to give a favorite food treat afterward to help her forget the experience.

I hope that helps!

 

[Shiloh Acres]

DL, did not know cats like valerian. That stuff STINKS!!! But if it helps, I can put some in a fabric holder and give it to her.

SD, you are always so helpful. The few times I've had to medicate her, I usually crush a pill and put it in tuna. I'll try that. She is the SWEETEST kitty, but she HATES being medicated more than any cat I've ever handled.

I think she gets the "I'm in charge" part ... as long as it doesn't involve meds. She may not like what I do to her, but she'll generally let me do it. I've dosed her three times so far, and she already gets a wild look when I reach to where I keep the inhaler and starts looking for an exit. I hate that I didn't have a chance to teach her before I had to use it. I have a feeling she's just going to fight harder as time goes on, but I hope I'm wrong.

I'm not even sure if this is the right med for her. She's having very frequent attacks now, and last night her legs were twitching. I know that's a potential side effect of the meds. Being Sunday, my vet is closed, along with all the others. No emergency clinic within a great distance, and there really is no way I can pay them anyway.

I've joined a very active yahoo group for cats with asthma, and it seems they have some very knowledgeable people there. I need to have messages approved, but hopefully soon I can get some specific input.

I really AM ready to move onto other things ... I've just been focused on sick kitty and sick me for too many days, and I just want her better.

I guess we have to deal with things as they come up though.

So far, no new chicks hatching out. I hope it's not a case of another single chick having to be raised. This one is silky-RIR cross I think. I hope it's at least a pullet. The other I thought was going to be a black sex-link pullet is perhaps not ... getting brown feathers on the back and two longer tail feathers ... I think I have a mixed-breed roo out there which means he'll be heading for the chopping block.

At least my silkies are 90% foragers, even in winter, so they teach the chicks they raise to do the same. I'm not getting many (2 so far in many months, LOL) but they aren't costing me much.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

And one more chick!!! That makes at least two! Funny how they can hatch so far apart. I think my silkies let eggs roll out at night and can't see to tuck them back, then you get hatching a week late ...

At least they hatch!