Cat bronchitis

[maggie23]

also, i know you said you have a vaporizer for your kitty, but daily steam showers might be a huge help for her, too.

i thought for over a month that our kitty was just trying to cough up hairballs at 3 or 4 am practically every other day and i was getting really really tired getting up at these hours to clean up just foamy spittle mostly - no actual hairballs. stupid me. i FINALLY happened to do a search on this forum for excessive coughing/hairballs or something and happened upon the asthma possibility. i've read several times that when asthma acts up, steam showers are essential.

it made total sense that it could be asthma for my kitty because i DID used to bring her into the bathroom with me when i took my showers, but stopped because we brought home a 2nd kitty and that took away the bathroom from our 1st. and with the very dry winter air and the heat always on in the house now, that just dries things up even more and makes the dust worse.

really long story "just" long - 2 weeks ago i started bringing her into the bathroom again during my showers and have her breathe the steam in for 20 minutes or so everyday and OMG! the coughing stopped immediately! the 1 day i skipped it on a weekend she had a coughing attack the very next morning. it seemed pretty clear to me that whether or not it is asthma, steam showers can help a lot! maybe more effective than a vaporizer.

[Kitty-The-Cat]

Originally Posted by Yuki'sMum

I have asthma myself and when I'm having an attack, I cough a lot and do cough up mucous. I know it's gross but that's probably what she's tasting. My cat had an asthma attack once, I recognized it right away and got her to the emergency vet. It was a reaction to paint fumes because the apartment below was being painted. The vet said cats are extremely sensitive to environmental chemicals/fumes etc. if you can, give your house a thorough vacuum, mopping and dusting. Try using natural cleaners like white vinegar or lemons. There's lots of non-toxic cleaning recipes online. It can't hurt to try good luck. Seeing your cat struggle to breathe is very upsetting, I know.

Thing is, I've never seen her struggle to breathe when she has these coughing attacks (or at any other time). It's *just* a cough, albeit a pretty nasty one at times. Which makes me think it might be bronchitis instead of asthma. But the two can be so similar (and one can lead to the other) that it's really hard to tell.

I do a decent job of keeping the place dust-free, but it's impossible to get everything all the time. Maybe I just should do it more often, at least in the rooms she hangs out in the most.

[Kitty-The-Cat]

Originally Posted by maggie23

also, i know you said you have a vaporizer for your kitty, but daily steam showers might be a huge help for her, too.

i thought for over a month that our kitty was just trying to cough up hairballs at 3 or 4 am practically every other day and i was getting really really tired getting up at these hours to clean up just foamy spittle mostly - no actual hairballs. stupid me. i FINALLY happened to do a search on this forum for excessive coughing/hairballs or something and happened upon the asthma possibility. i've read several times that when asthma acts up, steam showers are essential.

it made total sense that it could be asthma for my kitty because i DID used to bring her into the bathroom with me when i took my showers, but stopped because we brought home a 2nd kitty and that took away the bathroom from our 1st. and with the very dry winter air and the heat always on in the house now, that just dries things up even more and makes the dust worse.

really long story "just" long - 2 weeks ago i started bringing her into the bathroom again during my showers and have her breathe the steam in for 20 minutes or so everyday and OMG! the coughing stopped immediately! the 1 day i skipped it on a weekend she had a coughing attack the very next morning. it seemed pretty clear to me that whether or not it is asthma, steam showers can help a lot! maybe more effective than a vaporizer.

I've already got 2 of these upstairs, plus a different one downstairs which lets out cool vapors instead of warm ones (bought that one by accident, actually, but at least it humidifies the air). I do think they do some good, but it's hard to tell how much.

[Kitty-The-Cat]

Originally Posted by maggie23

really long story "just" long - 2 weeks ago i started bringing her into the bathroom again during my showers and have her breathe the steam in for 20 minutes or so everyday and OMG! the coughing stopped immediately! the 1 day i skipped it on a weekend she had a coughing attack the very next morning. it seemed pretty clear to me that whether or not it is asthma, steam showers can help a lot! maybe more effective than a vaporizer.

BTW, one thing I *have* been doing occasionally is, when I take a shower, I don't turn on the exhaust vent and just open the bathroom door and let the steamy air permeate the upstairs. Now that you mentioned that, I think I should try doing that more often, maybe even everyday, at least in the winter.

After all, with all these vaporizers going, I've got to think of a way to save on my electric bill elsewhere!

[Marcia]

Originally Posted by Kitty-The-Cat

Oops, I take that back:
What Are the Causes of Feline Asthma in Cats? | eHow.com

Well then, I really don't know. If it's asthma for the life of me I can't figure out what might be causing it. At one point I thought it might be the cat litter in the adjacent room (very dusty stuff) so I got rid of that and it seemed to help, but it hasn't completely gone away.

Carpeting? Draperies? Pollen? Cat dander on walls? Human dander on walls? ---- Think of all the things that cause asthma attacks in humans and you may find the trigger. It may be easier to talk to vet about preventative meds if there is such a thing for cats.

[maggie23]

Originally Posted by Kitty-The-Cat

BTW, one thing I *have* been doing occasionally is, when I take a shower, I don't turn on the exhaust vent and just open the bathroom door and let the steamy air permeate the upstairs. Now that you mentioned that, I think I should try doing that more often, maybe even everyday, at least in the winter.

After all, with all these vaporizers going, I've got to think of a way to save on my electric bill elsewhere!

i definitely think you should give the showers a try. totally close the doors and vents while you're taking it. make it a real steam room! i don't think just letting the steam out the door to spread throughout the upstairs does much at all. that's too much space for so little steam. and do it everyday if you can remember! i'm telling ya', Angel loves it! she even waits in the bathroom for me in the morning and is reluctant to leave when i open the door sometimes. it's great! and definitely do in the winter. i only started noticing the coughing when it got really cold here and turned on the furnace all the time.

[Kitty-The-Cat]

Well, the problem would be, getting my cat in the bathroom when I go to take a shower, and then keeping her in there! I could shut the door, but I'm imagining this cat scratching at the door, meowing "I want out of here!" while I'm showering away.

I'll give it a try sometime and see what happens.

[Kitty-The-Cat]

One other thing I thought of yesterday, which I meant to do today but forgot, would be to fill my kitchen and downstairs bathroom sinks with hot water before I go to work, and let the steam from them fill the rooms. Might not do that much good, but maybe it would help just a little. Then she could play in the water (after it cools down) while I'm at work if she wanted.

[maggie23]

Originally Posted by Kitty-The-Cat

Well, the problem would be, getting my cat in the bathroom when I go to take a shower, and then keeping her in there! I could shut the door, but I'm imagining this cat scratching at the door, meowing "I want out of here!" while I'm showering away.

I'll give it a try sometime and see what happens.

ok, i admit it - i bribe angel to come into the bathroom. it works! ha ha! she loves salmon, so i just put a tiny tiny little smidge of it on a small plate and she comes a runnin'! as soon as she is in far enough, i close the door slowly behind her and voila! i COULD just set the salmon down and let her go for it right away, but instead, once she's in there, i hurry up and get ready for my shower. i turn on the hot water first and start the shower right away to get the steam going. then i get undressed, let a little of the hot water from the shower warm up the salmon on the plate, set the plate down for her to eat. then i jump in the shower for at least 15 minutes. i also don't close the curtain ALL the day just cuz i think that lets the steam out to where angel is a little bit better. it's a small bathroom so it gets nice and steamy. when i'm done i even keep her in there for a few more minutes so we don't waste the steam!

in the beginning, of course, she would scratch at the door as soon as she finished her salmon. but she learned pretty quick that the door wasn't going to open till I opened it for her! so, she soon settled down and would just sit and wait patiently. the other day, i even peeked around the curtain and saw her lying on her side totally relaxed!

if your kitty likes treats, try bribing her with them or bring in a favorite toy to keep her busy maybe. good luck!

[Kitty-The-Cat]

I'll try it - if I can - but I doubt it'll work. Plus the way mine and Kitty's routines work, I'd only be able to do it on the weekends, if that. During the weekday she's always downstairs while I'm in the shower, and I doubt I could coax her to follow me upstairs.

Once I do try it, I'll let you know what happens. Might be an interesting experiment anyway.

BTW yesterday I bought a hot steam vaporizer for the downstairs to replace the cold steam one I bought accidentally. So now I've got 3 of these things in the house.