Asthma in Cats: Signs, Triggers, and Treatment

What happens in the airways

Asthma is believed to be an allergic reaction to something the cat breathes in. The immune system overreacts to these particles. The lining of the small airways swells, extra mucus builds up, and the muscles around the airways tighten. Air has a harder time moving through, and some cats wheeze. If the inflammation is not controlled, it can slowly cause lasting changes in the airway walls. This is one reason vets aim to get it under control early.

Triggers vary from cat to cat, and in many cats no single trigger is ever found.

Asthma is not an infection. It does not spread to other cats, to dogs or to people. Some conditions that look like asthma involve parasites or germs, which is one reason a vet check matters.

Signs to watch for

Signs often come and go. Some cats seem normal for days or weeks, then have a bout of coughing or breathe hard after play.

• A dry, hacking cough, often in bouts
• Crouching low with the neck stretched forward while coughing
• Wheezing, a whistling sound as the cat breathes
• Fast breathing while resting or asleep
• Breathing with visible effort, with the belly pushing in and out
• Gagging after a coughing bout
• Tiring quickly and playing less than before

Mild asthma is easy to miss, and it can slowly get worse. Regular coughing is not normal for a cat and is worth a vet visit.

Telling a cough from a hairball

A cat bringing up a hairball usually retches with strong heaving of the belly, and hair or food comes out at the end. A coughing cat tends to hunch close to the floor, stretch its neck low and forward, and make a dry hacking sound. Often nothing comes up.

If your cat seems to have hairball after hairball and hair never appears, a cough is more likely. A short phone video of an episode helps your vet a lot, because the cat may not cough during the visit.

When it is an emergency

A severe asthma attack can be life-threatening. Call your vet or an emergency clinic right away if you see any of these signs.

• Breathing with the mouth open while at rest
• Blue or gray gums or tongue
• Fast, heavy breathing that does not settle after a few minutes of rest
• Sitting hunched with the elbows turned out, unwilling to lie down
• Collapse or sudden weakness

Stress makes breathing harder, so it helps to keep your cat calm and handle it as little as possible. Place it gently in a carrier and keep the car quiet and cool. At the clinic, a cat in crisis is usually given oxygen and fast-acting medicine to open the airways. Most tests wait until the cat is breathing more easily.

How vets diagnose it

There is no single test for asthma. Vets reach the diagnosis by combining your description, a physical exam, and tests that rule out other causes of coughing and hard breathing. Heart disease, lungworm, heartworm, infections and growths in the chest can all look similar.

Your vet will listen to the chest and may recommend blood tests and chest X-rays, which can show changes in the airways. Heartworm testing and a special stool test for lungworm are common, especially for cats from areas where these parasites occur. The lungworm test needs fresh stool, and more than one sample may be needed. In some cats, the vet collects a small sample of fluid from the airways under anesthesia, or uses a thin camera to look inside them. CT scans are also used in some clinics.

Sometimes the vet starts treatment and watches how the cat responds. A clear improvement supports the diagnosis. It also helps to keep a simple log of when episodes happen, how long they last, and anything new at home around that time, such as a different litter or cleaning spray.

Treatment and inhalers

Treatment has two aims. The first is to calm the inflammation in the airways over the long term. The second is to open the airways quickly when a cat is struggling.

Anti-inflammatory medicine, usually a corticosteroid, is the base of long-term care. It can be given as tablets, as injections, or through an inhaler. Inhaled medicine acts mostly in the airways, which can reduce side effects elsewhere in the body. A second type of medicine, called a bronchodilator, relaxes the muscles around the airways and is often used as a rescue inhaler for flare-ups. Vets use it alongside the anti-inflammatory medicine, since on its own it does nothing for the inflammation.

Cats cannot use an inhaler the way people do. The inhaler fits into a small spacer chamber with a soft face mask on the end. The mask goes over the cat's nose and mouth, the inhaler is pressed, and the cat breathes the medicine in over several breaths. Many cats accept this well with some practice.

Getting a cat used to the mask takes patience. Start by leaving the spacer where the cat can sniff it, and reward calm interest with a treat. Then touch the mask to the face for a second, and slowly build up to holding it in place for a few breaths. Practice without medicine first, and ask your vet or vet nurse to show you the technique.

Most cats need treatment for life. Your vet will usually aim for the lowest amount of medicine that keeps signs under control and may adjust it over time. It is best not to stop or change the medicine without talking to your vet, because signs can come back.

Reducing triggers at home

Changes at home can make episodes less frequent. They work alongside the medicine and do not replace it. Common triggers include dusty cat litter, cigarette smoke, perfume and hairspray, air fresheners and scented candles, essential oil diffusers, carpet cleaners, scented laundry products, mold, pollen and household dust.

Many owners switch to a low-dust, unscented litter and smoke only outdoors, away from the cat. It helps to skip sprays and diffusers in rooms the cat uses, vacuum and dust while the cat is in another room, and deal with damp and mold. An air purifier with a HEPA filter in the rooms where the cat spends most of its time may also help.

Extra weight makes breathing harder, and overweight cats are more likely to develop asthma. If your cat is overweight, ask your vet about a safe weight-loss plan. There is no known way to prevent asthma itself. Clean air and a healthy weight can lower the chance of flare-ups.

Rescued and newly adopted cats

A cat that coughs soon after adoption does not necessarily have asthma. In rescued cats, parasites are worth ruling out first. Cat lungworm is found across Europe. Cats usually pick it up by hunting rodents, birds and other small animals that carry the larvae, and snails and slugs are part of its life cycle. Unowned outdoor cats and young cats are at higher risk. Lungworm can cause coughing, nasal discharge, fast breathing and trouble breathing, much like asthma, though some infected cats show no signs. Heartworm, which mosquitoes spread, occurs in many southern and southeastern European countries. In cats it can cause coughing and breathing trouble that vets call heartworm-associated respiratory disease. Neither parasite passes directly from one cat to another.

At Paw Squadron, the first stops after every rescue are the vet and a bath. Each animal has a checkup, deworming and treatment against fleas and other parasites, and every cat gets vaccinations and a microchip before adoption. Some parasites need specific tests, so if your adopted cat develops a cough, tell your vet where the cat came from. This helps them choose the right tests. A new home also brings new smells and products, so mention any new litter, cleaners or scents as well.

Asthma is manageable for most cats. With treatment, a calm routine and fewer triggers at home, many cats with asthma enjoy long, active lives. If you are thinking of adopting, the Adoptions page shows cats looking for homes, and more health guides are in PawPedia.