I recently emaily about my 8 yr cat that suddenly was having "asthma" attacks. I did as rec. and took her to the vet asap. They did a chest xray, heart, and lungs all normal. The vet said it was still just asthma, gave her a steroid shot, (which only helped for appx. 2 hours, I gave her her steroid pills and Albuterol inhaler tx. every hour. To no depair, nothing helped her! Every 7 min. she gasped for air, choking on her saliva, the most horrible thing to go through. She NEVER was out of the house, never sick before, does anyone know of anything else this may have been besides "asthma"? This really bothers me. I stayed with her as they put her down.
ps. they also tried the O2 , but that was to no avail either. I just can't believe this was asthma, it came on so hard and fast and non-relenting.
Rest in peace dear Katie.
2007-02-12 01:56:10 · 4 answers · asked by lady_tiko 3 in Pets ➔ Cats
I am sorry to hear about the loss of your cat. I had a horrible experience with one of my cats a few years ago. She was panting every now and then and then it got worse. So I took her to an emergency clinic. She died while they were "treating" her. I did not get an autopsy done. But the x ray showed some type of fluid outside the lungs. They said it could have been cancer or FIP but my cat was also about 8 years old and was an inside cat. I had another cat that I took to get a bad tooth removed and first the vet called and said she was fine and then 20 minutes later called and said she died. She claimed she had an undetected heart problem. To this day I don't know what happened to my cat with that vet. Maybe if you do a search with symptoms on the internet you will find answers. I still think of my poor cats and the way they died but you have to tell yourself you took care of your cat and gave her a good home, which so many animals don't get. I think many vets today focus on giving vaccinations and flea treatments that they don't have the expertise of many of the old time vets that, even without today's modern machines and drugs, could diagnosis an animal accurately.
2007-02-12 02:21:45 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
She may have underlying heart disease as well as the asthma, many cats do. Her x-rays could have appeared normal to begin with, but steriods can push a cat that is near heart failure into it. Not that your vet did anything wrong, steriods are an appropriate treatment for asthma. Also possible she had a pulmonary embolism or 'clot shower' where a blood clot stops the lungs from working properly, will cause many of the symptoms you described. Unfortunately there is no good way to diagnose one, usually its just by ruling out everything else, and there is no treatment. I am so sorry for your loss. Many cat owners have had similar experiences, this is why I recommend all cats have a cardiology consult around 7-8 years, yes its expensive but having some warning could help alot.
2007-02-12 03:04:16 · answer #2 · answered by cs 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm sorry for your loss.
You could have the vet do an autopsy on her (necropsy) to maybe find out the exact cause of death. That might help ease your mind.
Prayers to you and for Katie.
2007-02-12 02:08:19 · answer #3 · answered by BVC_asst 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's possible your cat actually had heartworm. It can cause similar symptoms and would explain a quick death. Did you get an autopsy?
2007-02-12 03:18:51 · answer #4 · answered by Corinnique 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋