What a trauma yesterday!

One of my cats has asthma for which he has an inhaler. You fit the mask over his nose and mouth and spray the inhaler into the tube that the mask is attached to. There is a little flap attached to the valve to show that he is breathing in the medication.

Yesterday morning, around 7.20am he was struggling to breathe so I contacted my vets answerphone, only to discover that their out of hours vet care was 18 miles away and was closing at 8am, an hour before my vet opened.

I tried to give the cat his inhaler, but his breathing was so shallow, he couldn't even move the flap on the inhaler......so it was really and emergency!

I contacted another out of hours vet, who was a bit closer, and they said to take him there, to be put on oxygen but they may have a few problems because they didn't have his medical notes. Fortunately, I know everything about his heath care, so I rushed him in. I was driving and my sister was watching him on the journey..... I can't tell you how many times I asked her " Is he alright?"

He was immediately taken in and put in an incubator on 100% oxygen by 8.15 and at 12.15 the vet phoned me to say he was breathing better and she was now going to do some tests to establish that it was caused by his asthma and there wasn't an underlying cause, like heart disease.

By 4.30 they said it had been a severe asthma attack and they could now allow him to come home. He had a strong pain killer, an intravenous steroid jab, several hours of oxygen and lots of attention from the nurses, who all fell in love with my Rudi.

They gave me a stronger inhaler that he has to have twice a day, and I am absolutely thrilled to tell you that the flap on his inhaler is going up and down better than I have ever seen it do before.

It was an awful day and I thought that I may lose him, but thanks to the wonderful care he received there, he looks perfectly normal this morning...... so now it is just me trying to recover from the trauma!

Re: What a trauma yesterday!

Twink ...so pleased to hear that your dear little cat is feeling much better...what a worry for you.
With the very humid and muggy /heavy atmosphere we have been having lately it mightve added to your cats asthma ..my ex usually suffers really badly with asthma around these times also

Re: What a trauma yesterday!

Thanks Aysa! You may be right about the atmosphere because the vet said not to keep him in warm rooms, cool fresh air is much better for them....It may be something to do with the water, in the air, decreasing the oxygen content in humid air,

Re: What a trauma yesterday!

Im sure he will be recieving much TLC and treats today its awful when one our pets is unwell...but hes well looked after so you can only keep him comfy
Do any of your other cats suffer with asthma too ?

Re: What a trauma yesterday!

Ah, i'm so sorry to hear that Twink, but at least he is on the mend now.

Re: What a trauma yesterday!

What a nightmare for you but glad he's ok now

Re: What a trauma yesterday!

No but it isn't yet a common illness in cats! My sister took him in about 6 years ago when he was starving and looked like he had a traumatic existence.... he spent 3 months hiding under a bed in one room and only came out to get food and use the cat litter tray. He is still nervous with strangers but seemed content when I took him on, following my sisters death nearly 3 years ago. He was coughing when my sister had him but the vet thought it was caused by furballs. When he came to me I was with him 24/7 and that is when we discovered that it was asthma.

Re: What a trauma yesterday!

Twink it sounds as if he was a very lucky boy to have your sister take him in and care for him..so many cats live a rough life..I love it when one is "saved" so to speak.
I hope he has many more yrs with you

Re: What a trauma yesterday!

Hi Twink.

It must have been a very worrying time for you yesterday and for him too. I hope the poor little fellow is feeling better today.

LD

Re: What a trauma yesterday!

Thank you all for your good wishes. You may like to know that he has just jumped on my desk to look at your replies himself. He isn't good at reading but, after the events of yesterday, he feels like everybody loves him.