Feline Asthma & Laser Therapy

About 1 in 100 cats will develop asthma. Symptoms of feline asthma are wheezing, coughing, poor appetite, and lethargy.  X-ray help diagnose feline asthma by showing bronchial or interstitial pattern, bronchial mineralization, soft tissue opacities, hyperlucency, and flattening of diaphragm. We treat asthmatic cats with medications such as flovent inhalers and occasionally with bronchodilators. When feline asthma is severe, cats may be given oral or injectable steroids such as prednisone.

In addition to using medications to help open the airways, laser therapy can improve the comfort and lessen symptoms. Case reports showing benefits of laser on feline asthma are present in the Atlas of Class IV Laser Therapy—Small Animal from Southern Digital Publishing 2012. Therapy was administered three times a week for the first two weeks; then twice a week for 2 weeks; then maintained at once a week.

In addition to providing laser therapy and acupuncture, when I treat a cat with asthma, I recommend TCM herbal formula such as Liu Jun Zi Tang or San Ren Tang,  feeding raw or canned foods, using litter that is not dusty, running a HEPA air filter in the home, and encouraging weight loss if the cat is chubby.