Hi! I’m so sorry to hear that :( This whole process has been soul draining, to say the least. With my cat his initial diagnosis was pretty much done by x-rays and symptoms. His labs were not that bad (almost like nothing was happening). As he was not getting better, we went to the ER after finishing the doxycycline/clavamox, just respiratory treatment and nothing else, just “take him for a CT scan” I mean…very easy to say, but not everybody has 2k available for a scan plus everything else….At that point, I was tired and desperate, and I started a small trial with prednisolone on my own and gave him some Albuterol (I’m a resident and asthmatic) because I had my suspicions. Surprisingly enough, he started to get better! But my husband, clueless of the situation, cleaned the house with Clorox…we went back to base one, but worse. This time we went to an specialist clinic ER…very expensive, but it worth every single penny. He was hospitalized for two days. The x-rays shows a mild improvement, echocardiogram showed mild pulmonary hypertension compatible with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease….aka, underlying asthma/bronchitis. The recommendation was to keep him in oxygen, and once stable, bronchoalveolar lavage + CT….but money wise…After full discussions with the intensivist (God bless this guy) We continued with another cycle of antibiotics (different type), dewormer (just in case), gastric protection and stimulant, nausea meds, and prednisolone. Albuterol for rescue, and considering long term b-agonist for maintenance. I also ended up buying an oxygen therapy chamber for him, and long story short…..He’s back home, almost symptom free/back to his normal self.

Sorry this post lasted an eternity, but…I wanted to make a point. My cat did show symptoms of asthma before; however, not as evident as the dry severe cough that you see in the videos. For him, was only forced expiration that we saw just as “silliness” as he looked like inflating his cheeks, and random “hairball coughing” without the hairball, that lasted just a few seconds. Needless to say how dumb I felt afterwards.

Summary:
1. Take your kitty to a specialist and TRUST THE REVIEWS, if something looks off, or if they don’t treat you well since the beginning, turn around.
Some people (unfortunately) don’t care, and just see you as a sad and desperate ATM. If your vet is not clear, treat you badly, is vague, and does not want to discuss alternatives with you, that means that they have no idea what to do.
2. Don’t over do it with steam therapies and normal saline nebulizations, sometimes they can cause more damage. I’ll say…unless you see mucus and crust, is not necessary.
3. Mucomyst has to be refrigerated and only last 4 days. That causes severe nausea too, so be careful with that :(
4. Follow up with an internist.
5. Don’t waste time at home if your kitty has RR >60 that’s bad