asthma in...cats and dogs?!

Since my friend Katie is blogging around the clock for Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, I thought I'd dedicate this post to those furbabies we love so much. Keeping theme with the whole asthma thing (and because I found this really interesting) --

Did you know cats and dogs can have asthma, too?

That's right.

Feline asthma is apparently closest to human asthma. It's a chronic inflammation of the bronchial passageways. The cats lungs can also discharge mucus into the airways leading to fits of coughing and wheezing. Cats have asthma attack triggers as well, just like humans, including allergens like pollens, molds, dust from cat litter, cigarette smoke and perfumes. (I actually had a kitty who was allergic to the dust in clay cat litter! Guess we've always been an allergen household, huh?). Preexisting heart conditions or parasites along with extreme stress can also cause asthma attacks in cats.

And just like people, there are specially adapted inhaler masks for cats to breathe in medicine that can help open up their airways -- including Albuterol.

Asthma in dogs is a whole lot less common than cats, but still does happen. In dogs, asthma is referred to as "allergic bronchitis." Dogs with allergic bronchitis almost always have a trigger caused by something they've breathed in their environment.