‘My cat and I both have asthma’
It’s a cool autumn morning. I’m lying in bed waiting for the alarm to go off and turn off my CPAP machine. When the alarm tweets away I quickly turn it off. My cats, all three of them, start to rouse – getting ready to tell me it’s their breakfast time, no doubt. I’ve got severe asthma, but luckily for me, I’m not allergic to my cats. They are my friends and, as I work from home for the most part, my colleagues too.
Zoe, one of the girls (yes, I am one of those cat ladies who talks like they’re my children) jumps down and coughs and wheezes. She has asthma too. About a year ago she started with a cough. This turned into a loud grumbling sound wheeze. We took her to the vet and she had to undergo lung tests. She had an x-ray which showed something on her lungs. She needed further investigations and had to have a tube put into her lungs so the vet could see what was going on. The result: Zoe has asthma and has to be on preventer inhalers for the rest of her life.
‘I sneakily grab my cat’s inhaler and put the spacer on her mouth’
I go downstairs to make breakfast and the girls follow me for theirs. It’s time to get Zoe’s inhaler and spacer ready for her morning medication. I’ve learned that breakfast time is a great opportunity to get the medication into her quickly, whilst she’s sat comfortably next to me and off guard. After breakfast we make our way to the sofa to watch some BBC News before I start work. Zoe settles next to me on her cushion – so I sneakily grab her inhaler and put the spacer on her mouth. Oh, she doesn’t like the feel of it, or the taste. But a cuddle and stroke and reassurance from me helps the medicine go down. Her next preventer medication will be due this evening. I usually manage her other puff when we’re settled in front of the TV before bed.
Sometimes, if Zoe is having a bad day, when the air is bad or the pollen is high, she’ll wheeze more and I have to give her a puff of her reliever. This is usually rare, but at the moment, she’s been needing it a lot. I’ve made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow, and I have a feeling she’ll be put on steroids. We’ve recently moved house, so it’s possible the move has caused stress and an exacerbation.
Writing this, I realise how similar Zoe’s asthma is to mine. I monitor her symptoms and help her by making sure she has her preventer all the time, and steroids when needed. I clean her spacer to make sure she doesn’t get an infection from any dirt, and make sure her inhalers are stored in a place where they won’t get dusty or blocked. And I always make sure she never runs out of medication. Mmm, I think there are some lessons for me to learn here too about my personal care of my medication. Hopefully, if I can look after myself as well as her, we should both be ok!
Does your pet have asthma? Tell us in the comments below
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