> Dee & Evan wrote: > > > Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't been checking any of our messages > > lately. We are perplexed by Smokey's breathing issues. We have had > > him to the vet 3-4 times in the past month trying to figure out what > > is going on. We did another chest x-ray. There is no fluid around > > his lungs but his lungs still look like fluffy cotton, maybe even a > > little worse at his last visit on 09/05/06. Our vet sent blood work > > out to a lab to get several tests ran. The results came back today. > > His RBC is at 5.92 so he has slight anemia. His hematocrit is at > > 37%. But everything else was negative. No infection, no bacteria, no > > fungal infection, everything came out clean. It was even negative for > > the hemobart parasite. I plan on finishing the Doxy regiment until at > > least the 21st though. I am just worried sick over his breathing. > > Periodically he also has coughing fits. I just don't know what to > > think. The vet said the next step would be an ultrasound, especially > > of his heart. I started him on Lysine last week. I think he has > > gotten wise to it as he has stopped eating as much of his canned food > > that I put it in. At least I am hoping that is the case & it is not > > because he doesn't want to eat now. He still LOVES his chicken I feed > > him in the morning & evening. We have a running tally of about $1,200 > > to $1,300 so far and I am running out of resourse to fund this. Any > > input, suggestions, or encouragement would be greatly appreciated at > > this point. Thanks to everyone.......you are a wonderful group of > > people. All of your furbabies are in good hands. > > ~Dee
Hi Dee, This sounds like asthma. Speak to your vet about inhaled albuterol for flare ups and Flovent (inhaled steroid) to reduce inflammation which may be causing his breathing difficulty. Inhaled Flovent has virtually no systemic effects. You'll need a spacer to deliver the medication to his lungs see http://aerokat.com/ Flovent takes about a week to begin working but the albuterol should give him immediate relief. Joe
