Hello. We have a 2 year old female dsh cat who has asthma and/or allergies. Her symptom is coughing, almost like a bronchial cough. She had a tracheal wash done and she had a higher than normal amount of cells that indicate allergies or asthma. Other than the coughing, her health has been good. Meesha has been on a raw organic diet since she was 3 months old. The only vaccinations she got were the kitten series. It seems like she gets the attacks upon waking up and moving around. She has the attacks at all different times of day and night, so we can pinpoint that. Also, she has no likeness for either heat or cold. We tried Pulsatilla and a couple of other homeopathic remedies (these were combo remedies) which may have made the attacks less frequent, but she was still having attacks. Not knowing what else to do, we gave her a natural plant based cortisone. It did take the attacks away completely and we stopped giving it to her. However, she is starting to cough again, maybe every few days. We would much rather help her with a homeopathic than the natural cortisone, but have no idea which remedy to try. I use a homeopathic remedy for my allergies in the spring and it works great. I just wish I could find something to work for Meesha. If anyone can help me, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Hi Mickey
You might want to consider the following remedies.
Ipecac -
spasmodic, wheezing, contraction with rattlin, periodical. < motion, moist warm wind, lying down.Often accompanied by nausea/vomiting. Breathing out is especially difficult. Extremities covered in cold perspiration

Ars Alb-
oppression of breathing, < night especially 1-3 am
< lying down, <least motion, < wet weather
>warm applications, warm air, room
Anguish/restlessness. Thirst for small quantities of water often. Dry cough, wheezing

Nat Sulph-
moist asthma, can be < during or brought on by damp weather. (asthma by unusual exertion - Murphy)
Must hold chest because of pain < 4-5 am Can be useful in children who have inherited asthma

Kali Carb
coldnes of chest with wheezing, > warm climate, < lying on right side
early morning aggravation.
wheezing < least motion or walking, alternating with diarrhoea, vertigo

Hepar Sulph
< cold dry weather, cold air, also < for humidifiers,
> damp wet weather.
suffocative attacks, has to rise up and bend head backwards. Anxious wheezing, moist breathing. After suppressed eruptions

Psorinum
<open air, sitting up
>lying down
after suppressed eruptions, extreme sensitiveness to cold

Phosphorus
tightness across chest, great weight on chest. Breathing quickened, oppressed
< least motion. Much heat in chest (dry hot feeling)
< cold drinks, cold air, < lying Left side. Asthma after cough, cough from odours, < presence of strangers.
Suddenness.

Hope this is of help

Hi Mickey,

From K. Sheppard 'The Treatment of CATS by Homoeopathy'

Asthma

Old cats sometimes suffer from asthma; the symptoms are cough and laboured or spasmodic breathing.

Treatment

If worse at night, worse in a warm room or by changes of temperature, either hot or cold, or worse moving, give SULPHUR 30, one dose only, repeat when necessary.
If the condition is worse by any kind of exertion, the cat hugs the fire and is better by warmth, yet seeks cold water to drink, give ARSENICUM ALBUM 30, one dose only will relieve the symptoms.
Should the cat cough and vomit saliva like beaten white of egg, IPECACUANHA 3 every half hour will alleviate, or BRYONIA 6 every two hours if the animal is better lying still and is decidedly thirsty.
SPONGIA 1x every two hours is called for when there is panting, difficult respiration with suffocative cough. DO NOT repeat the dose while the improvement is maintained.

Thank you so much, Ozzie and Chris. I have printed out your replies so we can figure out which remedy to try. It's so hard, I think, to know which remedy to give since our cats can't tell us how they're feeling. I would say Meesha craves warmth more than cold. She doesn't seem to be particularly thirsty. I think her attacks are more related to her getting up and moving around than to time of day. The only time she seems to have difficulty breathing is during the actual attack, when you can see her sides heaving while she is coughing. She will stretch her neck out and upwards. She never coughs anything up, but looks like she is swallowing phelgm. She is only 2 years old and has had this condition since April of 2001.

I do have another question. Let's say I give her a remedy. How long would I stick with that particular remedy? Would I wait a couple of weeks before I would try something else if it didn't work?

Thank you again so much. I really, really appreciate it.

Hi. Thanks very much for your reply. The vet said Meesha's heart was fine, although they didn't do any specific tests other than x-rays and the tracheal wash. Thanks for the link for altvetmed. Unfortunately, there's nothing in my area. I wonder about telephone consultations as the person can't physically see the cat.

Hi Chris. I am thinking to get the book you referred to in your post, K. Sheppard 'The Treatment of CATS by Homoeopathy'
Does the book have more on asthma, or is that the only exerpt? Also, I am thinking of getting Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs : Small Doses for Small Animals
by Donald Hamilton
or
Veterinarians Guide to Natural Remedies for Cats : Safe and Effective Alternative Treatments and Healing Techniques from the Nations Top Holistic Veterinarians
by Martin Zucker (Paperback -- February 2000)

Do you know anything about these books, or can anyone else recommend them?

Thanks again!

Sheppard's book is out of print but a few used copies are available at Amazon.com. It's a small book, about 60 pages but was (is) important to the beginnings of homeopathic treatment. I think it was the first introduction to homeopathy for Richard Pitcarin, a long time ago!

You may want to check Anitra Frazier's The New Natural Cat which goes into quite a bit of detail and is very good. Another you may want to look at is The Natural Remedy Book for Dogs and Cats by Diane Stein. She gives a short paragraph for different alternative approaches for each "dis-ease" including nutrition. Has a nice asthma section, which is an autoimmune disease possibly caused by vaccines. (In asthma, wheezing is heard on exhale.)

Of course, we must not forget Richard Pitcairn's Natural Health for Dogs and Cats.

I haven't Don Hamilton's book but should imagine it would be very good as he is an excellent homeopathic vet.

__________________
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Thank you so much for the book recommendations. I was able to find the Anitra Frazier book and the Diane Stein book at my local health food market.