Quality of Life
Unless the disease trigger is identified and removed, patient management will, in many cases, be lifelong. The overall prognosis is dependent on how well the airway inflammation and remodeling can be controlled.
Patients that fail to improve after 1 month of aggressive appropriate treatment are unlikely to benefit further from extending the same treatment plan. In these cases, the diagnosis should be reconsidered; the therapeutic plan changed (by adding or changing medications); and concurrent morbidities and or complications should be investigated (e.g., is heart disease now present?). Up to a third of cats diagnosed with feline asthma will have some persistent clinical signs despite appropriate treatment. This may be acceptable provided activity levels and breathing are unaffected.From the caregiver's perspective, coughing, exercise intolerance, weight loss, and respiratory distress are the signs perceived to be affecting patient quality of life. Rarely does coughing affect the patient's quality of life directly and cough suppressants are generally not needed, especially after corticosteroid use has been initiated. Status asthmaticus is life threatening and severely distressing to both patient and caregiver. Caregiver anxiety is best addressed by training and helping clients become comfortable with emergency home treatment measures (e.g., bronchodilator therapy).
Managing feline asthma is a lifelong commitment. Treatment options are stressful in some cats which may affect the human-animal bond. Treatment formulations should be discussed and tailored to the individual patient and client needs and abilities. Although least ideal, depot formulations of glucocorticoids remain a practical solution in those cats that cannot be pilled or where the owner is unwilling to invest the time and effort required for effective management.
Cats that have persistent respiratory distress or hypoxia will show weight loss, decreased appetite, and become withdrawn