Diet for Cats With Asthma
Cat asthma, also called Feline Allergic Bronchitis, resembles human asthma. According to website Feline Asthma, holistic veterinarians believe that by changing your cat's diet you can help fight and even suppress her asthma.
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Dry Food
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Feeding a cat dry food can cause its nasal passages to become irritated from the dust and crumbs that come from the food. Dry food should be soaked in water or chicken stock before being fed to a cat with asthma; this eliminates the dust so that it cannot irritate the air passages.
Wet Food
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The food a cat is eating can contribute to its asthma; low quality foods often contain ingredients that allergy-sensitive felines should avoid. The cat should eat a high-quality, natural food. Wet food is a good choice for cats with severe asthma, as it contains a higher volume of natural ingredients unlikely to cause an allergic reaction in a cat.
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Treats
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Homemade treats can help ease a cat's asthma. Boiled rice flavored with chicken stock will help the immune system overall. In addition, vitamin C drops added directly to the food or water can help fight allergies and improve general health.
Causes
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Allergens that irritate a cat's airways can cause feline asthma. Common irritants are dust from cat litter, cigarette smoke, household products, cat food dust, mold and mildew. In addition to a hypoallergenic diet for the cat, owners should rid the cat's environment of all irritants.
Warning
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In cases of suspected asthma, a veterinarian should examine the cat to diagnosis the illness and prescribe medications to help ease the cat's asthma. Often, the veterinarian will prescribe an anti-inflammatory medication to ease the effects of swelling in the throat when the cat has an asthma attack. The veterinarian can also prescribe medicated foods to add to the cat's diet to help ease the asthma attacks.
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References
- Photo Credit Black Cat image by Chris Kincaid from Fotolia.com
