Pet Asthma

Asthma Care for Pets at Preston Animal Clinic

Does your pet occasionally frighten you with his struggles to breathe? If some airborne stimulus is causing his respiratory passes to constrict, then what you’re seeing is most likely an asthma attack. Asthma can have serious or even fatal consequences in its most serious forms. You can help your pet deal with this problem by seeking out the experts at Preston Animal Hospital in Cambridge. We can provide medications, emergency treatment, and helpful recommendations on how to keep your pet’s asthma at bay.

How Asthma Affects Animals

Asthma is an acute respiratory reaction to one or more allergens. A wide range of allergens can trigger asthma attacks in animals, including such common substances as:

  • Dander and dust
  • Mold or pollen
  • Household cleaning products, paint, or remodeling materials
  • Perfumes and other airborne scents
  • Tobacco smoke
  • Industrial pollutants

Your pet’s immune system reacts to these airborne particles as potential germs. It fights back in the only way it can — by launching a barrage of histamine. The histamine causes the lungs’ airways to grow narrow, reducing your pet’s ability to take in oxygen. Mucus builds up in these passages, irritating and inflaming them while making the blockage even worse. Asthmatic pets will cough and wheeze during an attack in a desperate attempt to clear their air passages. (In cats, these efforts may be mistaken for attempts to pass a hairball.) Panting and lethargy are other symptoms.

Recurring exposure to allergens and subsequent attacks can turn your pet’s asthma into a chronic condition — one which may cause permanent damages to the airways. A really serious asthma attack can even cause total, deadly airway constriction. Watch for glue gums as a sign that your pet needs emergency care.

Prompt Relief and Preventative Measures From Our Cambridge Vet Team

Our dedicated, experienced vet team at Preston animal clinic knows just what to do if your pet is suffering from an acute asthma attack, so bring him to our clinic right away. We can administer epinephrine or other drugs to dilate the airways and get your pet out of immediate danger. We can then prescribe medications that you can administer as needed to manage your pet’s airway inflammation, such as corticosteroids. Last but not least, we can figure out what your pet is allergic to and advise you on changes you can make in your home environment to prevent asthma attacks.


Your Pet Will Breathe Easier — and So Will You

Call our Cambridge vet clinic at 519-653-7232 to arrange for the necessary treatment to get your pet’s disturbing asthma issues under control. Both you and your pet will breathe easier.