Feline Asthma

Asthma is a common feline lower airway disease characterized by airway inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness and airway remodeling. Clinical patients often present with an assorted severity and combination of cough, exercise intolerance, wheeze
and respiratory distress. Due to the varying clinical presentation, ill-defined consensus on what defines asthma in cats and the variable clinical response, it is imperative that clinicians recognize feline patients that may have feline asthma as a differential for their clinical signs.

Epidemiology and pathogenesis.  

It is estimated that approximately 1-5% of the feline population may be affected by asthma. However, most studies do not discriminate feline asthma from other bronchial diseases (such as chronic bronchitis) that have similar and overlapping features. Furthermore, while it is commonly reported that asthma primarily afflicts middle- aged cats, thorough history collection can reveal chronic signs that have been subtle or unnoticed by caretakers. Asthma is classically characterized as an aberrant T helper 2 response that eventually leads to three hallmarks; airway inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness and airway remodeling. […]