Asthma Remedies for Pets

| Modified on Sep 16, 2023

Asthma can strike dogs just as it can effect the breathing capacity of dog owners. We love to see our dogs running around happily, so asthma can be a frustrating condition for dog owners to deal with. Yet if you hear your dog wheezing, whistling, or if it seems to be short of breath after normal exertion your pet may have asthma. Lethargy, sneezing, and blue lips or gums can be a sign of asthma as well.

Asthmatic dogs may have asthma attacks due to an allergic reaction to allergens in the air. These cause a form of bronchitis, an inflammation of the bronchial passages that restricts breathing.

Home Remedies: The first step is to identify and remove irritants that your dog might be allergic to from the local environment. This might include cigarette smoke, dust, household chemicals, or fungal spores. Some dog owners have also had success with aromatherapy using something like peppermint oil to soothe irritated airways in their asthmatic dogs.

Other helpful suggestions from our readers that you will read below include remedies like serrapeptase, hydrogen peroxide, vitamin C, and dietary changes.




Coconut Oil

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Booboo (London) on 11/14/2015
★★★★★

I have just successfully cured my 15 yr old cat from bad asthma that could not be treated with prednisone then inhaler.

The above did not do a thing to help Foxy so I looked online for natural help and gave it a try I am so glad I did.

I gave him half teaspoon organic virgin coconut oil a day either ... Let him lick off spoon, put it in his food or when he got wise put it on his lower chest to lick off and groom himself ingesting it that way .

Also I removed all house fragrances, candles, flowers, plants anything scented. It's important not to use essential oils as they can be toxic to cats. Be careful of deodorant sprays too as cats can't process some fragrances.

Then I got a hepa air purifier to remove all allergen a from the house. I got a stethoscope to listen to his lungs and breathing.

After a day he started vomiting up the toxic poisons in his system this lasted 2 day I saw him vomit just twice. This is the time not to worry it's natures way of getting rid , he also coughed a bit too, freeing his lungs.

After 7 days we had a totally wheeze free cat with clear lungs, good breathing great coat and playful like a kitten we have been so flumox that I just need to share this with the world and to stay with it and don't give in to harmful stuff from the vets you will have your cat back very happy and breathing normally.

The virgin coconut oil works by dissolving the coating of the virus or bacteria leaving the inside exposed then it dies , nothing else works like this stuff it's 100 percent safe for animals cats dogs etc .

Foxy says go for it he feels wonderful again x

Replied by Ginger
(Gadsden, Al)
06/19/2016

Does this work for small dogs? I have a York is mix


Diet and Vitamin C

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Anon (New Mexico, US)
★★★★★

I have a 1-1/2 year old 50 lb dog that developed a bad cough over a two month period this summer, and began having trouble breathing on a regular basis. She was given a 2-week course of antibiotics which did nothing. Over time it seemed it became more like respiratory attacks rather than a chronic cold/cough. It seemed like asthma. Exercise seemed to trigger it and make it worse. The vet ran a bunch of tests about a month ago, and $600 later we had ruled out many things, like lungworm and pneumonia. They wanted to do a bronchoscopy next, but before I went that route (because it's expensive, requires anesthesia, and not necessarily definitive wrt diagnosis), I decided to see if there were dietary changes that might help, and decided to give this experiment one week to test.

I researched for a full day online regarding alternative/natural cures for asthma, in people and dogs, and as a result, decided on this protocol: mega doses of buffered, powder Vitamin C (right now, we're at 2000 mg per day, given in 4 separate doses for max absorption), 2 tsp raw, chopped garlic/day (1 tsp per 30# body weight is very safe in dogs), and salmon oil supplement plus canned wild salmon added to her food. She went from very ill to 95% better in about 3 days. She's been running like her crazy self the last 3 days, fully off leash and at full speed, and has only coughed twice and wheezed once. So, I'm sticking with this for now, and it marvels me how such simple nutritional changes can make such a difference in a creature's health.

Replied by Julie
(Port Sulphur, Louisiana)
12/11/2016

How do you get a cat to ingest this?


Prednisone

2 User Reviews
1 star (1) 
  50%
(1) 
  50%

Posted by Tj (Springfield, Illinois) on 09/23/2010
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

My six year old cat died yesterday four days after a Prednisone shot for mild asthma. All my cat did was wheeze a few times every week or so, nothing severe. She became lethargic 12 hours after this shot and never bounced back...

Replied by Agnes
(Philippines)
06/19/2013

My 2 wk old pup is taking prednisone for only a day now... how long will it took effect on my pup? He has still difficulty in breathing.. I don't want to lose him help me please

Replied by Debbie
(In)
11/04/2017

My cat has bad asthma. The vet gave him prednisone for about a year. It was the only thing that worked and it was great because it was so easy. Maybe a total of 6 injections every month or every other month. Guess what? At 15 years of age he's been diagnosed with diabetes because of that. I took the risk, gambled, and lost. Two weeks ago an angel of a cat I rescued died from diabetes complications.

If you move forward with this, be prepared for your cat to get diabetes. My cat dropped 4 lbs in 2 months and is very bony, but because I was caring so much for the other cat with diabetes I didn't notice so much. I've seen the horrors of what diabetes can do to a furry sweetie you love so much.

Please consider alternatives other than prednisone. I'm trying coconut oil, which seems to work. Serrapeptase works for me (I have asthma too). I also go to the doctor for inhalers, and give it to my cat to breathe in via an Aerocat-type inhaler (Space Kitty's is much better and cheaper off Amazon).


Serrapeptase

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by bodulica (Barrie ON) on 05/13/2019
★★★★★

Serrapeptase was a wonder for my cat with Asthma! Prednisone almost killed him, ended up in the hospital with his liver failing, kidneys were also affected. They took him off Prednisone, but we were still told that the prognosis was grim. He is old, but now alive and well (knock wood). Just give your cat maybe 20,000 SU. You have to buy the minimum strength of 40,000 (on-line). I emptied the capsule and gave half. Good luck!

Replied by elle
(Calgary)
09/16/2023

How did you give your cat the serrapeptase?


Serrapeptase and H202

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Misty (Duncan, Canada) on 02/06/2011
★★★★★

My little cat has asthma. Doc prescribed prednisolone, cat went nuts for two days. I took her off them. I now give her serrapeptase, it is an antiflamatory. Works wonders. I also give four drops of healthfood store hydrogen peroxide that is 3% strength in her water and I give her a teaspoon of coconut oil, warmed up. She is doing awsome on this.

Replied by Sazie
(Birmingham, Alabama, Usa)
07/09/2011

How much serapeptase to you give your cat?? Also, do you only give the coconut oil and hydrogen peroxide ONCE a day? My 11 year old cat is coughing a couple of times a day - it's a real mucousy cough. He seems fine otherwise. I don't know if it's asthma or bronchitis either or if treatment would be similar. Thanks anyone for any help you can give!

Replied by Misty
(Duncan, Bc, Canada)
07/14/2011

Hi, I give my cat one pill of serrapeptase in the evening into some wet can food.

The water is a bowl that sits for her all day long and she drinks it when ever she wants water, so the hydrogen peroxide is there in the water, I put in 3 drops into two cups of water. I drink the stuff myself and have amazing energy. And the coconut oil is only given once out of an eyedropper, she licks it as I squeeze into her mouth. About a teaspoon or half.

I hope that helped. Cheers

Replied by Sazie
(Birmingham, Alabama, Usa)
07/19/2011

Thanks a lot Misty!

Replied by Atlcdn
(Whiteland, Indiana Usa)
07/24/2012

Misty... Was your cat on depo medrol shots? My cat was just diagnosed with asthma and was given a depo medrol shot today. The vet said he would need one every month. He won't take pills, etc. I am not going to let him keep taking these injections since my daughter's cat got diabetes from taking them 3 times a year, and died from diabetes complications caused by the depo medrol. Did your cat get an xray since you started your treatment for him? Just wondering if lungs were looking better.

Replied by Sazie
(Birmingham, Alabama, Usa)
10/15/2012

The serapeptase never worked for my cat with asthma. None of the holistic remedies I tried worked either. I recently bought an Aerokat. If you've never heard of it, it is a tube like device to give inhalers to cats. One end has a hole to fit the inhaler in and the other is a soft rubber piece you fit over the cat's mouth. After putting over mouth, spray, and he breathes it in. You can count the breaths with the little counter on the Aerokat. I'm giving him Flovent with this, and it has worked wonders. Flovent does contain some type of cortisone; but taking it this way, straight into their lungs, is safer as it doesn't affect the body. Flovent is expensive though.

Replied by Manuela
(New York)
04/30/2016

Which brand of serapeptase you are giving to the cat? And how you administer it to the cat?


Tips to Reduce Allergens

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Cat (Austin, Tx) on 04/12/2016
★★★★★

My poor distressed cat! She had asthma when younger and it recently flared again -- big time! My daughter, a multi-cat owner, suggested:

  1. Keep floor and rugs clean and vacuumed.
  2. Dust weekly with a damp cloth.
  3. Ozone filtration machines for kitty litter area (small one) and for the whole house (large one).

Did all three and she improved within hours. I'm also doing some other things she suggested.

  1. Daily half tsp of Trop... coconut oil on paw.
  2. A daily capful of apple cider vinegar in her large water bowl.
  3. Using a pine based, low dust kitty litter.

The most important of all these was to keep my floors clean -- after all, that's where our cats spend the most time. Right?

Replied by Altamont03
(Western Nc)
06/27/2018

if your cat has allergic asthma (most common), a more neutral compressed paper litter like Okocat paper or Exquisicat fragrance-free paper litter are a much better choice than pine. Neither of these litters are dusty. My cat is using Flovent with an AeroKat spacer. I plan to try the coconut oil. I have not confirmed the claim that it disrupts cell membranes of viruses and bacterias, but asthma is not an infection but an immune response gone wrong.

Replied by Peggy
(West Covina, CA)
11/14/2020

Hi.My cat just got diagnosed with asthma.Did your cat improved with the ACV? Did he got worse before getting better with the air purifier?I just bought an Hep A air purifier and he got worse than ever the day I turned on.Any other tips?I am so stressed, and have not been able to start the Flovent since he does not want to deal with it.Thanks I woukd appreciate the information.