I had previously written about some videos that showed cats having asthma attacks. I have found some more useful videos that I thought important to share with you.
These How To Health Videos are from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Feline Health Center web site. These videos are:
The trainer in these videos uses the well established technique of using clicker and food to teach kittens specific behaviors. The premise is also used in training dogs, zoo animals and more. Food — the great tamer of them all 
From the You Tube description”
“Clicker training is not only enjoyable for cats, but it can be life-saving too. Suppose you had an extreme emergency and needed to get your cat out of the house immediately? A cat that is clicker trained will quickly jump into his carrier. Richard Norton clicker trains his Bengal cats, starting with very young kittens, as shown in this YouTube Video. Richard explains the click as a conditioned stimulus for operant behaviour. “This means that the click alone can elicit some of the same bodily responses and processes that food could elicit. This is achieved by presenting food and the click nearly simultaneously. Our experience is that 3 or 4, 5 minute sessions is more than adequate to fully establish the click as a conditioned stimulus for operant behaviour.“
Video explaining the clicker training process with a young kitten
Video of clicker training process to teach a Bengal cat to press a light switch
I tried out a few clickers at Petsmart (had to go to the dog training aids area), Then I found some healthy treats my cats might get excited about. While we have tried this technique before, I was unsure if my cats would really respond well. Having found these videos I am more determined to make it work this time.
If you have a cat behavior issue, you can visit Marilyn Krieger’s site The Cat Coach. She advises clients about modifying an unwanted behavior through clicker training and other techniques.
Some really good books about training cats from Amazon.com:
Cat Training in 10 Minutes
I just ordered this one. I will let you know how we are doing
Recently I acquired a female adult leucistic leopard gecko named Lucy. Her previous owner couldn’t keep her anymore. So I volunteered.
Yin (Yang’s brother) likes to watch our lizards as they eat or walk around their terrariums. So there he is up on the cabinet, watching Lucy. At the same time, Lucy is stalking the tip of Yin’s twitching tail. Hmmm, two predators following their instincts…Luckily for both her tank is locked!
Not in any particular order, these are some of the web sites that have helped us recognize, understand, and cope with a variety of medical situations and conditions. See also my blog entry on feline asthma, and my older article on cats with allergies. I also wrote a more exhaustive article covering online feline medical and health resources.
These are some of the first places we turn to:
The Pet Web Library by the Mar Vista Medical Center of Los Angeles offers a free alphabetical listing of many diseases and disorders with information to help you understand the condition and what can be done about it. It was one of the first places we found when our beloved Glory was diagnosed with pancreatitus.
American Veterinary Medical Assoc. and their Animal Health section for pet owners
NetVet and the Electronic Zoo Created by Dr. Ken Boschert DVM. While not recently updated, still a great place to browse for information
The British Small Animal Veterinary Assoc.
Canadian Veterinary Medical Assoc has Animal Health Care Information and Advice
Whenever I see or hear one of our cats having hairball coughing, I immediately get the Laxatone or Petromalt and give them about 1 inch (2.5 cm) every other day for a week and then weekly. Then I get my family to increase brushing and combing our cats. For more on this subject see Hairball Express or the Fur is Flying.
The problem is that not all coughing means a hairball. Sometimes it can be far more serious. Asthma attacks are an emergency. Asthma can kill. I recommend you watch these videos (links below) so you can recognize the symptoms, and can take appropriate emergency measures. Know where the nearest emergency vet clinic is located. If you think you have seen these symptoms in you cat, talk to your vet ASAP.
As someone who has asthma, I know how scary a sudden onset attack can be. Seeing it in a cat was heartrending. There are medications such as albuterol inhalers, Flovent and steroids to cut inflammation — how familiar I have used them, too… They even have the aerokat pet inhaler designed as a feline friendly device for using MDI’s (metered dose inhalers). This video shows it being used.
Each of the people who took these videos did so in order to educate others.
I found Dave’s Feline Asthma attack video while browsing. That is what got me started on this blog entry. The coughing is not like hairball coughs I have heard. Much more labored and tiring for the poor kitty.
This video gives a medical explanation of symptoms associated with feline asthma.
Another video of a cat with labored breathing. As the person who posted this wrote: “The purpose of this video is to give an example of what labored or abdominal breathing looks like. This video was made in order to show our vet what we were seeing. Needless to say, Stinky [their cat] was brought in to the emergency room after capturing this footage. Note: Normal respiration should be between 20-30 [per minute].“
Cats can also have food or environmental allergies, as we found out when Glory repeatedly started scratching the side of her neck until she was bloody. For a more detailed discussion of what we learned, see my article “When Cats Have Allergies“.
I had an earlier post on some Online Feline Medical and Health Resources to find reliable medical information regarding feline health issues. Looking it over, I think I will add others in a future blog entry when I can.
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