Her cat sounded like he was coughing up furballs — so she coughed up $30,000 to fix it.
When Kelly Boyle, 35, noticed her cat had developed a slight rasp, she assumed he had a hairball lodged in his throat — until it turned into an aggressive “hack.”
Worried about the worsening wheeze, Boyle took her cat Rascal to a vet in Scotland in April 2018, where he was diagnosed with a rare condition: feline asthma.
“I was very shocked and I wondered what I was going to do, how I was going to manage and most importantly, his life expectancy,” Boyle told NeedToKnow.co.uk. “I couldn’t stop panicking and there were many sleepless nights worrying about my little boy.”
The dedicated cat mom initially tried to treat Rascal’s cough with hairball paste, but it persisted.
The vet carried out X-rays and blood tests which confirmed his asthma diagnosis, a debilitating condition that affects only 5% of cats worldwide, according to Cornell University. Feline asthma is treated using inhalers — just like humans.
Unfortunately, the now 9-year-old cat’s condition isn’t a cheap one to treat — costing Boyle a whopping $30,000.
“I had never heard of feline asthma before and the vet told me he was struggling to breathe due to inflammation in his lungs,” Boyle, who works as a content creator, explained. “The only treatment option was an inhaler — which I couldn’t see myself being able to use on him.”
Luckily, the cat took to the treatment “like a duck to water,” although administering it takes a rigid schedule and precise planning.
Now, Boyle works her day around his medicine times and installed a cat camera in each room so she can keep an eye on his breathing.
“He struggles the most during spring and summer, where he requires more help from the vets, but the inhalers have allowed him to lead a very active and happy life,” Boyle reflected. “It’s been very rewarding seeing the difference in him.”
Rascal’s treatment involves taking three inhalers a day: orange in the morning and purple at night, plus a blue one used for sudden flare-ups, which he’ll need for the rest of his life.
Although sadly, that’s not the end of the fragile feline’s health issues.
“Since his asthma diagnosis, he’s been diagnosed with intervertebral disc disease, a condition where discs in the back break down,” Boyle said.
Luckily, he has an anti-inflammatory injection every six weeks, which has “worked wonders.”
“Now, he can jump, run and is always on the go, without getting out of breath,” the devoted cat owner gushed.
Boyle hopes that by sharing Rascal’s story through their Instagram page, she can help other cat owners identify when their kitty may be suffering from feline asthma.
“It’s not widely spoken about and people always think it’s a hairball, but then find out it’s actually asthma,” she explained.
“I’ve had messages from loads of cat parents thanking me for spreading the message, as without this, their cat would no longer be here today without proper diagnosis and treatment,” Boyle added. “I tell everyone, if in doubt, get it checked out.”
Although saving her cat’s life has come at a cost, Boyle says she doesn’t regret anything.
“He’s my rock, my soulmate,” she said. “And we’re inseparable.”
