08/03/2025
𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐒
I want to share my cat's, Mango, medical journey with you—not just to tell her story, but to urge you to trust your instincts and be an advocate for your pet. If something feels off, don’t ignore that gut feeling. Ask questions, seek answers, and don’t be afraid to push for what your pet needs. Mango’s trials are a reminder that we have to stay alert and proactive when it comes to veterinary care.
For seven years, Mango has suffered from severe, chronic asthma. She’s seen many vets both in Michigan and Ohio— including an internal medicine specialist. I’ve spent thousands of dollars, she’s been hospitalized multiple times during major attacks, and she’s been on daily Prednisolone for years (and we all know how harmful long-term steroid use can be). I’ve done everything they recommended. Even a vet tech once told me, “You’re doing more than I would.”
Frustrated after years of watching her suffer to breath (see video) and the everyday medication not improving symptoms, I started researching and asking questions. That’s when I heard of cats having lungworm and you know who told me this? The owner of the Pet Bistro, a specialty pet store in Warren, not a vet. So, I dug deeper and that’s when I learned that lungworm — a parasitic infection — can cause or mimic asthma in cats. And guess how you diagnose it? A simple f***l exam.
I insisted on this test with her vet; I wanted it done. However, they wouldn’t even test a sample without a full vet visit — despite Mango being a regular patient. So back to vet we went, Mango’s become such a pro at the vet, bless her little soul. And what do you think they found?!
Her f***l test came back suspicious for lungworm. Pictures right there in black and white of the worms under the microscope. After all these years, her “asthma” could’ve been significantly reduced or possibly even cured with just five days of deworming medication specific for lungworm! However, now that she has had these worms and suffered attacks all these years, she has scarring in her lungs so she could always be affected by this illness, but hopefully going forward attacks will be way less severe. She’s taken all 5 doses of the deworming medication, and she’s only had one attack during this time, when usually she has daily attacks, only one!!! Pure joy and relief for us both 💖
But here’s what really infuriates me, everywhere I researched this same clear message kept coming up:
“It’s crucial to rule out lungworm before diagnosing asthma. Lungworm can cause or mimic asthma, and in some cases may trigger chronic asthma. Testing and treating for parasites is an essential step in any cat with new or worsening respiratory symptoms.”
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲!! 🤯😖
She’s had asthma for 7 years!! Seven years of listening to her struggle to breath at times, listening to her cough, being woken in the middle of night to attacks, being frustrated because the coughing is annoying and I couldn’t make her better, thinking it was me who triggered her attacks and she’d be better off living with someone else. How did none of the professionals not know or do a f***l test? Why was it not standard to rule this out first? And why do we treat f***l and urine tests in cats like afterthoughts compared to bloodwork — when they can be just as critical? When trying to figure out an illness why aren’t all avenues that can provide answers tested? Why isn’t a f***l and urine test part of a cat’s normal check-up like it is for dogs? I mean sure, you can elect not to have any procedure done when asked but why isn’t it asked? 🤔
And… after this episode, I want to also share her experience on Solensia where yet again the vets dropped the ball and caused unnecessary suffering and money loss. 😢 I’ve debated on publicly raising awareness of Solensia (the new arthritis injection that vets are praising) for months now and after this diagnosis I am speaking out. I know many clients whose cats are currently on this medication, and it is 100% your prerogative but I am no longer blind nor can remain quiet about this medication. Her story on these injections is also in relation to researching, questioning and advocating. In the beginning, I too was on this miracle drug train and recommended it to many clients. I can’t even begin to express the guilt I now feel since I’ve seen and realized the awful side effects, it shames me if I had any part in the cat’s I suggested it to who’ve shown side effects. It was recommended by the vet to start Mango on these injections because she also suffers from having Luxating Patellas in both back knees (meaning they constantly pop in/out) which is very painful. She was getting these injections once a month over the course of the year and I saw minimal improvement and the vets just kept administering the injection every month. However, about 3 months into the injections she started throwing up and itching a lot, I thought it was due to the pain (in her lifetime I can only recall a handful of times she’s thrown up but with these injections it was a few times a week), I just didn't put the two together. I took her to the vet twice over the year she was on injections to discuss these symptoms, and they wanted to treat her for IBS, but how could that be the diagnosis with so much itching? Not once did they bring up or question her being on these injections and the side effects. Well, this past December she had surgery to repair one of her knees and that is when we stopped the injections. While on her road to recovery from her surgery, she started having insane itching that she was pulling her hair out from scratching and gnawing so bad on herself, she basically was hairless from her mid-region back and she developed rash-like sores on her body, although she did quit vomiting. That’s when I started researching and getting angry to find out the known side effects of these injections. It was right there in the prescribing information leaflet and on the manufacturer’s website (see photos) and again the vets said nothing about side effects!! When I discussed these symptoms with her orthopedic surgeon he stated, “he won’t even prescribe Solensia to his patients” and that is all he deals with, bones and arthritis! Her symptoms became more severe once we stopped the injections because she also had to stop the Prednisolone for the surgery and that is the medication prescribed to try to reverse any side effects from Solensia, her body was detoxing from these injections, so the symptoms came out in full force. I’ve noticed side effects in client cats too and have spoken to each client because I simply want to share with you even if it’s not my place to. I wasn’t warned or informed about any risks, and it broke my heart to watch what she went through. Do you know Solensia has only been available in U.S. veterinary clinics since early 2022, just over 3 years and already a class-action effort is in development because so many cats have had such severe side effects that they are wanting it off the market until more research can be done!!! You may have heard, read or seen the news reports of the sister drug for canines called Liberla, that drug is already in the midst of a class action lawsuit against the manufacture due to so many terrible side effects and deaths of dogs. Why are these drugs on the market if they are causing so much harm and why are vets still prescribing them??!?!
I am certainly not a doctor, I’m just a groomer who cares, who cares about her own cat’s wellbeing and client’s cats that I love as my own. By speaking up, talking and informing is sometimes the only way others discover information. You can do what you want with this story and trust who you choose. But let me tell you, it pi**es me off how often pet parents are not given full information about veterinary drugs. With human meds, we get leaflets, warnings, interactions — why don’t we get this for our pets, where’s our information? We just trust and pay the bill; it makes me angry because that’s what I’ve been doing for years.
Look — I know some people think I’m too much, too emotional, too dramatic, or too sensitive. Maybe even “crazy” for caring about animals so much. That’s fine. You’re entitled to your opinion, and I can’t change it. However, if I can share Mango’s medical trials in hopes of making even one person pause, question, or push for more answers — then I’ve helped.
So let me say this as loud as I can: 📣📣
👉 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡. 𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐭. 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐲!!!
𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡, 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚!!! ❤️😻 Angie
