The Original Aerokat Feline Aerosol Chamber Inhaler Spacer for Cats and Kittens with Exclusive Flo-Vu Indicator

This inhaler is relatively easy to use. it's a clever design. It may take time to get a cat to submit to it. My own cat who is pretty highly strung took over two weeks before she was willing to accept it, so it was a bit of a struggle at first. And most of that time the flapper didn't work because she would breathe very shallowly when I applied the mask. So I just listened to her and counted breaths that way. But now (with ample use of a yummy treat as a reward each time) she is calm and breathes naturally and it's working out great.

Works great no issues

This review will contain my opinion of and experience with the AeroKat device but also hopefully some tips to help you get the most out of it.One of my kitties has asthma. It was previously seasonal and I would just give her prednisolone for a few weeks each year (properly tapering the dose, of course) and she would be OK. For some reason, this year, she was not getting better, despite all of my other efforts: low-dust, unscented litter; removal of air fresheners from the rooms where she spends the most time; lysine to treat her feline herpes; a diet to get rid of some of her excess weight, etc. So, I took her to the vet and we were prescribed Flovent (I get a generic from Canada, but the inhaler looks pretty much like in the official product image and it fits perfectly into the chamber). This particular cat doesn't do well on prednisolone -- she gets an electrolyte imbalance and has some urinary tract issues when she is on it for long -- so it was important to get her off the drug. That meant using the inhaler.My vet specifically recommended this brand over any other. That may be because it's the only brand she had heard of, but I went with her professional recommendation. This comes with two masks. We are using the smaller one for my cat, but she has kind of a small head. It does a good job of covering her mouth and nose. It is some type of silicone and is easy to clean. (You should clean this item about once a week. You don't want your kitty with a sensitive respiratory system to be inhaling germs!) It is also easy to attach to the chamber part of the device.For a couple of weeks while I waited for my first inhaler to arrive, I merely did what I could to get my cat used to the device. You should know that this particular cat is VERY food-motivated. So what I would do is give her some treats to distract her while my husband prepared the AeroKat device. We would then hold it on her face, working up to 10 seconds. Then I would give her more treats while my husband put it away. (It doesn't really matter what the treats are. Just use something your cat already likes anyway.)I really did find that this device required two people. My husband sort of straddles the cat while on his knees and holds her head in place, while I hold the AeroKat up to her face and press the inhaler. I think it would be difficult for either of us to do this alone. (We have another cat who requires a lot of eye drops and we developed a procedure for giving him his eye drops that we have adapted to use with this aerosol chamber.) On the other hand, this cat is feisty and active and we have both been bitten and scratched a few times, but mostly now that she is used to the procedure, it goes smoothly.We have found that it is helpful to do the inhaler FIRST, before any other treatments. (This particular cat gets the inhaler twice a day. She is also getting a potassium gel right now to help improve her electrolyte situation, and some days she is still getting prednisolone, since we are tapering her back off that now that we have the inhaler.) When we would try to do the inhaler after the gel and/or pills, she would fight us more. So, inhaler first.There is a projection near the end of the tube where you attach the mask, where there is a little green silicone flap or membrane. When the cat is breathing into the device, this will move. Our goal is to have her wear the mask and breathe for 10 seconds, but we are usually happy if she takes at least a couple of breaths after the inhaler has been discharged. Watching this flap is super helpful (if the flap is not moving, the inhaler contents may not be getting to the cat's lungs, so this is important).Anyway, with proper preparation and training/bribing of the cat, this is easy to use. It is also easy to clean and it fits our inhaler perfectly. It is made of durable materials. And it is enabling me to get this cat off prednisolone, which seems particularly damaging to her system.

My cat was diagnosed with asthma two years ago. At that time I had read that it could be treated with an inhaler, but I thought it was impractical, and my vet did as well. Two years go by and I've been taking my cat in for steroid shots every 6-8 weeks when he would start having attacks again. The shots worked for awhile, but after 18 mos. the symptoms started returning sooner and would escalate quicker. I bought a humidifier, air filter, started vacuuming more often, my cats use pine litter, I don't smoke, so I have a pretty good hold on the environmental factors. A few months ago my cat's asthma appears in full force, sending us to the ER where he stayed the night on oxygen and bronchodilators. Since I never want my kitty to experience that again, the vet strongly urged me to consider preventative medicine, like an inhaler. Then came the part where I had to wrap my head around the idea of making that work. Then I found this Aerokat.Here's what I think about Aerokat. It's amazing. Yeah, it's a simple device with what I can assume is a markup of like, 3000%, but it has been worth every penny.I started, like many of the other reviewers, by putting just the mask up to my cat's face for a couple seconds at a time until I could get him to tolerate it for about 10 seconds. It only took me about a week to do this. I rewarded him with praise since he could not care less about treats. When I use the inhaler I shake it first then spray it away form his face so the noise won't startle him. I will get behind him and put my hand under his legs and on his chest to help keep him still, then the mask goes on. The flap works really well at helping you count breaths. My cat tends to hold his breath at first, so you can't just count seconds. The mask also creates a good seal on his face without me having to press it on very hard.My cat does not enjoy this process, but he doesn't hate it either. He doesn't run away before or after, and he doesn't hiss or scratch. He does squirm and will try to creep away when he sees me take it out, but overall, I would consider this behavior successful!As for his asthma, so far his symptoms have not returned. I would not have been able to give him the treatment he needs without a device like the Aerokat. So if you are skeptical of making an inhaler work for your cat like I was, give this a chance. It has made a huge difference for my kitty.

Works as described. Comes with 2 mask sizes. The breathing indicator is great so you can count the number of breaths taken. Easy to use.