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 will not stay still for very long, but with the different mask sizes I can use whichever I need to that day to ensure she gets her albuterol! Both masks that come with it fit very well, I use the smaller mask when she is behaving but the bigger one when she is wiggling around. Definitely worth the money

The AeroKat is literally a life saver for our cat. She has allergy asthma and has coughing fits. We've been treating with steroids, which have helped tremendously but they sometimes wear off before we can get her another shot. The AeroKat allows us to calm her cough until we can get her in. This month, it's prolonged time between steroids. She's not coughing as much and the AeroKat has calmed it as soon as it gets going. We're getting to the point where the AeroKat isn't enough and will have to take her in soon, I suspect, but it's been a great way to lessen the amount of meds she needs. It stops the cycle of building the cough.This is our second AeroKat. The first one, I didn't follow the cleaning directions and I WIPED the nozzle to clean it. It wasn't long before it lost the seal on our kitty's face and I couldn't get it to work well. I cleaned the new one the proper way and the seal is great! So, I do recommend you read the instructions carefully and follow it to the letter.For those of you who have cats that are afraid of things coming at their face, know that it is possible to get your cat to sit for this. I took about two weeks working with our very skiddish cat. She doesn't like to be held and she hates things that come at her face. Routine works best. In the beginning I would bring it out, sit on the floor and offer the tube to her (no nozzle). Every time she touched it with her nose, I gave her a treat. After a few days, I added the nozzle. Same thing...every time she touched it with her nose, she got a treat. Then I started putting it up to her face and every time she let me do that, I'd give her a treat. Then I started putting her in my lap and holding it on her face...she'd get a treat. Then I started using it as directed with the inhaler. It took a few days to work up to 10 breaths, but she did it. In the end we set up a routine. I get the spacer out. She decides when she wants to come to me (sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes 20 minutes) and as soon as she comes over, I pick her up, put her in my lap and give her the inhaler treatment. Afterwards, there's a treat. She's now gotten to the point where she doesn't even want the treat. She just looks for attention and I give all she can handle after every treatment. We set the routine in the evenings, so she's a little challenged when I need to do it twice a day. However, when she's not feeling well she LETS me get her and do it. Again, requiring lots of loving afterwards. I think she knows it helps her (took several months to get there), now. So, she actually has come to expect it at times.