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If your cat has recently been diagnosed with asthma or any other lower respiratory tract disease, your vet may have recommended using an Aerokat chamber to administer inhaled medications. Aerokat is a unique aerosol chamber that makes using inhaled medications easier to administer to your cat. Of course, we understand it can be difficult to get a cat to do exactly what you want them to, so we’ve broken down the steps you’ll need to reach your goal.

Here is how to train your cat to successfully use the Aerokat chamber.

It is important that your cat enjoys these training sessions because actively participating reduces their anxiety, and stress may worsen respiratory conditions. By making training times fun and enriching, this creates a positive experience which will not only help you reach your goal quicker, but it also helps to reinforce the bond between you and your cat.  Cats learn by making associations (“this means that”)- for instance, your cat will learn that a positive association with the Aerokat chamber will result in a reward (e.g. food/treats, toys, touch/pets, etc.). Once your cat learns that a certain behaviour or action results in a reward, they will repeat these behaviours again in order to obtain that reward. A negative outcome teaches your cat that the behaviour should not be performed. Ultimately, this means that if you force treatment onto your cat, they will avoid treatment in the future and this will make further training much more difficult. 

First, we need to understand the different elements that make up the Aerokat. The kit includes different sized masks for your cat’s nose and a chamber. One end of the chamber has a small opening where you will fit the mask, and the other end has a hole where you will fit the inhaler. It is also important that your cat gets used to the “hiss” sound the inhaler makes- training for this will be discussed below. Be sure to grab all your cat’s favourite treats or toys for training and a timer to time sessions as well! 

Now, let’s break our goal down into multiple small goals: 

1. Voluntarily approach the Aerokat while remaining relaxed 
2.  Comfortable with noises and handling 
3. Approach and putting nose in mask 
4. Build duration of nose in mask 
5. Add novelty and variation (build comfort with new sounds and scents) 
6. Slowly adding equipment and treatment (start off with just the mask component, once comfortable, place mask on chamber and see if cat is comfortable with this new addition). 
7. Comfortable having face wiped after treatment 
8. Watching and hearing manipulation of the chamber (hissing sound of inhaler) 
9. Multiple relaxed breaths while nose is in mask

There are 3 basic techniques to remember when you begin training your cat. 

1. Luring- lure your cat towards the mask with a reward. Gradually reduce the lure overtime. 
2. Marking- mark with a specific word such as “mask”, “yes” or a clicker noise. Gradually reduce the use of the reward inside the mask so that your cat receives the reward *after* placing its nose in the mask. 
3. Cue- Tapping on the mask or using a verbal cue. 

To achieve your training goals, you must mark the exact moment your cat offers the desired behaviour. A marker is a click sound or a specific word (“yes”, “mask”, etc.) used to tell your cat that a reward will be shortly delivered for the behaviour that was just performed. For the remainder of this blog, we will refer to it as a click sound, however you can use “yes”, “mask”, or any other words to mark the correct behaviour. Your cat will learn that the marker predicts the arrival of their reward when it performs a behaviour. A marker is essential as it is not always possible to deliver the reward at the same time that the behaviour occurs (e.g. while their nose is inside the mask), so the marker acts as a bridge, telling your cat that they’ve done the right behaviour and that their reward is coming next. This is why it is important for your cat to learn the predictive relationship between the click and their reward. Something important to note is that every cat is individual in their likes and dislikes. As their fur parent, you know what your furry friend likes best- whether they are food-motivated, toy-motivated or if they prefer a gentle pet. If you are unable to time your training sessions, counting the number of treats used can be a good way to keep training times short and sweet. When using crunchy treats as a reward, count the number of treats so as not to over-feed your cat, or prolong training for more than 10 minutes per session. 7 to 10 treats per training session is ideal before stopping. You can also use one licky treat sachet per session and allow your cat one small lick per reward. Many cats do not have long attention spans so it is important to keep training sessions brief. You can have as many training sessions in a day as you would like as long as your cat is relaxed, comfortable and engaged. However if they seem distracted, disengaged, over-excited (trying to grab food) or worried, stop immediately. If you are ever in doubt, take a break. Slow and steady wins the race. 

Now that your cat understands the basics of training, let’s start teaching them how to use the mask. Flip the mask inside out as this will make it appear flatter and less enclosed. Your Aerokat kit will come with 2 masks in different sizes; the flatter mask is the spare (training mask). Get your treat ready and lure your cat’s nose into the mask by holding the treat from the back of it. Once your cat puts its nose in the mask, allow your cat to eat the treat by pushing it in through the hole, so that they eat through the mask. Once your cat understands that they get a reward when their nose is in the mask, you may start marking the nose in mask behaviour with a click or “yes” and reward away from the mask. When your cat is confident, you can offer the mask in its normal enclosed shape and add on the next piece of the chamber. With each new step introduced, use a reward to lure their interest, click as soon as their nose is placed in the mask and reward outside of the mask. You may reduce the lure after a few repetitions so that your cat is placing its nose inside the mask without an immediate reward. The goal will be to stop using a lure entirely. However, if your cat stops performing the desired behaviour or seems to have gone back a step, go back to luring for a few repetitions. Remember that their behaviours should be voluntary, not forced. 

To give your cat maximum control, add a cue- this is an invitation for your cat to take part. A cue can be verbal (“mask”) or visual (tapping your finger on the mask). If your cat does not respond to your cue, this may be because the behaviour has not been well-established or well understood yet. They may also be tired, full or not interested in that particular reward. Look out for behaviours suggesting irritation (swishing tail, shaking off, grabbing food) and if they are not actively participating, take a break from training and try again later. 

Our next goal is to extend the duration of your cat’s nose in the chamber. This can be broken down into 2 small sub-goals; 1. holding their nose in the mask and inhale for an adequate number of breaths, and 2. holding their nose in the chamber with enough pressure that the mask fits snuggly around their muzzle to maximise medication delivery. 

We will offer the mask to the cat followed by a click and reward for the desired behaviour. When training to increase duration, increase the length of time your cat holds its nose in the mask before giving a reward. Increases should be done slowly and by 1 second increments. Intersperse shorter and longer times so that your cat does not perceive the task as becoming increasingly difficult. When done this way, your cat will not know when to expect the click, but knows that the click means they are allowed to remove their nose from the mask to receive their reward. Remember that they will need to take 7 to 10 breaths inside the mask- this is your goal. If your cat withdraws from the mask before the click, allow them to do this. Remember that cats learn by positive reinforcements; do not punish them for choosing to say no. 

In order to train your cat to push their noses firmly enough into the mask, we must first train them to allow objects on various areas of their body, gradually moving closer to the face. 

1. Place hands on body and click while hand rests there. Remove your hand and give reward. 
2. Occasionally pause for 1 to 3 seconds before clicking and rewarding. 
3. Then begin increasing pressure of your hands on their body incrementally- remember to intersperse between light and firm touches. 
4. Begin placing the mask on their body and increase firmness of pressure. 
5. Move back and forth between easier parts of their body (e.g. along the back) and closer to the head. DO NOT PLACE THE MASK DIRECTLY ONTO THE NOSE. 
6. When you start to notice your cat pushing its face into the mask more firmly, click and reward them immediately, even if it is only for a split second initially. 

Finally, we will train them to inhale the medication. Our goal here is not to count how many seconds they keep their faces in the mask, but rather the number of breaths taken. There is an indicator on the chamber that moves when your cat inhales and exhales. 

1. Shake the inhaler and give a reward. 
2. Insert the inhaler into the chamber and give a reward. 
3. Press down on the inhaler so that it produces a “hiss” noise AWAY FROM YOUR CAT and give a reward. 
4. Gradually bring the inhaler sound closer to your cat and give a reward. 
5. Offer the mask to see if your cat will place its nose into the mask with the chamber and inhaler attached. If so, click and reward outside of the mask immediately. 

When you and your cat are more confident, run all these steps together. 

7 to 10 breaths of the medication is adequate to administer the correct amount of the medication. While you are still training your cat to use the Aerokat chamber, you can split treatments into halves; start with 3 to 5 breaths of treatment and take a 15 to 30 second break before administering the remaining 3 to 5 breaths. These need to be done in quick succession to ensure treatment  success. 

You have now successfully trained your cat to use the Aerokat chamber! Remember that every cat learns at a different pace. If you have any questions about the Aerokat chamber, feel free to give us a call on 6489 2222.

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