Cats can get asthma too

Last week one of my foster-cats, Magic (4 years old, seen here) was very off-colour. He was lethargic, his eyes were dull and his coat had lost its shine. Every now and again he would give a sort of cough-sneeze-retch, though he didn't vomit. Also he would sometimes give a kind of gulp, as if he had something stuck in his throat.
At first, the vets couldn't decide what was wrong with him. His temperature was slightly raised, though not much. They thought it might be tonsillitis and gave him antibiotic and anti-inflammatory injections, but he didn't get better. Then they found that there was fluid on his chest and gave him a different antibiotic in a high dose, over three days. Now he is almost back to normal - much more energetic and bright-eyed, and has stopped coughing.
The last vet we saw (the senior vet) said he was pretty sure it was asthma, triggered by a specific type of pollen that is around at this time of year. So it could recur in future years, although apparently the pollen count in Britain is exceptionally high this year, so in future years it may not be so severe.