If my cat was diagnosed as asthmatic but has not had another "attack"
since the first and only one in July this year, could it be that it
was not asthma, but just a cough as I had first imagined?

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Request for Question Clarification by haversian-ga on 20 Nov 2002 05:14 PST

What tests did your vet perform that led him/her to come to the
conclusion that your cat is asthmatic?

Asthma is not a very common disease in cats.  Symptoms that might be
interpreted as asthma (shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing) are
frequently caused by other, more common diseases (e.g. respiratory
infections (such as "cough") or internal parasites (worms)). 
Establishing asthma as a diagnosis can only be done after a thorough
examination.  http://www.lung.ca/asthma/diagnosis.html gives some
details of the diagnosis process in humans, the procedure is similar
for veterinary cases.

If your cat only had a short period of illness that healed
successfully without any treatment (apart from any short-term
antibiotic treatment), and the problems has not recurred in the months
since July, I consider it quite unlikely that the cat is asthmatic.  I
am a veterinarian, but diagnosing diseases can be difficult -
especially when one does not have the opportunity to examine the
animal, which is the case here.

If you do beleive that your cat might be ill you should have it
examined by a qualified veterinarian as soon as possible.  You should
not terminate any treatment your cat receives on the basis of my
opinion given here.