Asthmatic Kitty was set up in 1999 by a community of musicians in Holland, Michigan as a means of releasing their material. The label now has offices in Lander, Wyoming, Indianapolis, Indiana and New York City, as the original collective have moved away from their hometown. Asthmatic Kitty is currently distributed through Secretly Canadian in conjunction with Sounds Familyre.

A veterinarian once referred to 'asthma kitties' while examining Sara, a stray that one of the label founders picked up. It somehow morphed into 'asthmatic kitty' and became the name of the label.