? Mom's cat - fluid in lungs, no diagnosis.

Hi all,

My mom's cat Charlie (we gave him to her a few years ago) is not well. He has much fluid built up in his lungs, and was brought to the vet initially for wheezing.

Here's the thing. X-rays showed fluids, but that's it. Blood work is normal. Blood pressure is normal. Vet says they heard a heart murmur and they are about to do an EKG but he has no ideas. No fever whatsoever, no other clinical signs of anything besides the fluid build-up. He's been given antibiotics and medication to clear the fluid.

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Sometimes that is caused by cancer.
Using a needle to take a sample of fluid and examining the fluid under a microscope can help determine cause.

 

Another possibility is pulmonary embolism, a blood clot to the lungs. Fluid backs up into the lungs. It can indicate a hypercoagulable state where blood clots may form easily. Clots can lead to stroke, heart attack, and block critical blood supply to limbs.

 

Could also be heart failure...the heart isn't pumping strongly enough to keep the water off of his lungs....pretty common with heart murmurs (depending on how severe they are)

If it is heart failure, you'd want to ask about a diuretic like Lasix to help pull some of the water away from his lungs

 

I think he's on Lasix already. They said they heard a murmur but that was the last I heard. He's only 3 years old.

 

My very first kitty had a stage 3-4 heart murmur from the time he was a kitten (that's pretty severe...they go from 1-4 or 5 depending on the vet)

He lived to be 24 years old and died in his sleep in his favorite place ....in front of the refrigerator where the hot air blows out

Hopefully the EKG will help with your diagnosis

 

Hmm well that's encouraging at least. I hope so as well. We found him as a kitten in a dumpster with every disease you can think of.

 

Did the chest X-ray show a normal size heart?

 

I asked that when I was there and he said from what he could see was yes - but there was too much fluid to properly see it. I guess they did the EKG and sent the results to a specialist so we'll hear tomorrow I think. Next step is ultrasound. Doctor thinks heart or cancer.

 

sincerely hope it's something easily correctable
keep us posted

 

Me too she's in bad shape (my mom). She just lost a cat (also from us, argh) in January due to FIP. Charlie's very special to her/us.

 

Sending good thoughts your way

 

Sending positive thoughts!
X-rays are not very good at detecting cancer (ultrasound is better but still not completely accurate), but we're rooting for you and hoping it's not something serious!

 

He has failure in the left side of his heart according to vet. Vet is saying to give aspirin/diuretic for life. But it's not confirmed diagnosis.

 

A heart sono by a board certified cardiologist is your best bet here. Squeaker had CHF (pleural effusion) after a dx of Restrictive Cardiomyopathy with a 2/6 murmur. The prognosis was 6 months. I took him to a cardio who changed him from the standard meds, put him on a stronger diuretic, and 27 months later he is still alive. Diuretics are not necessarily a lifetime need, Squeaker was off the diuretic in 14 months and hasn't needed it since. In addition to the pimobendan, Plavix, and diuretic rx'd by the cardio----I added Omega 3, L-carnitine, and CoQ10 to the list of meds.

Another suggestion is lower sodium foods, sodium between 50-80 mg k/cal: quick list of a few Little Friskies Classic Pates are: Poultry Platter, Flaked Tuna, Tuna with Egg, Salmon, and Ocean Whitefish and Tuna. Weruva brand with low sodium are: Steak Frites, Paw Licking Chicken, Peking Ducken. Lowering the sodium intake can help to decrease the chance of fluid build up.

This food list will show sodium content of most commercial wet foods:http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm

I would also suggest joining the yahoo heart group: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/feline-heart/info

I have been managing a cat with diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, Euthyroid sickness, RCM, and CRF for over 2 years now. I would be happy to help your mom with questions about her cat.

 

Thanks a lot. I'll forward this to her. We're all gonna be gone a few days for a trip and I'll sit down with her afterwards and figure out what to do with Charlie - she's not a native English speaker so she needs help with all this stuff.