Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: Diddeen on March 20, 2009, 10:56:25 AM
-
I am posting on behalf of a friend who's cat is poorly and she is looking for some advice or other's thoughts on this.
I'm really worried about my cat. She has been poorly for 2 weeks now. I took her to the vets and she had fluid on her lungs which they drained but they don't know what caused it, I think it's called idiopathic chylothorax. She had to go back 5 days later and have more fluid drained. She is on antibiotics, diuretics, a heart tablet and a health supplement called Rutin. All the tests they have done haven't come back with any answers.
The vets want me to keep her on this treatment for two months but have said that the rutin tablet only cures 1 in 4 cats with this problem.
She is approx 10 years old and I'm not sure if i'm doing the right thing by keeping her going. She is barely eating, she is still drinking plenty of water though, i've offered her chicken, tuna and ham but even though she runs enthusiastically to her bowl she only has a couple of mouthfuls and then walks off. She looks really miserable and very thin now.
It will break my heart if I have to have her put to sleep but at the same time I hate to see her so sad.
She will need her lungs draining regularly until she gets better and 7 tablets a day which is quite stressful for her.
they have done lots of x-rays and tested the fluid for cancerous cells but they haven't found anything that could have caused it.
they have done a blood test
Any ideas or suggestions/advice would be really helpful. Should she continue with treatment ? Anything else it could be?
-
Hi, I would go by what both she and her vet decide. I think she needs to explain how the cat is atm and ask the vet lots of questions, is she likely to get better soon, is she in pain, will she eat normally again what more can they do to help her etc, just talk lots to the vet and ask the vet what she would do if it was her cat. It is really difficult in these situations we've just been through a similar thing with our cat and I wish her the best of luck, let us know he she gets on xx
-
I always ask the vet what they would do if it was their cat - they are usually honest
-
sorry to hear about your friend's cat. I presume the vet has ruled out a heart condition causing this chylothorax? I expect so, but thought I'd ask because this is exactly what my Sam had - and he has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart) - this was diagnosed with x-rays and scans. I guess if they've said its idiopathic they probably have ruled out heart problems. Sam had to have fluid drained off and it was confirmed as cylous fluid.
Sam is on the same meds - Fortekor for his heart, diuretics and Rutin. He was jut on fortekor and diuretics to start with, then I researched about the Rutin and my vet said I could try it. I also put him on 500mg of taurine once per day - and I started to see more improvement about a month after I started the Rutin and taurine. His appetite picked up and he was much less lethargic.
He did have an episode a few months after diagnosis (which was back in Aug last year) where I thought the fluid was building up again, but my vet said to try increasing the diuretics for a few days, and that seemed to work and we didnt need fluid drained. It was after that I started the rutin and taurine.
I found putting Sam's tablets in cheese (moulded round them) and giving them to him before food works best. The Rutin tablet I crush with a pestle and mortar and put it in his food - he doesnt seem to notice it and the same with the taurine - but of course thats only poss if a cat is eating. Initially, I had to give Sam his tablets straight in his mouth because he wasnt eating properly. The one food that I found really kickstarted his appetite was Applaws tins fish variety - so that might be worth a try. I also found, while his appetite was still a bit dodgy, if I sat with him and really encouraged him to eat,- sounds daft I know, but I sat down on the floor with him and it really kept him eating rather than walking away from his food.
Has your friend's cat been on the treatment for the two months or is it still early days?
-
Thanks for the info.. I've passed it on. She said the vet doesnt think there is any heart problem but put her on the medication just in case. She saw the vet yesterday and there was no more fluid in her lungs but she still wont eat much.. has had an injection and tablets to try and improve her appetite
-
Poor little cat, has she had her teeth checked? I ask because she is running to her food and then refusing to eat it, one of mine did this when she had an infected mouth
-
Poor little cat, has she had her teeth checked? I ask because she is running to her food and then refusing to eat it, one of mine did this when she had an infected mouth
This was millys sign, i also thought it was her teeth but its her liver :shocked:
Best wishes for her appetite, i hope its back soon :hug:
-
She is a little perkier now.. had a few prawns last night but still refusing chicken. Hopefully she will continue to improve
-
Thats good news :hug: I hope she will keep improving. :hug:
-
:hug: :hug:
-
Unfortunately she is still very poorly and hasnt improved any further, in fact she has got worse and has seen the vet several more times. She is now having to be syringe fed a high calorie food as she is so thin and even fell over a few days ago :'( If anyone has any suggestions at all her owner would be very grateful
-
I'm so sorry tohear about your friends cat ... the poor baby :'(
I can't offer any advice I'm afraid but will be keeping everything crossed for a positive outcome :hug: :hug:
-
Sorry to hear that her cat is not doing so well and cant offer any advice . except to aks what the vet would do if it was his cat :hug:
-
I'm sorry to hear this :hug: Do the vets think that the fluid is building up again? Its difficult when it is idiopathic, if there are heart probs or a tumour, at least you can address that, but when you don't know the cause...have the vets offered any other suggestions?