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12 y. old female cat,3 weeks ago started to loose apetite for food and water then stopped copletely eating drinking a d defecating. dehydrated and lost a lot of wweight, gave IV solution, blood work showed ALT 375 indicating liver problem rest of blood values are normal. IV twice daily for 5 days,feeding by syringe in mouth 200 gm. gerber baby food mixed with ground science diet , watered by mouth. no defecation. 5th day, enema which cleaned all feaces, 12 hours later, ALT 225.stopped IV replaced it by sodium chloride 300 cc daily sub Q. continue feeding and water by mouth, one week later still no apetite no drink water on her own, no defecation except after administer 30 ml sodium sulfate rectally, worked every time. Today,suddenly, difficulty breathing, x ray showed water in 80% of the lungs. can this be due to liver lipidoses or ingestion of water in lungs by mistake while giving water by mouth..SAMMY
Optional Information: Pet's Gender: Female Pet's Age: 12 Name of Cat: TOMMY Already Tried: IV solution, Solution sub Q, 300 cc a day, mouth force feeding with syringes 200 gm of food per day,plus 75 cc water in mouth. now administering oxygen, vet attempted aspiration of fluid from lung unsuccessfully, gave her dieuretic to get rid of fluid (only 3 hours ago), the cat has been in oxygen box for the last31/2 hous.
Hello Sammy and thanks for your question.I'm so sorry to hear that Tommy is experiencing these difficulties.Because she was receiving syringe feeding, she most likely did not develop hepatic lipidosis because she was not going without any nutrition at all. However, it would depend how long she went without eating at all, before you started the syringe feeding, as this may have adversely affected her liver.Be careful with Gerber baby food, as it may contain onion powder in it's ingredients. Check the ingredients on the label. Onion products can cause anemia in cats. If you can switch to Beechnut Stage 1 chicken and chicken broth baby food, do that, or choose any other brand that doesn't contain any onion products or other seasonings, preservatives or thickeners, only water and meat.It's possible that she did aspirate water into her lungs during syringe feeding, causing the fluid in her lungs, now. When you force feed by dropper or syringe, it's necessary to do it from the side of the mouth, where there is an opening between the upper and lower teeth. Never squirt the food or water directly into the mouth from the front, always from the side. If you do go in from the front if the mouth, always aim the syringe at the inside of the cheek, never directly towards the throat and do a little at a time, waiting for a swallow. You can encourage the swallow reflex by rubbing her throat gently.It sounds like Tommy is receiving good care at the vet's, being in the oxygen box and getting a diuretic.If her liver values were elevated, ask the vet about giving her a nutritional supplement called Denosyl or Denamarin, which is used successfully in treatment of liver disease. This supplement should be available at your vet's office or you can order it online.http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/vet/products/Denosyl.aspxIf you can't find it, you can give her liquid milk thistle, but discuss dosage with the vet. This can also be ordered online from a pet nutritional supplement site.http://www.petwellbeing.com/products/cat-liver-diseaseMy best thoughts and prayers go out to you and Tommy and I hope she will begin to improve, very soon! Please keep me posted on how she's doing, as I am concerned for her. Thanks!
Experience: Feline Healthcare & Behavior Specialist 40+ years Experience
this is sammy tommy´s dad. if the fluid in the lungs is not from the water i gave her by mouth, where is it from?? is it plearal effusion due to liver problem or WHAT?????????
Hello again, Sammy and thanks for your reply.The fluid in the lungs could be due many reasons. One of the most common is pneumonia, not uncommon when the immune system is compromised by her other medical problems. Some other causes of pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) could be: anemia (perhaps brought on by the Gerber baby food, if it contains onion powder), cardiomyopathy (a serious heart condition), and too little protein in the blood, a condition called 'hypoproteinemia'.Pleural effusion is also possible, and this would indicate fluid not within the lungs, but in the pleural space between the outer surace of the lungs and inner surface of the chest cavity. Please read the following articles for additional information:http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/respiratory/c_ct_pulmonary_edema#.T_ImXpgiKhFhttp://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/news/lungs.htmI hope you found my answer helpful and if so, please choose a positive rating like this one for 'Excellent Service', so I may receive credit for my help.If you have any additional questions or concerns, please click 'Reply to Expert' before rating, and I will be happy to help you further. Best regards,Cher
The x ray showed right lung 95% full/covered with fluid, left lung 80% full /covered with water. no cat can breath at all with all that water in her lungs. Important, what would be the treatment?? I am in a small town in MEXICO, vet training is not like the US and I am an american dentist very frustrated watching my cat dying not having the best help.
TREATMENT PLEASE.
Hello again, and thanks for your reply.I understand your frustration. From what you described as being done so far, I was impressed, considering you are in a small town in Mexico.If pleural effusion is suspected, fluid will be drained from the chest. This is done by placing a small needle into the area of fluid accumulation and applying suction with a syringe to remove the fluid. Removing even a portion of the fluid will often improve your Tommy's breathing.You mentioned that the vet tried draining fluid from the lungs which was unsuccessful. If the lungs are 'surrounded' by fluid, this is pleural effusion and the vet should be able to aspirate the fluid in a procedure called 'Thoracentisis'. If the fluid is actually 'in' the lungs, the procedure to remove it is difficult, as is the recovery. The diuretic that was given will hopefully help thie fluid drain on it's own.In answer to one of your earlier questions, yes, the liver condition might be related to the accumulation of fluid in and/or around the lungs, but so can a heart condition, fungal or parasitic infection.I'm praying for your Tommy's recovery.Best regards,Cher
Thank you Cher, actually you were excelent. thank you for your help.
SAMMY
You're most welcome Sammy and thank you for your kind words; they are greatly appreciated!Best regards XXXXX XXXXX and Tommy.Cher
tommy´s left lung cleared quite a bit from the fluid after administering diuretics, but left lung the same. This morning we successfully aspirated the fluid from the left lung, 60 cc of pus. Definitely infection, run a culture, result in 3 days, massive antibiotics IV, gave 50 ml IV of gelatin solution to make blood vessels retain water, now on sodium chloride IV 6oo ml liter for this 24 hours, tube fed him 1/3 can of hill A/D. will repeat tube feeding tonight, will x ray again tomorrow to check fluid if needed we will repeat aspiration, after stabelization will fly him to mexico city to a known vet clinic to perform biopsy on liver, pancreas,probably lung..thank you cher.
Sammy
Hi again, Sammy and thanks very much for your update on Tommy, with good news!Yes, unfortunately the pus does indicate infection, possibly pneumonia, but you'll need to wait for the culture results to know the cause. So glad you were able to aspirate the fluid from the left lung!Also glad you will be able to get her to a good vet clinic in Mexico City for further treatment/tests, once she's stabilized. A/D food is a good choice for cats who are ill or recovering; it will provide essential nutrition and is easily digested. Please keep me posted.Thanks,CherJessesmom41093.954038044
Dear Cher
With all sadness in my heart I am sorry to inform you that One hour ago I had to put Tommy to sleep.
She took a bad turn last night, this morning we called the specialist in Mexico city who was expecting me in his clinic thursday morning, when he knew that the color of the aspirated fluid from the lung was mostly whitish in color, he said it is a clear sign of LYMPHOMA..
After putting her to sleep, we did postmortum, a mass of the size of my fist in the left lung and hundreds of small masses all over both lungs and pancreas and the liver was all spoted.
As much as I am going to miss her, I am glad she is not suffering anymore.
Oh Sammy, I'm so sorry to hear this sad news about your beloved Tommy. I send you my heartfelt condolences. You did everything possible for her, but with the masses that were found in the postmortem, you did the kindest thing out of your love for her, in ending her suffering. It is not uncommon for older cats to develop lymphoma.I hope this will help to ease your grief in some small way:http://petloss.com/rainbowbridge.htmAgain, my sincerest condolences to you and may Tommy rest in peace.Regards,Cher
Dear Cher,
How long do you think that lymphoma took from the day it started till it it reached that level and killed my Tommy. ?????and what would be the first sign that should have allerted me that there is something wrong..Cats sometimes just don´t eat as much for no reason. or hide for a while and stay away from people just to take a break. For years Tommy used to avoid people or hide in her secret places every now and then.
SAMMY.
Hi again, Sammy and thanks for your reply.It would be difficult to say how long the lymphoma existed in your Tommy, as it could have been slow-growing and cats are masters of disguises; they hide symptoms very well. However, decrease in appetite and hiding are usually initial symptoms that there is something wrong and a cat is not feeling well. If Tommy was the type of cat that would isolate herself and hide to stay away from people in the past, whether they were family members or visitors, etc., that would not be odd behavior if she had always done it. But, the two symptoms together, of decreased appetite or not wanting to eat at all, plus the hiding, was probably a signal that something was wrong, but by that time, the condition was most likely more advanced. That's the difficult thing with cats, because they are so good at not exhibiting symptoms right away, underlying medical conditions and disease processes could be going on inside their bodies, but we are not aware of them until the symptoms start being noticeable.Please don't blame yourself for 'missing' something. You knew Tommy the best, and if she was showing symptoms of illness you would have noticed and brought her to the vet. You did everything you could have possibly done to have her diagnosed and treated, but unfortunately, the lymphoma was already in an advanced stage.Best regards,Cher
would an X ray every 3 or 6 months and is it safe to take have caught the tumour in its initial stage???? and is it safe to expose the cat to radiation every 3 months???
Hi again, Sammy.X-rays would typically not be taken every 3-6 months if there is no indication of illness. Most vets would not expose the cat to radiation every 3 months unless there is a known condition which must be monitored, and in that case, ultrasound would most likely be used.Best regards,Cher
Hi Samir,I'm just following up on our conversation about Tommy. How is everything going?Jessesmom