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Female age 7 cat, inside always, today: breathing hard and

 
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Customer Question

Female age 7 cat, inside always, today: breathing hard and pupils dialated. Hivite drips administered ,also a urinary track gel given orally. Very lathargic. Won't eat or drink unless given by syringe.Also peed on her self after being rubbed down to ease pain.

 

Optional Information:
Type of Animal: At
Gender: Female
Age: 7
Name of Animal: Little bit

Already Tried:
Stated

Submitted: 292 days and 18 hours ago.
Category: Veterinary
Value: $38
Status: CLOSED
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Expert:  Dr. Matt replied 292 days and 18 hours ago.

Hello - I am Dr. Matt - I would be glad to help you with your question.

Is Little Bit vomiting?

Do you have any plants in the house that Little Bit chews on?

Is she urinating more frequently?

Does she seem like she is having trouble breathing?

Customer replied 292 days and 18 hours ago.

Not vomitting , I have a bonsai tree in the house... But I haven't seen her chew on it. She peed this morning and again at 5:00 when I got home. The last time she peed a lot . She is breathing hard so it looks like her stomach is having spasms . She's not being very vocal either.. Groaning is a better word or it. I pet her a d she kinda pita and groans

Customer replied 292 days and 18 hours ago.

I gbe her a can of tuna this mornibg with water added... It looks like she did drink some of it. When j got home from work she got up and tried to love on me, after a few pets he retreated back to a towel I have laid out for her. I have her separated from my other animals. One of the other cats had "pink eye" but I have since treated that but little bit was cleaning him yesterday. The symptoms all came on this morning.

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Expert:  Dr. Matt replied 292 days and 18 hours ago.

Thanks for the additional information.

I am very sorry to hear that Little Bit is not feeling well today. Based on what you are describing she definitely sound like she is uncomfortable. Dilated pupils, breathing hard, and abdominal spasms are indications of the following disorders:

- A respiratory or heart disease
- High blood pressure or hypertension
- Eating something toxic (A bonzai tree is not toxic to cats though)
- Pain in the abdomen from pancreatitis, liver disease, a kidney or urinary bladder infection, inflammation in her stomach or intestines


As you can see there are many different disorders that can cause her symptoms therefore giving you an exact diagnosis is going to be very difficult without examining her. The best recommendation I can give you would be to take her to a vet today. There are not any pain medications over the counter that you can give to her to make her more comfortable therefore unfortunately there is not anything I can tell you to give to her that is going to be safe for pain.

For stomach discomfort some pepcid Ac can be given to her. The dose is 2.5 mg every 24 hours for cats. This is very safe and can be found at any drug store.

I wish there was something that could be done at home, but she really sounds like she needs an exam as soon as possible as she most likely needs some pain relief to help her feel more comfortable.

I hope this information helps -please reply before rating my answer if you have any additional questions or need more help.

Customer replied 292 days and 18 hours ago.

I do have an antibiotic that hasn't been activated yet .i was also given the sterile water solution to make it.Its clavamox would this be a good idea to give to her? Along with the Pepcid ?

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Expert:  Dr. Matt replied 292 days and 18 hours ago.

This could be helpful with a urinary tract or kidney infection, though many of the other problems most likely will not improve with this antibiotic. Clavamox is a fairly safe antibiotic to use in cats. The most common side effects are vomiting and diarrhea. At this time I would always recommend having your vet examine Little Bit before just starting an antibiotic as we do not know the exact cause of her symptoms without an exam. The Clavamox and Pepcid are safe together though if you are not able to take her to your vet tonight.

Customer replied 292 days and 17 hours ago.

So based on what we know and what we don't know about her ailments. What tests should do you feel should be ran? And based on your own prices ,how much do you think I might/will spend? I've recently been laid off... But I hate to see her in the state she's In, I can't get to the vet tonight...

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Expert:  Dr. Matt replied 292 days and 17 hours ago.

If she seems very uncomfortable and is having trouble breathing an x-ray of her abdomen and chest would be the best test for her. The nice thing about cats is that an x-ray of both areas can be taken on one film therefore the average cost for an x-ray would be about $100 - $120 depending on the area that you live in. I live in the midwest (which has somewhat lower pricing) and we charge $100 for two views or one set of x-rays. An exam fee for my clinic is $50.

If the x-rays are negative then one you will rule out many bad diseases though you would need to probably run some blood work to get an answer. A complete cell count and full chemistry (blood work) will cost about $100 - $125 at most hospitals.

Starting with the x-rays would be the first recommendation though unless the exam revealed some different information.

Customer replied 292 days and 4 hours ago.

The vet here is trying to say that with staggered breathing it's hard to come back from it... She has a low temp and dehydrated.... What do you recommend?

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Expert:  Dr. Matt replied 292 days and 2 hours ago.

Did your vet check an x-ray?

What is her temperature this morning?

Customer replied 292 days and 1 hours ago.

They just showed me it, they believe there is either fluid on the lungs or a giant mass. They did a full chem 21 blood work up, also did feline leukemia, Aids, and hw screen .They gave her furosemide injection and they have me the same in an oral solution to give at home. The also gave her LASIx- 10 mg at the office. They sent here home with doxycycline tablets 100mg and aminophylline 100 mg. The dr said it could be like a pneumonia if it is fluid. He says though that of its a mass on te lungs there is nothing to cure it or replace it... If it was a mass would it have attacked her from no where... Cause he was fine till yesterday....

Customer replied 292 days ago.

They gave me a disc with a copy Of her X-ray , Is there a way i can send it to you?Cause honestly I'd prefer your opinion over theirs. They always just tell me to put my cats to sleep instead of trying to find a solution no matter what the cost, it how far a distance I have to go.

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Expert:  Dr. Matt replied 291 days and 23 hours ago.

Sorry for the delay - I am at my hospital today therefore it is hard to stay online bery long. I am also sorry to hear that she has possible fluid in her lungs. The most common causes of fluid in the chest would be heart disease, liver disease, or cancer such as a mass in lungs, on the heart, or even in the chest unrelated to the heart and lungs. The treatment your vet started her on is very appropriate. The Lasix hopefully will make her fell better by eliminating any fluid in her chest. This will help her to breathe better hopefully within a day or two. A mass in the chest could be more difficult to treat, though this does not mean that she needs to be put to sleep right away. I would definitely be willing to look at the x-rays for you. You can link the pictures on here using the paper clip icon and I can look them over for you.

The best test to look for a mass which can also help determine if the fluid is due to congestive heart failure would be an ultrasound of Little Bit's chest. An ultrasound can range from $300 -$450 depending on where you live. I would also recommend having a board certified radiologist perform the ultrasound to get the best results.

A mass or cancer could have been slowly growing and releasing fluid in her chest to the point where she could not expand her lungs to breathe and get enough oxygen. Regardless of the cause I would definitely see how she respond to the treatment as this could improve her quality of life.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 
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