Does Anyone Recognize These Symptoms?

Hello. I'm hoping someone may have seen this before, the vet I took my cat to has not.

My cat is a lively 16 year old male indoor cat. He has been eating canned Science Diet. About a week ago he began having difficulty walking, one of his front paws seemed to be bothering him. I assumed he had injured it somehow. He became increasingly lethargic and was only eating half his food. Yesterday I noticed his abdomen seemed bloated, so I took him to a very good animal hospital per my vets suggestion.

An ultra sound was performed amongst blood and other tests. Aside from the issues I listed, they say he is in perfect health. This is from the vets report:

"Your cat has evidence of fluid under the skin along his abdomen as well as his leg. We are concerned of an inflammatory process causing this fluid versus a cancerous process. At this time, we discussed possible biopsies to determine underlying cause. You have elected to treat with supportive care with at home monitoring, which is appropriate........

You have been given an antibiotic to us at home....."

The vet indicated his condition is odd in her experience. I guess I'm going to wait a few days to let the antibiotics work. And then bring him in for more tests if he doesn't improve. I would like to hear your opinions.

Thanks. Mike.

Thank you for being so alert and caring about him, and for coming to post on this site with great info. I'm with you both in all sorts of ways, not least of which giving the antibiotics time to work sounds like the way to go. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!!

You are doing everything right at this point. The waiting is so hard, but there's not much else you can do. Thank goodness they think it more likely an inflammatory process rather than cancer! While nothing to sneeze at, it beats that alternative, at any rate! I'm sure that your observation and quick action is key in your cat recovering from this. GOOD WORK!

Best I can do for you at this point is lighting a candle for the both of you! Consider that done, and keep us posted.

I am a specialist physician in human Internal Medicine, not a vet, but in human medicine, when you are unable to be sure what is the diagnosis, there is a useful protocol that can be used. After all necessary investigations are unhelpful, and as long as no urgent intervention is indicated, it is good medicine to watch carefully and see what eventuates. There are only three possibilities that can happen:
1. The condition continues to worsen and becomes diagnosable.
2. It settles - and you have cured it.
3. There is no change - so you continue to watch.

You must continue to discuss your cat's proposed management with your vet, but it sounds to me as if the above protocol is already being done and is a good way to go.
With best wishes,
Geoffrey

Has your kitty been FIV, FIP or FeLv tested?

Did they say why the antibiotic was given?

I've joined your thread now so will hopefully get alerted to any updates. I'm pleased that you have posted this thread, as we can all wait patiently with you. Please post any changes or nonchanges and we'll all be here for you.



What's your cat called?

Thanks for all the kind words and information. There has been no change at this time. He is eating, slowly, but I will take it. He is having bowel movements. He still very lethargic and will only walk a few steps, but shows no signs of pain or distress. He lays in his carrier all day which is odd since he doesn't normally like going in it. I assume because he associates it with the Vet. I plan to speak with the vet later today. Apparently they took some samples to run biopsies.

nansiludie said:

Has your kitty been FIV, FIP or FeLv tested?

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I'm going to have to say, I would assume so. He has been under a vets care since I found him in a box in a parking lot at 2 months old.

Brian007 said:

Did they say why the antibiotic was given? What's your cat called?

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To rule out some kind of infection. His name is Izzy. He loves people. My family and friends are mostly animal friendly, but most were not big on cats, including myself. He has won everyone over. The first thing people ask me is usually "Hey how's Izzy doing?"

Thanks for your update.

I'm pleased that Izzy is eating and hasn't developed any further symptoms. It's a terribly worrying time and I don't envy you, although I am a wee bit jealous of yours and Izzy's firm friendship. Here's hoping that he improves.

It's crossed my mind to wonder whether Izzy's association of his basket and the vet is the reason that he now chooses to sleep in it. He might know that the vet, however horrid in the past, is the place to make him feel better.

Have you tried changing his food to a grain free option?
From what I understand, most Hills/SD foods contain a lot of corn/soy/grains that are well known for causing inflammation.
I'm also surprised that you weren't given a very low dose of Prednisolone to help with inflammation and stimulate appetite.

Waiting for biopsy results can be so stressful. Hang in there, and try to keep calm around Izzy, as cats will pick up on their humans stress, which can exacerbate their own health issues.

Poor Izzy! I don't have any suggestions. The few things I would associate with water retention and bloating seem ridiculous compared to what your cat is going through. Is it painful? Does his skin maybe hurt him and that's why he's lethargic? It's good that he's eating. I think you can try some good stuff (provided it doesn't give him stomach upset), like fancy feast stuff or Nutro.

A cat who eats, no matter how slowly, is a cat who still thinks he is going to live. This is good stuff. Waiting patiently (or not so very) for further updates, and keeping a candle lit for both of you!

nansiludie said:

Has your kitty been FIV, FIP or FeLv tested?

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You might want to ask - and/or see if they'll provide you with copies of his paperwork. I got the Big Guy when he was 5 but went to the same vet he'd been going to for a while so I did that and learned quite a lot about his previous health.

Well, I got home from work last night and found the swelling had gotten worse. It was now really noticeable behind his front legs. I made an appointment for this morning to go back to the vet. Fortunately the swelling had gone down this morning and he seemed a lot improved. I kept the appointment anyway.

So I'm rather frustrated. I saw a different vet this trip. She clearly had not read any of the reports. She contradicted a lot of what the first vet told me and spoke about it possibly being cancer and all kinds of invasive procedures we could have done. She told me the samples taken for biopsy would not tell much because there were no cells in it, the samples need to be taken from the masses near his heart. ???? After I questioned the masses, she left and came back and said she was mistaken, there were no masses. And there were cells in the samples taken.

At this point I've lost all confidence in these people. I'm going to continue monitoring him and will have to seek out another vet if he doesn't continue to improve.

Oh dear, it's awful when that happens and you no longer trust your vet. I'd say seeking out another vet might be a good idea regardless, as many heads make light work, and all that.

I'm gad that he's improving albeit had a hiccough last night.

I absolutely hate it when that happens at a vets office.

Brian007 said:

seeking out another vet might be a good idea regardless

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Ugh! so sorry you had that kind of experience. Unfortunately, many of us can relate as it seems to be all too common.

I think part of the problem is that there are so many causes for fluid retention, that it's difficult to narrow down.
Just a little bit of Googling brought up many different possibilities:

• Fluid Retention in a Cat's Legs | Cuteness
• Fluid Retention and Tissue Swelling Due to Collection of Lymph in Cats | petMD
• Diagnosing Cat Fluid Retention

I understand you said they did an ultrasound, blood, and "other" tests. Was one of those other tests a urinalysis? Given Izzys age, I would be suspicious of the kidneys.

I do hope you find the cause soon, so it can be addressed properly (by a competent vet!).

I'm very sorry this is happening and that you have no answers. As for the two vets having different conclusions, that happens to me so many times with the vet practice that I take my cats to. There are several vets there and they always have a different theory. It's very frustrating when it is something serious like this.

While my Etta did not have fluid retention in her legs, I remember coming across that in researching her unexplained belly swelling. The internist had his suspicions, but like with your case there weren't definitive conclusions. I don't recall the name of the medication but it was something to try to stem the leaky vessels, which is the reason fluid builds up if it isn't an injury.

It expensive but I wonder if there is an internal medicine vet that your general vet practice can recommend you see. Please don't think you aren't doing everything possible if this isn't an option. Really I think they can help provide answers to see what is happening that a general vet just doesn't have the capacity to see or understand. They will send the fluid for evaluation and that alone can help figure out what it is.

Pet MD talks about it, which I see was also referenced earlier: Fluid in Abdomen in Cats | petMD
Cat Man Do | Dr. Arnold Plotnick: Ascites (abdominal effusion) in Cats This article talks about the nature of the fluid that gets extracted and discusses some causes.

Hello M Mike008

It's been 10 days since you last posted about Izzy. I hope that no news is good news.

You're both in my thoughts.

Good timing. I just got back from my fourth vet visit. Its not good. Most of the swelling has migrated to his lower abdomen and hind legs and paws. He's not in any discomfort yet and is still eating ok. The Vet told me today she suspects at this point it's something serious, which may led to him being put to sleep soon. I suspected, but I still wasn't ready to hear it. Pretty crushing as I'm sure any animal lover understands. 3 weeks ago you would think he was a young cat. I figured he'd make 20.

On the Vets recommendation I made an appointment to see an internist tomorrow to see if we can get some more info. Beyond that, theres not much left. :-(

I'm sorry that you haven't been able to figure out what's going on with Izzy and he's gotten worse. I hope you can at least get some answers from the internist.