Lung Problems, Is The Diagnosis Correct?

FeebysOwner said:

Hi. Wanted to check in and see what is going on with Count? I am hoping things are OK???

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Thanks. Everything is fine for now. We went to the vet today. Apparently Count hasn't healed as much as she expected, so she delayed the xray by another week. She also extended the time for his antibiotics. She also reduced the nebulizer time. She says Count should be mostly healed by next week. (Hopefully) Then I will start asking for the doppler test.

Thanks for the update! I guess things are as good as they can be for now. I am hoping Count has some 'good' times/days throughout all this?

Please keep us posted, if you want/can. I still have my fingers crossed for more good days to come - for both of you.

Another update,

We went to the vet today. An xray was taken. The vet says that Count has now healed. The infection did irreversible damage to the lungs and Count has to live with it. When listening she is able to hear some sort of sound from his lungs
We will cut all medication now.

In the xray she noticed the heart looks big again, she will talk to a specialist and take his opinion but it looks like we will do a doppler (echo cardiogram) test.
She will call me about this later this week.

There is another thing she noticed that concerned her, and that is edema near the lungs and heart. There are several possible reasons for this including heart and lung diesases.

Thanks for update. But, oh boy, another test for poor Count - I guess really that is a good thing because it shows this vet is being thorough.

Considering the vet thinks Count has healed now and all meds can be stopped, is the sounds coming from his lungs possibly due to the edema? Irreversible lung damage usually means scar tissue - not uncommon with respiratory illnesses - but I wasn't aware that would cause some sort of noise to be picked up when listening to the lungs...That's why I was asking about the edema.

I wish you and Count good luck for the upcoming test.

Merlin has some scar tissue following bronchopneumonia, and the vet can indeed hear the alteration in lungs sound: it's harsh. The same happens in humans, so I can relate very well. His x-ray (the last one was done two days ago, pre-neutering control) kinda look like Count's one: the part in front of the heart is white. It will always be white: it's exactly the same since last x-ray in september. The cat is perfectly fine.
However, I don't think that is the right projection to identify an eventual heart hypertrophy, the vet should do a ventrodorsal x-ray for that, and then of course an echo, if necessary. That's because in latero-lateral the heart appearance varies at lot and you cannot measure it. Also, it's a full body x-ray and not a chest one, which makes it even more difficult to assert things.
I can't see any fluid in the lungs, but it could be (and probably is) my limit. After all, human lungs are very different. But I can tell you for sure that there isn't a huge amount of pleural effusion.

This is one of Merlin's chest x-ray. Not the last one and not even the one before, but one after we completed therapy (july 2018). You can maybe use this as a confrontation, if you want. The lungs are all clear, except the part in front of the heart. The cat was already healthy.

Ok, I know it has been a while since the last update, but I just wanted to wait till the tests were over.

I will not bore you with the details of the process of getting the test results, as that took several weeks, but in the end, it looks like nothing important is wrong with Count's heart. Blood flow in one area of the heart is higher than normal, but it is acceptable according to the pet cardiologist. Otherwise everything looks fine. The reason that the heart looks large is due to the lung problems.

And that is as good as it can get according to the vet. His breathing is still noisy, he still runs out of breath quickly, and he still coughs. But he has to live with these, as the damage is permanent. I am supposed to give him ventolin when he gets bad, and continue giving him interferon alpha to support his immune system.

Thanks for all your support during this process.

I am so glad you gave us an update!! Thank you! So sorry you had to go through the huge ordeal you did, but glad that Count's issues can pretty much be managed with Ventolin, and given immune system support with the interferon.

Is Ventolin more like a 'rescue inhaler' as opposed to a daily treatment inhaler? Just wondering why the vet didn't think a regular dose per day wouldn't be more beneficial.

How about a new pic of Count when you get the chance??

FeebysOwner said:

Is Ventolin more like a 'rescue inhaler' as opposed to a daily treatment inhaler? Just wondering why the vet didn't think a regular dose per day wouldn't be more beneficial.

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I guess daily treatment is unnecessary. I think Ventolin won't help him get any better than he already is. He took Ventolin daily for over a month anyway. It is only if the situation gets worse. I am told to give him one Ventolin a day for a week when he is sick, 2 a day at max if the situation is too bad.

FeebysOwner said:

How about a new pic of Count when you get the chance??

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I actually just shared a video of his here:
Just A Few Minutes Of Count Acting Like A Lunatic (as Usual)

I also share a lot of pictures on Instagram:
Count (@count.mainecoon) • Instagram photos and videos

But here is another one for you:

Count is so gorgeous (or whatever the male equivalent is)!!!! Thanks for all the pics and the videos!

I was just curious about the Ventolin, as my husband has a form of asthma/COPD brought on by aspirating into his lungs. He has a daily inhaler regimen and then a rescue inhaler as needed. Since he follows the daily dosage recommendation, he never has to use the rescue inhaler. This is not to 'cure' his lungs, just to help reduce restriction in his airways to help him breathe without getting routinely winded. Wish that could be the case for Count.

Count has grown up to be so beautiful. He was adorable, heart grabbing as a kitten, but now... absolutely beautiful.

I am just so glad to hear Count is doing well! I'm very happy you decided to go to the other vet, it seems things really improved after that! I'm so happy for you both..and wow he is just beautiful! I looked at his instagram and he is just gorgeous. I love his black/chocolate/grey coloring.

Hi. Saw your name come up today in a post reply - made me think of Count (and Leo, but I won't ask...). So, how is Count doing??

FeebysOwner said:

Hi. Saw your name come up today in a post reply - made me think of Count (and Leo, but I won't ask...). So, how is Count doing??

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Thanks for asking. He is fine, he occasionally coughs and sneezes but that is expected. He grew quite a bit and he is now over 3 kg. I don't know how heavy wrecking balls are normally, but he sure is close in terms of destruction.

He will have his neutering surgery this Wednesday since he weighs enough now. He has a retained testicle so the surgery may be a bit more complicated than usual but hopefully everything will be fine. He is also teething a lot these days so he bites everything he sees. I lost a lot of cables (power cables are hidden, don't worry). And because of the new teeth, his love bites now hurt.

He also tries to play with my legs and arms a lot (I guess hands and feet are not big enough targets anymore) but I think it's because he needs something "real" to play with, and he hasn't seen Leo for a while. They used to be together about half of the week. Now it has been over two weeks. I wish I could adopt another kitten so they could play, but I can't afford that atm.

Here is a picture of him with his tongue out for some reason:

He's just giving you a 'goober' for taking his picture!!

Count said:

I don't know how heavy wrecking balls are normally, but he sure is close in terms of destruction.

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Too funny.! Count = wrecking ball!!

Count said:

He will have his neutering surgery this Wednesday since he weighs enough now. He has a retained testicle so the surgery may be a bit more complicated than usual but hopefully everything will be fine.

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Oh, man. Got Feeby's paws crossed for Count and you -

And, don't forget to keep us posted. I so hope everything goes purr-fectly!

Edited: You can worry about the biting later... after he has recovered from his upcoming surgery.

I am at the vets right now. They did a hemogram and everything is in order and they are about to do the surgery. Count is now in the operation room. Fingers crossed everything will go well.

He should be able to go home in 3 hours or so if everything goes well.

And by the way, the vet was very surprised and pleased to see how much Count grew. He looks like a cat now according to her. This is especially good news considering that his growth so far was significantly behind for his age.

Out of curiosity, how much does neutering typically cost in USA? I am able to pay for it, but 300 $ feels a bit high, especially considering that we are a poor country.

I hope all goes very, very well!!! I want to hear that Count came through surgery wonderfully, and that once he's home he hardly notices anything happened to him!!

I am not sure about the cost for neutering as I haven't had a male neutered in over 30 years!! I can only compare it to Feeby's spaying 12 years ago - so not a real comparison. Accounting for all the things that go hand-n-hand with surgery, hers was about $200. So, considering inflation, not too bad what you paid. I know rescue centers/etc. charge about $75 around here, but those are somewhat subsidized. Let's see what others tell you - I'll be curious!

We're home. Everything went well. They did an antibiotic shot and a painkiller shot and we will go again Friday for another round of shots.

Count is awake and considering the surgery was more complicated than usual, I don't think he is in too much pain. He has some low meows occasionally so he isn't too comfortable but I think it is as good as it can be. He also hates his cone. I wish I could add a better photo but he avoids me so I can't. Hopefully he will forgive me.

I am glad that he's home already and not doing too bad - all things considered.
How long did they suggest Count should wear the cone? You might consider, if you can find one, an inflatable cone - they are a little bit more 'comfortable'.

In the US, you can get these at most pet stores.

I actually didn't ask that. I should have. How long did Feeby wear it? It should be similar.

I can't find an inflatable cone locally but I can order from Amazon. This one will cost me 15$ and it arrives in a week. If he needs to wear it longer than two weeks (I have no idea how long cats normally wear these) it might make sense to order it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XN209EE/?tag=&tag=thecatsite