14 y/o cat with pleural effusion, advice?

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Ravynn

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awww, baby, hang in there and keep doing so good!
Sounds good, so far! About the peeing outside the box but not now, who knows. At this juncture, just keep your fingers crossed that she continues. :crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers:
thank you guys so much, apart from immediate family it is very nice to have some positive thoughts sent Kitty's way. :hearthrob: Just wondering what I should tell the receptionist tomorrow, she said to call back whether she improves or not. I guess i'm just nervous to hear what they have to say.:stars:
 

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I'm still so confused as to why she started to pee next to her litter box the other day (even after walking in the litter!) when she's going in it fine now. She's gone in it a few times today without me getting her out and showing her again. She ate 4 times already today as well, about to eat for a 5th time.
This all sounds so much like my Gem- I'm not sure how old Kitty is- and Gems breathing issues didnt start until the last few days- but she was eating up to 8 ozs of wet food a day- which is alot for her size. Was always a big water drinker though no kidney issues just liked it. Had her thyroid tested never an issue. Started losing muscle mass at 12 when this started.and I always equated with having teeth pulled- I was told it probably pushed something already starting to the front. Before she ate dry and wet food- no issues.
My vet always said she suspected gi lymphoma- and assuming it weakened her heart. What I didnt know to do until the end because it had never been an issue- was to have her chest xrayed. It might be a good idea to look into an ultrasound to see if anything shows.
Gem never went outside the litter box- but one night she stumbled sideways when jumping out and I thought maybe it was hard for her so I ordered a senior cat litter box on amazon. Of course now I realize the stumble could have been something else because it never happened again. I think I mentioned how happy I was that she was eating like there was no tomorrow, she was also waking me up- and since I am home now I was getting up throughout the night to give her more food. The weight gain she should have had for all she was eating I now realize should have been more.
 
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This all sounds so much like my Gem- I'm not sure how old Kitty is- and Gems breathing issues didnt start until the last few days- but she was eating up to 8 ozs of wet food a day- which is alot for her size. Was always a big water drinker though no kidney issues just liked it. Had her thyroid tested never an issue. Started losing muscle mass at 12 when this started.and I always equated with having teeth pulled- I was told it probably pushed something already starting to the front. Before she ate dry and wet food- no issues.
My vet always said she suspected gi lymphoma- and assuming it weakened her heart. What I didnt know to do until the end because it had never been an issue- was to have her chest xrayed. It might be a good idea to look into an ultrasound to see if anything shows.
Gem never went outside the litter box- but one night she stumbled sideways when jumping out and I thought maybe it was hard for her so I ordered a senior cat litter box on amazon. Of course now I realize the stumble could have been something else because it never happened again. I think I mentioned how happy I was that she was eating like there was no tomorrow, she was also waking me up- and since I am home now I was getting up throughout the night to give her more food. The weight gain she should have had for all she was eating I now realize should have been more.
Kitty is around 14. After the first time she got her chest xray in March her tongue was hanging out because she got herself so worked up and was fighting to get an xray so I have a feeling she definitely wouldn't tolerate an ultrasound. Her chest xray showed pleural effusion around the heart and lungs. The stomach was hard to see but the intestines didn't have anything on them at the time.

Kitty sounds like Gem, she absolutely loves her fresh cold water and always looked forward to it.
 
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Called the vet's back today and the receptionist wants to check with whatever vet is there today to see if we should keep her on 3x daily furosemide, switch it back to 2x, or whatever else... slightly nervous about that but we will see what comes out of it!
 

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Kitty is around 14. After the first time she got her chest xray in March her tongue was hanging out because she got herself so worked up and was fighting to get an xray so I have a feeling she definitely wouldn't tolerate an ultrasound. Her chest xray showed pleural effusion around the heart and lungs. The stomach was hard to see but the intestines didn't have anything on them at the time.

Kitty sounds like Gem, she absolutely loves her fresh cold water and always looked forward to it.
The good thing is she had the pleural effusion and you were able to treat it. I only notice Gems breathing issues two days before and at first thought it was stress or heat. I think Gems overall health made it impossible. The tricky part is that she had no other symptoms so I would forget that she was sick with a disease and had been- and wasn't looking or prepared for the reality. Sometimes all the symptoms they list for diseases are not all there in your cat. They predicted gi lymphoma because like you I didnt want to put her through ultrasound or biopsy. There was no vomiting no diarrhea except when it all started and then not even alot. Just muscle mass loss and weight loss no matter how much she ate. She was also less active which is expected- but also expected in senior cats. At the same time still wanting her petting and brushing routine- jumping up for evening on the couch with us- still bossing us around.
So in my research now- the residue from her eyes- congestion could have been the beginning- but the vet didnt mention that connection between heart murmer and congestion when I took her. Like Kitty Gem hated the vet, but was too scared to ever do anything. I didnt want to stress her out- just had bloodwork and senior panels-
which don't show everything. I did start using Feliway pheromone spray in her cat carrier before I took her to vet- and some vets use it on their towels to calm cats. You might try it if you havent it might really help in general, and they have plug ins for home- I didn't like the plug in smell.
I think I was so used to taking care of Gem- that I never saw the reality-also because she was so young, I wasn't prepared.
My other cats lived to be 19.
As the vet said think of the quality of her life -not the years. I really wish in these times when everything seems so rushed because you can't go in with them and its all on the phone- that I would have just asked the vet what to look for when a cat has an illness so that I would have been aware of the possibilty of anything like pleural effusion. Thats what I would make sure of with Kitty- and a vet that really cares- has compassion. The cat trick of seeming normal til the end is not really talked about. I would have asked the vet to email me all findings instead of rushed phone conversations.
 
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I really wish in these times when everything seems so rushed because you can't go in with them and its all on the phone- that I would have just asked the vet what to look for when a cat has an illness so that I would have been aware of the possibilty of anything like pleural effusion. Thats what I would make sure of with Kitty- and a vet that really cares- has compassion. The cat trick of seeming normal til the end is not really talked about. I would have asked the vet to email me all findings instead of rushed phone conversations.
I'm so sorry about Gem but it sounds like you took excellent care of her to the best of your abilities and didn't want to stress her out any further. I'm sure she was very appreciative of all that you had done for her throughout her life. I know what you mean with COVID going on, everything is so busy and rushed. Really appreciate you taking the time to reply and share Gem with us. I'll have to look into the Feliway.

The receptionist called me back a little while ago and the vet told her that I should keep Kitty on furosemide 3x a day as she could still go months taking it like that, i'm just going to have to make sure she keeps drinking enough (she also gets hydration from all her wet food) and keep adding the potassium in her wet food. He also said if anything at all changes to call back and let them know.

She came out of the living room today more than she has since last Wednesday... she laid in the sun a few times and got excited over a new bag of treats, she had 11 in one sitting... I was so happy to see that she was excited over them!
 
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Kitty is still experiencing shortness of breath, she can't go too long doing activities before she has to lay down. She's acting the same way she did before I took her to the vet the first time (without the open mouth breathing and rapid breaths). I was reading up on Pimobendan and figured i'd call back and see if they think she would benefit from it but they said they've only used it in dogs before so no...

They said to bring her in next week to talk about what options I have.... is there any questions I should ask? My mind is just really floaty right now, i've been so worried about her.
 

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Kitty is still experiencing shortness of breath, she can't go too long doing activities before she has to lay down. She's acting the same way she did before I took her to the vet the first time (without the open mouth breathing and rapid breaths). I was reading up on Pimobendan and figured i'd call back and see if they think she would benefit from it but they said they've only used it in dogs before so no...

They said to bring her in next week to talk about what options I have.... is there any questions I should ask? My mind is just really floaty right now, i've been so worried about her.
I would take her in and have a chest xray( -even if she's had one this is a different time-) so they can see if anything shows that would be preventing her from breathing normally- and so they can treat or prescribe the right medication. If her breathing gets worse I probably see if you could get in earlier.
When you are there since you probably can't go in- make sure they give you the info in writing- or email it to you. Don't rush through because you need all the information- create a thread of dialog so you can have whats been done and what they are doing- what they think. I know its hard to be logical when you're so worried those are just logical steps
 
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Ravynn

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I would take her in and have a chest xray( -even if she's had one this is a different time-) so they can see if anything shows that would be preventing her from breathing normally- and so they can treat or prescribe the right medication. If her breathing gets worse I probably see if you could get in earlier.
When you are there since you probably can't go in- make sure they give you the info in writing- or email it to you. Don't rush through because you need all the information- create a thread of dialog so you can have whats been done and what they are doing- what they think. I know its hard to be logical when you're so worried those are just logical steps
Fortunately, one person is allowed in with their pet now so i'll be able to make sure she's okay. In my mind it would be nice to be able to get another chest xray to see if anything changed but even the second time I brought her in when she got put on Benazepril the vet didn't want to do another follow up chest xray as to not stress her out further (she was scratching and fighting her way through the first xray which is why she had her tongue hanging out afterwards).

I was waiting so long in between phone calls that I didn't even think of asking what vet it was with -- really hope it's not the first one that wanted to put her down just because she had fluid in her chest but there's nothing I can do about that at this point.

I just hope she stays stable on the drive there, that's what i'm worried about now. I need to relax for a bit. lol
 

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Fortunately, one person is allowed in with their pet now so i'll be able to make sure she's okay. In my mind it would be nice to be able to get another chest xray to see if anything changed but even the second time I brought her in when she got put on Benazepril the vet didn't want to do another follow up chest xray as to not stress her out further (she was scratching and fighting her way through the first xray which is why she had her tongue hanging out afterwards).

I was waiting so long in between phone calls that I didn't even think of asking what vet it was with -- really hope it's not the first one that wanted to put her down just because she had fluid in her chest but there's nothing I can do about that at this point.

I just hope she stays stable on the drive there, that's what i'm worried about now. I need to relax for a bit. lol
Using the feliway saved me- you just spray the inside of the carrier- or if you put anything in the carrier for her to lay on spray that 15 minutes before you put her in it. Gem would meow for a minute then calm right down. You can also spray a towel near where she lays
to calm her before. Too bad your vet doesn't use. I would just ask the vet for advice on her quality of life if its at that point- what things would look like for her going forward. Cats hide things so well- I know how hard it it for you.
 
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I just had a really bad scare... Kitty has been sleeping behind the fireplace since that's been the coolest spot this summer. There's some cords back there (mostly out of her way except for one) and I was fixing her blanket and she turned around to right herself and got her back leg caught on one of the cords and she freaked out while I was trying to bend her leg back to get her out.

Only lasted like 10 seconds. She was open mouth breathing for a few minutes... she isn't now but her eyes look like she ran a marathon. How is she going to handle the 30 minute drive to the vets?? I don't even know if she can do it. I'm really trying to keep it together for her.
 

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How is she going to handle the 30 minute drive to the vets??
I'd been thinking about this too - covering the carrier with a light towel (so as to not cut off her air) seems to help - my boy calms a bit when he can't see out, but additionally, can you talk with your vet about what else might help?
 

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I know being calm is hard when you are on eggshells already- just try your hardest for her. I used to sing to Gem and it would calm her down-and me if I think about it. I also used to put a lite pillowcase over my cat carrier so she couldnt see out- I would take her in asap if she's breathing by mouth- you'll feel better if you find out what things look like- what to expect.
 
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Since she got stuck yesterday, whenever she gets up she starts breathing by mouth again. She also hasn't eaten since last night and turns her head away if I show her food. She had lots of water though. I'm going to call the vet this morning to tell them but i'm not able to get in until this evening... :( Been successful at not showing any emotion when i'm around her..
 
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She just ate some Hills a/d mixed with water since that stuff doesn't have any lumps because even the pate does and she cant chew it now... going to call the vet in a few minutes.
 

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I'm glad you're taking her in- she probably can't eat easily because of her breathing. I know its hard to remain calm but sounds like you're doing great and you are doing the best you can for her.
 
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