Abdominal liquid mass. Anyone?

[neely]

I am so very, very hopeful!! Banjo deserves better days after such a tough start in life.

I have a gut feeling that Banjo does have better days ahead. And, yes, she definitely deserves it after such a rough start in life. We have to be optimistic for both of you. You are truly her cat guardian and she is your angel.

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

Without such extensive testing this might have been treated as a cancer or given up as wet FIP which could both have been treated differently or ended quickly by PTS.

I dread thinking about things like that. Thank goodness you had specialists look at her, you even went out of state to that place so she could get thoroughly looked at and properly diagnosed. I believe in 2nd opinions, maybe even a 3rd. I think people get use to their vet and stick to the diagnosis that come from them. We are more proned to getting 2nd opinions for our diagnosis or health concerns, than for our pets. Case in point a vet I took my male tabby to because he was vomiting and not relieving himself properly(No.1) told me that they believed he had FLUTD and that I should go to this hospital they recommend. That hospital was very expensive, so I took him to another vet hospital. He stayed for a few days and after a whole battery of tests it was determined that he didn't have FLUTD just a bad UTI. He was put on some antibiotics and was back to his old self in no time. This is a perfect examples of why we need 2nd opinions with vets. I dread thinking Banjo being misdiagnosed and receiving treatment and medications for cancer or FIPs. She is a healthy kitty despite this worm issue and TG for that! What a relief!!!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

An encapsuled tapeworm. Who'da thunk it?

Oh, PM one of the mods. They may be able to add to the title of this thread.

 

[strider rose]

for Jcatbird and banjo

 

[Jcatbird]

The conversations with the specialist are ongoing. How can a tapeworm end up in the abdomen? The guess is that the worm or an egg traveled through the bloodstream from the intestine and lodged in the abdomen when Banjo was lost in the wilds of Florida. She was lost weeks before word reached me and I was able to recover her. I traveled there, found her and brought her back home where she got immediate treatment for all parasites and general check up. At that point the worm may have died from the parasite meds. Because cats are very good at walling off foreign matter in their bodies, the worm was walled off in the abdomen where it became a mass of decaying tissue. It has had a lot of time to expand there and a lot of time for Banjo to try and keep it encapsulated. She has done an excellent job! Cats are amazing!
Our plan is still to try and shrink the tissue. The big question in my mind is whether the shrinking will work and whether it will compress the aortic vessel, blood vessels and colon as it shrinks. No one knows. I have asked how long the medicine stays in her system after each dose. I am told it is passed out of the system quickly. So…. each time Banjo gets a dose, I will be right with her until it is excreted. My vet has assured me that I can bring Banjo straight in at any time I notice anything that concerns me. I will be asking for any emergency meds or supplies that I may need during this time. She will be getting a very high dose of oral tapeworm meds for three days running and then off for a while. Then we will repeat the process. Banjo will need to go back to have another check to see if this works.
For anyone who has not met Banjo, to know her is to love her and to laugh, a lot!

 

[silent meowlook]

Banjo is adorable!! Probably has been stated already, but she had all the cat specific tests for heartworms?

 

[Jcatbird]

S silent meowlook Excellent question! Yes. Her Dad had heart worms so that was an early concern. These cats were all rescued from a swampy area that is filled with mosquitoes. High risk for heart worms! Fortunately her Dad was the only one who tested positive for them. Her Dad, BJ was the subject of a thread about that very thing. He was also FIV. He survived the heart worms and was cleared of them but I lost him in December to a kidney tumor. Of course that had us all concerned about cancer in Banjo. Right now we don’t really know what to expect or what may turn up but we do know that the sample tested as necrotic tapeworm tissue. This whole thing has been really strange. Since it is strange, the vet school is intrigued and being very involved and kind in her care. I am very grateful for that. Thank you for reminding us all about heart worms in cats! Many do not realize that cats can even get heart worms. If you think of anything else, please let me know.
Banjo was very pleased to be called adorable.

 

[mama africa]

I did some research on the internet, hoping to be helpful... (i'm not a vet, just worried about Banjo).

Echinococcosis In Cats | VCA Animal Hospitals (vcahospitals.com)
"In rare cases, cats may develop internal cysts related to E. multilocularis (similar to human infection). If this occurs, the cat is typically treated with a combination of surgery and multiple deworming medications.'

First case of peritoneal cystic echinococcosis in a domestic cat caused by Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (genotype 1) associated to feline immunodeficiency virus infection - ScienceDirect
"A new cystic echinococcosis case in a cat in Uruguay is reported herein. The cat was taken to a veterinary clinic in Rocha city, Uruguay, due to dyspnea, constipation and abdominal enlargement."

Sending healing vibes to your sweet Banjo and wishing you all the best

 

[neely]

Dear Sweet Banjo - We Believe!

 

[fionasmom]

She is an adorable little girl, evidently quite the frog enthusiast!

 

[Jcatbird]

mama africa Thank you!! That is very interesting. I will be having another conversation with the doctors and sending this along. Banjo tested negative for FIV but, tests can be wrong. Surgery is not an option right now. That is why we hope to shrink the tissue. I am wondering many more things now. So many questions in my mind. I will post back with the things I learn. Thank you for taking the time to research this for us.

 

[Jcatbird]

neely I believe too. Hope is held tightly.

fionasmom Oh yes. Banjo loves Froggie and kisses him through the windows each day. They spend hours together. It’s quite the love story. If he gets inside, she won’t let any other cat near him. She talks to him and he sings to her. The frog seems to recognize her. Very sweet and interesting to see. If the live Froggie is tucked away during cold weather, substitutes are temporarily accepted. Lol

 

[IndyJones]

I've only heard of encapsulation in trees, ever seen a rams horned piece of tree trunk? It curves in towards the Heartwood. I sometimes see these trunks at the lumber yard.

I've also seen pieces of encapsulated fence and hydro lines but this byfar is one of the craziest

That is a four cylinder engine block and crankshaft complete with flywheel encapsulated in the trunk of this tree. I didn't take it but apparently the tree is quite old.

I have never heard of this happening in an animal though. Biology is amazing.

 

[Jcatbird]

IndyJones Amazing tree picture. Poor tree. Biology is amazing. We learn new things about cats all the time. This is not something I expected but it may be better than the other alternatives. A tumor was suspected or Wet FIP. At least we can do something to try and keep this in check or eliminate it. There is no help for that poor tree. May the tree devour it!