Chylothorax...please help me help Butters

[spaargaren]

Im sorry Butlers not feeling well.  Its the same time Charlie  was diagnosed with the same disease.I have had him tapped 3 times now.  They upped the Rutin to 500mg  3x a day.

I mix it with mangosteen and mullin and suringe it  into his mouth.  He seems to be better but still breathing a little fast.  I don't know if this is normal or not.  Monday I will bring him

back to the vet and see if he needs to be tapped.  I changed his food to Hills WD.  Charlie has lost weight but still eating small amounts of food.  He enjoys sleeping on the electric blanket. 

he sleeps more than ever and that could be because of the rutin.  I will keep you in my prayers and if I learn anything new I will let you know.

 

[ktlynn]

I've been thinking about Butters and praying that his condition improved.   As others have said, he could not be in better hands.    The picture of him with his big brother is absolutely wonderful.

What a precious boy.   I hope he's ok.

 

[spaargaren]

I haven't seen anything on the facebook page either.  Hope things are well!!!

 

[couchcat]

Hey Everyone!  I wanted to post an update, sorry it's been so long.  The last couple of taps for Butter was not able to draw out any fluid even though it was showing on the xray that he had some.  I waited about a week and took him in again, still not able to pull out any fluid so we decided to do another xray.  He had a bit more fluid than the previous xray had shown but it was lower in the chest cavity and that seemed to be why it wasn't as easy to pull any out.  So I waited another week, all while keeping an eye on him.  During this time he began to get very active, playing with the other kitties, jumping up on us and every surface in the house and running all over the place.  I took him back in for another xray to see where things stood and (Thank God) the fluid had decreased on it's own.  He still had some but it was definitely less, the vet seemed amazed and I was speechless with happiness.  We agreed to wait until the middle of February for a check up unless he started having problems again.  So far he has been doing great and has shown no problems.  Previously he was gulping often and even that has stopped.  I don't know how to express my happiness and I'm afraid to say too much in fear of jinxing things....left over fear from middle school, I guess.  During Butters experience with this I wanted to list what we changed for anyone else in case it can help someone.  I switched his food to the prescription Hill's Science Diet W/D kibble.  He loves it but will not eat the moist version of it.  I mix 1 500 mg rutin into about 2 tablespoons of chunk light tuna in water for him once a day, I can't get him to take it more often so that's what I went with.  The sodium is high in tuna but the fat content isn't bad.  After reading up on this disease and reading about digestion, eliminating fat in the diet was the best idea it seemed.  We also stopped letting him drink from the tap because my husband thought he had read that it was an unnatural angle and wasn't good for kitties...may not be anything but we did stop that so I wanted to mention it.  I also give him a pinch of catnip each night that he eats a bit of before playing in the rest, I read it was good for respiratory.  I have dried mullien leaves that I burn like incense it the house at times and well as eucalyptus oil that I put in water and boil on the stove so it gets in the air.  I don't use the mullien and eucalyptus very often but have done it on occasion, it seems to help my breathing more than doing anything for the cats.  We also started giving the kitties distilled water that we buy in gallons instead of regular tap water.  These are the things we've done different for him but I believe the main thing I've done was pray.  Over and over again I prayed for my young special Butter kitty and I asked for prayers for him.  I don't know if he is over this or if he has just adjusted to it for a bit or if it's some kind of remission and the vet can't tell me for sure either.  I just know that now I have some hope and have had many days of seeing him be happy and active, I'm so thankful for this and want to thank each of you for thinking of him.  I will continue to update and pray that he gets better and better and hopefully this thread can offer some hope for others dealing with this issue.  Butters send his love and says thanks for thinking of him and keeping him in your prayers.0000000000 <<<<Butter's older sister kitty, Cracken jumped on the keyboard and typed those 0000s so I figured she wanted to thank you all too!!!!

 

[barbb]

Oh I am so happy for you and Butters!! I saw a note in my email that there was a post on this thread, and I was so fearful that he may have not made it.

You cannot imagine how excited I am to hear that he is in a period of remission and I am SO hopeful that his tear will heal and he will be permanently better!! I will say many prayers for you and Butters. I love him from afar, the way you have described him and what a good little boy he is, to take all those chest taps and all that medicine- it is hard on a little kitty! I am sure it has been all from your love, your persistence, and going the extra mile for him with this scary horrible illness. I have read that indeed some kitties recover spontaneously and it sounds as if your Butters has the best chance. And I like what you said about being careful of his not stretching in unnatural angles as it makes sense to do whatever possible that may help the tear to heal on its own or keep it from getting worse, and also everything you are doing to keep his fluids low. I am so happy for you, your little boy is too young to leave the world just yet, that is for sure! 

Thank you so much for giving an update, I have thought of you both often and wondered how you are doing! 

 

[freespirit29]

I hope Butters is doing fine. All the research I have done on chylothorax, is that RUTIN must be given for a very long time (2-3 years).  It does help quite a bit.  I had a similar problem with my kitty.

 

[couchcat]

It's been a long time but I did want to keep this thread updated for others with chylothorax kitties.  Butters is still with us and doing well.  Unfortunately, he reached the point where chest taps where no longer working because they could not get any fluid out.  He does have fluid in his chest and it has held at about the same amount for quite some time now.  We go about once every 4 to 5 months (depending on his behavior) for x-rays.  He continues to eat his prescription food and has finally lost two pounds...believe me, the little butterball has pounds to spare.  He behaves like a typical kitty of his age, still very playful and active.  Unless you knew already, you wouldn't have any reason to suspect he had any health problem at all.  The vets seems to think his body has adjusted to the condition and adapted to the decreased lung capacity (though it's not good for the fluid to be there as over time it does irritate the lungs).  I know it's not the best news and I pray I can finally come on here and say that the fluid is gone and shows no signs of returning.  But all things considered, I'm thankful for what we can get...that he is still active, that he is still a very a happy kitty and that he is still with me.

 

 

[jessy]

Thank you for the update, so pleased to hear that he is still with us. Xxx