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Registered: Jan 2004

posted 01-09-2004 02:11 PM         

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I have an almost 4 year old tabby cat with a health problem. Two weeks ago he started having problems breathing. We took him to the vet who drew out pus from his pleural space (chest cavity). The vet put in a chest tube and drained and lavaged the chest for 8 days. Two days ago the cat developed a different type of fluid which looks like chyle but has lots of basophil cells in it. The vet thinks it's still an infection but not sure what from.

I have a couple options. 1. Keep him at the vets with the chest tube in for a while longer. 2. Bring him home and learn to do the chest drainage myself (which the vet will do if I sign a release). 3. Put him down.

He's otherwise very healthy. His heart is good, lungs are good, no diseases. How much longer should I keep him at the vet before I go with option 2?

Has anyone else experienced this sort of occurence? Basically, they don't know how long this will take to clear up or if it ever will. It's entirely possible this is permanent and eventually we'll have to put him down. But since they can't tell me that, I'm not ready to give up.

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From:CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 01-09-2004 04:17 PM         

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Hello. Welcome to the site. I'm so sorry about your kitty. I think because you're the one who loves your cat, you'll be the best judge of what is best for him. If I was in your shoes, I would have the vet show me how to do this properly at home. That way the cat would be happier at home and perhaps be able to heal better. It can be very stressful for a cat to be away from it's home. Again, that would just be my choice. I also feel that I would be capable of doing the drainage myself. Do, you feel you are capable of doing this?

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posted 01-09-2004 04:29 PM         

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Yes, I think that my husband and I would be able to care for him at home. Thanks for the confirmation. Basically I was just hoping someone would tell me that I wasn't crazy for wanting to do this. He's otherwise very healthy and I've been doing a lot of reading about natural remedies like adding some crushed plain garlic to his diet to help fight infection. I'm going to talk to the vet tomorrow. Her take on natural remedies in the past has been as long as they won't hurt him, why not try them. So hopefully she'll give me some advice there as well.

Thanks!

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From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 01-09-2004 10:38 PM         

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I would do it at home myself. I had a kitty that I had to give fluids to under the skin. It wasn't fun, but my baby needed it. I don't think you are crazy at all. As long as there is hope for him to get better I wouldn't put him down.

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posted 01-10-2004 03:44 PM         

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Update: Well, we went back to the vet this morning intending to take him home and treat him ourselves. But they hardly pulled any fluid out this morning. they think he's turned the corner and might even be home without the tube on Monday. So we left him over teh weekend.

We did get to spend 40 minutes with him at teh vet's. He was quite happy and loving. The vet said he was eating like a horse and they thought there was a good chance his body had finally conquered the infection.

So, fingers crossed that the fluid levels continue to remain low and he can come home on Monday.

We did ask the vet about putting him on Rutin. It's supposed to help the body absorb extra fluid in the chest cavity. We found the information from Alice Wolf, DVM who apparently is big in the cat health world. They started him on that yesterday, in addition to his antibiotic. Whether that was the difference in his fluid production or whether it was just the antibiotics finally kicking in I don't know. but I'm really hoping that he continues to get better and we can bring him home Monday.

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posted 01-10-2004 05:46 PM         

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I'm so happy your kitty is doing better. That is great news. Once he's back at home and starts to feel better, I would love to see a picture of him. Keep us posted on his recovery and let us know if you went and got him on Monday.

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posted 01-12-2004 08:36 AM         

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Thanks for the good wishes. For the poster who wanted to see a picture, here's two.
http://rjcpjc.addr.com/images/boots.jpg http://rjcpjc.addr.com/ebayweb/psig.jpg

The vet called us yesterday and said that there was still little to no fluid present all weekend. So my fingers are crossed that the same will hold for this morning and we'll be able to take him home.

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posted 01-12-2004 12:51 PM         

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Thanks for the update. I love the pics. He looks just like on of my parents' cats (James Bond--'J.B'. for short). He's so cute! I like his hind paws. Almost as if he is wearing white socks. I wish your kitty a speedy recovery. Keep us posted.

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posted 01-12-2004 02:45 PM         

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Well, worse news today. Boots is still producing fluid. Apparently the replacement vet they had over the weekend didn't stand Boots on his head to get more fluid out like the original vet does. So they still got 60 cc's of fluid out this morning. Any more than about 90 and he's really in trouble breathing.

So we're going to take him home today and try to continue the treatments at home for a week. We'll also continue with the Rutin and start him on honey and garlic (both natural antibiotics).

I just want my baby to get better.

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From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 01-12-2004 05:17 PM         

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Sorry to hear that. I hope he gets better. Best of luck.

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