michelene
10-08-2001, 06:55 PM
What would cause an indoor cat's lungs to fill with lymphatic fluid?
Less than a week ago our 7 year old tortie Samantha was lying on the rug and gasping for breath -- mouth breathing and extreme lower abdominal effort. The vet extracted 110 cc of fluid from her lungs - 40cc from one and 70cc from the other -- and put Sam on oxygen. The vet examined the fluid on a slide and said it appeared to be lymph, without any apparent infection. The fluid came from a leaking thoracic valve, and there seemed to be no explanation for what happened. The condition has never been successfully treated surgically, and no cat owners (before us) were willing to try to manage the condition medically.
We weren't ready to say goodbye to Sam, so we brought her home and have been watching her. Nothing seems to be the matter now. The vet said we just have to wait and see how long it is before her lungs fill up again; then we will need to bring her in to have the fluid drained.
Has this happened to anyone else? What can we expect?
Less than a week ago our 7 year old tortie Samantha was lying on the rug and gasping for breath -- mouth breathing and extreme lower abdominal effort. The vet extracted 110 cc of fluid from her lungs - 40cc from one and 70cc from the other -- and put Sam on oxygen. The vet examined the fluid on a slide and said it appeared to be lymph, without any apparent infection. The fluid came from a leaking thoracic valve, and there seemed to be no explanation for what happened. The condition has never been successfully treated surgically, and no cat owners (before us) were willing to try to manage the condition medically.
We weren't ready to say goodbye to Sam, so we brought her home and have been watching her. Nothing seems to be the matter now. The vet said we just have to wait and see how long it is before her lungs fill up again; then we will need to bring her in to have the fluid drained.
Has this happened to anyone else? What can we expect?