Chylothorax

Three Weeks ago i brought my cat Wally to the vet becase he was having trouble breathing and wasnt eating much. Long story short they ended up draining 1L of Chyle from his chest. I took him how finished all of his meds and bought just about every cat food under the sun. He seemed to be getting better, playing, acing like a little jerk , you know how a cat should be. A few days ago i noticed he wasnt eating a whole lot again and i thought he was just being picky but yesterday i started to notice his breathing getting bad again. So i woke up this morning and his breathing is worse so i called the vet as i had planned to do. I couldnt get and appointment until 4 because they have surgey all morning. My vet hasnt recommened a low-fat diet as i keep reading about, i was wondering if anyone can recommend a certian brand or brands? I just dont know what to do i already owe the vet a good amount of money for the last time i was in and am hoping for this to be resolved soon. Does anyone have any idea's of what i can ask my vet about? After the last visit and his meds all she told me to do was watch him. Anything ese i can do? Now that its happening again its a persistant problem right? Im sorry to ramble but i dont know what else to do he's my baby and he's only about 14 months old; not an older cat like most of the other cats i've read about with this. Any idea would help.

:( Awee poor wittle one.. Now when you speak of his breathing = are you saying he has labored breathing & or is it he can not get his breath at all?? Do you have room humidifier?? If the air is real real dry that could be part of it.. The humidifier might help.. However I would say your just going to have to see what the Vet says.. Now you might want to use a different Vet.. Is this baby a indoor only??

his breathing is labored. That may be a good idea because the heat just got turned on making the air dry. He is an indoor only little snuggler.

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Originally Posted by Sugaree

his breathing is labored. That may be a good idea because the heat just got turned on making the air dry. He is an indoor only little snuggler.

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Thats great he is indoors.. Now has this baby always been indoors with you since birth.. If this baby was outdoors for any length of time he could have Heart Worms or a Type of Tumor.. That is one of the cause of Chylothorax being around his lungs & heart.. If not done then have the Vet to test for that..

Im not sure if he went outside before i got him but when i got him i had him tested like crazy for everything. I will talk to the vet and make sure they did the test for heart worm.

:love: Well thats great.. Now how is the wittle one doing today?? Do you have pics?? We would love to see him..:)

He's doing worse :( only 2 more hours and we get to see what the vet says. i've been trying to attach photos but the page stops working everytime i try.

I've never had any experience with this condition. I did have a kitty with congestive heart failure. The vet did drain a considerable amount of fluid from around her heart once. He had to do it while she was awake, and I can't believe she laid still for the procedure. I hope all goes well with you at your appointment today.

:) Thats ok.. Now besure to Post on what the Vet says about your baby.. You might call & tell them 2 hrs is too long to wait & that he is worse.. Hang in there.. Sending Lots of Positive Vibes & Huggss & Prayers..

Not the best pics. but thats him

:love: WoW he is so Adorable & Sweet.. Lots of Huggss & Prayers for the Vet visit.. Hang in there wittle one..

Aw, sweet boy. I'll admit that I've never even heard of this condition so I can't be of any help to you except to wish you well and to send up prayers that Wally will come out of this fine. I'm looking forward to a good update.

We just got back from the vet and they drew another half liter out of him. Except this time it wasnt chyle it was a bloody type fliud. She also looked at his heart while she was using the ultra sound to find the fluid pockets. The walls of his heart are thickened (she also saw NO tumors or Cancer, thank goodness). The Vet is now pretty confident he has heart disease. Wit his lungs clear again she put him back on Lasix with the direction not to stop. When the supply i was givin runs out we will discuss long term use of it. Thank you for all the positive vibes.i will keep you updated on his progress.

One of Medusa's kitties, Pidglet, is on Lasix right now and having good success. She is much older than your dear Wally. I hope that having a better diagnosis and plan of treatment will help him to feel better and live a long and happy life.

My Pidge is on Lasix, also Enalapril and Atenolol for her heart disease. It's helped her immensely and she's 18 1/2 years old so I hope that your little buddy Wally has equal success w/it and that he'll be w/you for quite some time.

Many prayers for your precious ORANGEMAN!!! Our Riley was diagnosised with left ventricular hypertrophy at 8 months. That was the only time he had symptoms and is not on any meds!!! Riley is 8 and doing nicely. I hope the same for Wally!!!

Medusa, im happy to hear that you have had success with medications for your cat that gives me some hope. How old was your cat when she was diagnosed with heart diease? Also do you feed him a specific food? Maybe one low in salt or carbs or anything?

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Originally Posted by Sugaree

Medusa, im happy to hear that you have had success with medications for your cat that gives me some hope. How old was your cat when she was diagnosed with heart diease? Also do you feed him a specific food? Maybe one low in salt or carbs or anything?

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She was diagnosed just a couple of months ago. Until then, she had been perfectly healthy. She isn't on a special diet either. :)

My cat Bassett had idiopathic chylothorax. If you search "Bassett" in Cat Health or in Cat General I'm sure you will find lots of threads on her. If the cause of your cat's chylothorax is Cardiomyopathy, that's actually better, because that can be treated, and once in control, the chylothorax should go away.

Also - when the breathing is laboured, don't make an appointment - just go in. The longer the chyle stays in the chest, the more likely scar tissue will form on the surface of the lungs.

Good luck, and keep us all posted :)

Naomi

Well i bearly slept last night. I just got up and got Wallys Lasix into him. He's a bit better i got him to eat about 10 whisker lickens :) Anything is better then nothing. I was wondering if anyone else has ever had they're cat gag at the smell of pungent food around and after one of these type episodes? He did it last time he got drained too. Thank you eveyone whose been posting :D

Gagging like that is usually nausea. If it continues, you might need to try belly meds too.

:love: So Sorry about the Vet News.. But So Glad your wittle baby is feeling a bit better today & is back on meds.. We will non stop be sending Positive Vibes, Huggss & Prayers..

Wally is feeling much better since going to vet and getting put on meds for heart disease. I was just wondering if even though he is better should i becareful about how much exercise he gets? Could his heart fail if worked to hard? I know theres a few other kittys with it and just wanted to hear your opinions. Thanks

I'd talk to your vet about it. Wally is pretty young but I do know that if they lie around too much, the fluid can build up quickly. That's what took my Puddy because she had been so sick for so long and the fluid built up so inactivity isn't good. I wouldn't want to advise you one way or the other so talk it over w/your vet and try not to worry so much. He's young so you more than likely have a lot of good years left w/him. :love: