Lungworm?

[Medusa]

Goodness, lungworm! I wouldn't even have thought of anything like that. I sure hope that's what it is so that it can be easily remedied. Prayers going up for Jimmy and all your crew.

[Pinot's Mom]

I've never even HEARD of Lungworm, but I hope that gets cleared up soon!

As for the kidney - it's common in older cats (I was told by a vet when it happened to our RB kitty Jamara) that one kidney kind of fades away. It usually happens without warning or side effects.

[Medusa]

Exactly the same thing happened to my RB Puddy. One kidney shrunk to the size of a pea instead of the size of a kidney bean as it should have been. However, she lived for years w/it that way so try not to worry about it, Lara.

[Randi]

I don't know anyting about lungworm, but I hope it's something that can be treated, so Jimmy will get better.

Will keep Jimmy in my throughts, and also Oliver and George.

Medusa, when Puddy's kidney shrunk, was that before or after you realised something was wrong with the kidneys? Could it be seen in the bloodtests?

[Medusa]

Medusa, when Puddy's kidney shrunk, was that before or after you realised something was wrong with the kidneys? Could it be seen in the bloodtests?

If I remember correctly, it was when she needed emergency surgery for intestinal blockage. It was then that Dr. Lee said that her one kidney had actually burst and he couldn't even find it. He found traces of it and removed it. The other was shriveled and had nephritis but she still lived several years after that, quality years, too, until a few months before she passed.

[Lizzie]

A fecal sample should show lungworm so I'm surprised the condition wasn't seen before since a fecal is usually part of the initial examination. Perhaps that wasn't done on Jimmy before this? I fostered a group of young cats a few years ago that had to be treated for lungworm. As soon as my vet heard the noisy breathing, and it was terrifyingly noisy in one young cat (called Skinny Girl by her original owner), my vet scooped out a small sample of poop and handed it over for testing. Some time later we heard shouts coming from the lab area of the clinic as the techs yelled at each other to come and see the slide. Apparently they'd never seen so many of the little beggers on one slide before. We knew that the cats had been starved, never having been given any cat food at all, so it wasn't surprising that they'd eaten whatever they could find. It always makes me heave to think of any animal eating slugs, yech!

We treated all the cats with Panacur, which I mixed in with their food, making sure they only ate their own small portions each time. They all fully recovered except for Skinny Girl, renamed Jazz, whose infestation had been so extreme. However, her adoptive family reports she only has slightly noisy breathing now when she's very active. I remember it was so noisy when I drove her home from the shelter that I almost pulled over on the freeway, thinking that she was dying. If she hadn't been rescued when she was, she most definitely would have died.

With that experience, I made the mistake of thinking a more recent foster had lungworm when she actually has asthma - I hadn't even thought of that possibility.

Good luck with making Jimmy well again. It is very hard when they have several different medical problems.

[Kater]

A fecal sample should show lungworm so I'm surprised the condition wasn't seen before since a fecal is usually part of the initial examination.

While lungworm larvae (not eggs) can be detected in feces, it requires an unusual type of test. Usually veterinarians routinely perform a fecal float to look for most parasites. However, lungworms are detected with something called the Baermann technique. Unless a veterinarian had reason to suspect lungworms (or another parasite that is detected via Baermann) is it not likely that the this would be a routine test performed during an initial examination. Incidentally to find lungworm eggs one would have to do a transtracheal wash or collect a sample of sputum. These diagnostic differences just have to do with the life cycle of the lungworm. I think the looking at a Baermann or TTW/sputum is going to be a better diagnostic than trying to rely on radiographs (xrays) alone.

Another parasite I would consider with these signs and history is heartworm. Believe it or not, vomiting is a clinical sign in cats with heartworm and it is primarily a disease of the lungs in felines.

I think vomiting would be a clinical sign in pretty late stage kidney failure. My cat was in fairly late stage kidney failure when I put her to sleep (earlier this month) and she had not yet started vomiting. However, I'm sure this varies by individual to a degree.

I'm a first year veterinary student and just had my first parasitology class this semester. I hope what I wrote makes sense. Let me know if you have questions!

Best wishes for Jimmy (Oliver & George, too)!! He's oh-so-cute and modest.