We did the x-rays today (she's been coughing every now and then and vomiting, but otherwise seems fine - http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthr...ghlight=connie and http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthr...ghlight=connie). The vet is also doing a heartworm test and running another blood test to see where her globulin is now.
She's been gaining weight since last month, so that's good (the URI she had at the shelter for over a month left her somewhat underweight - she's back at the weight she was at for the first 8.5 years of her life). I was worried that she would lose weight from vomiting her food as often as she does.
The vet said nothing on the x-rays was obviously screaming "asthma", so we're still in a holding pattern. Her lungs, heart, and other internal organs were all normal. The only thing that was even slightly abnormal were some blood vessels around her heart that seemed a little enlarged. The heart itself didn't seem unusual, though. She was there for about an hour getting her films before my appointment with the vet, so they were able to hear her cough once or twice. They said it doesn't really sound like typical asthma coughing, but the vet is trying prednisolone for now, since heartworm, asthma, or elevated globulin for some unspecified reason (indicating inflammation) would all be initially treated with steroids.
We've got about ten days worth of prednisolone right now, and we're going to talk on Thursday about the test results. If we don't find out anything more, I'll see what the vet says, but I'm thinking, if I don't get some sort of satisfactory answers, I'll consider taking her to an internal medicine specialist (especially before I keep her on steroids long-term without any real diagnosis).
Anything we've overlooked that you'd want your vet to check for your cat? She had a full blood work-up about a month ago (that's why we're only repeating part of the bloodwork). Any questions you'd be asking? At this point, I'm waiting until Thursday to see if the test results turn up anything new, but I want to be ready with any other questions, if need be.
Thanks!
She's been gaining weight since last month, so that's good (the URI she had at the shelter for over a month left her somewhat underweight - she's back at the weight she was at for the first 8.5 years of her life). I was worried that she would lose weight from vomiting her food as often as she does.
The vet said nothing on the x-rays was obviously screaming "asthma", so we're still in a holding pattern. Her lungs, heart, and other internal organs were all normal. The only thing that was even slightly abnormal were some blood vessels around her heart that seemed a little enlarged. The heart itself didn't seem unusual, though. She was there for about an hour getting her films before my appointment with the vet, so they were able to hear her cough once or twice. They said it doesn't really sound like typical asthma coughing, but the vet is trying prednisolone for now, since heartworm, asthma, or elevated globulin for some unspecified reason (indicating inflammation) would all be initially treated with steroids.
We've got about ten days worth of prednisolone right now, and we're going to talk on Thursday about the test results. If we don't find out anything more, I'll see what the vet says, but I'm thinking, if I don't get some sort of satisfactory answers, I'll consider taking her to an internal medicine specialist (especially before I keep her on steroids long-term without any real diagnosis).
Anything we've overlooked that you'd want your vet to check for your cat? She had a full blood work-up about a month ago (that's why we're only repeating part of the bloodwork). Any questions you'd be asking? At this point, I'm waiting until Thursday to see if the test results turn up anything new, but I want to be ready with any other questions, if need be.
Thanks!
