X-ray vs Ultrasound

Hi guys,

My cat Mozart has been throwing up once a day for about 2ish weeks now. I took him to the vet on Friday, and had a physical, urine analysis, and blood test done.

Physical came out fine, urine analysis was clean. Problem was that his creatine levels were a lil high. So the vet in Austin told me that it may be early signs of kidney failure, or he has a under grown one.

I sent a copy of the blood test to my normal vet in Cali, (she saw the cat about 2 weeks ago before the flight.) to get a second opinion. She said that based on how I described Mozart acting and his habit of chewing/eating random things, the blood test, and the physical, she thinks that he probably just ate something that isn't passing through his system.

So here is my question. Based on both scenarios, which procedure would be the best. Ultrasound, or Xray. I'm a college student so I can't really afford to spend money on both, so I want to pick one that can look for both possibilities.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry about the long description. Just wanted to give some background.

What is his creatine?
I have a crf cat.
What part of calif is the vet in?
I am not sure what is better for your cat.

I think this is the type of thing that you find out with an x-ray... That's what i see it usually done for foreign bodies... But I think your vet can give you better guidance on what test you should get done.
Good luck!

x ray first ....

First would be an x-ray. Each vet might have their own way of doing things, but my vet would get the cat to ingest some barium first and then do the x-ray afterwards, so the contrast shows up better in the images to see whether a foreign object is, indeed, present.

the level of creatine in his system is 2.6 mg/dl whereas the blood test says that normal range is .8-2.4

Okay so xray should be the first best. Can it also check for the kidneys at the same time?

That is just a little high.
With kidney failure you look at other numbers also not just one.
Theycan do kidney xrays at the same time.
My Yoshi had kidney xrays before and he was full of stones and I lost him.
Dosent sound like your cat has kidney problems to me.

My thinking would be to just skip to the sono. If they can't see what they want with the x-ray, then they'll have to do a sono, which means you had to pay for both. They can see much more with a sono, too. My vet did an x-ray on Bubba, and noticed some abnormalities with the kidneys that could only be seen with more detail by ultrasound.

I agree that if you can only do one, ultrasound is likely best. You will get more information and more flexibility from an ultrasound. For example, if they find something biological, like a lump or tumor, they will be more able to take a fine needle aspirate (a small sample of the material) with the ultrasound. Because ultrasound isn't done as a single snapshot, it may be possible to see movement (or lack thereof) as well. Ultimately, I would talk to the vet and explain your financial situation. That way they can recommend the best possible option for Mozart's situation. Good luck!

Hi guys,

thanks for all the help you've given. I took him to get checked today at the vet, and did an ultrasound.

here is what they found.

A) he has a smaller left kidney T__T. Meaning the Creatine elevation was correct.

B) He has IBC (some intestinal inflammation)

C) Is the worst news of all. While doing a routine check of his heart, they discovered that his ventricles are slightly thicker than normal. The vet thinks it may be very early signs of HCM.

Does anyone else have any other explanations as to why heart muscles may be thicker than normal.

Sigh I just Mozart to be healthy but it seems every test I do to bring him back just discovers more and more problems.

Did teh vet say what kind of tretment they will do.
I do know a little about hcm.
One of the sphynx breeders I know just found out one of her cats has a bad case of hcm.

That depends...how old is he?

Mozart is about 1 and a half years old right about now.

HCM can be hereditary and there are medications that can help reduce the strain on the heart. In older cats, HCM can also occur with hyperthyroidism, but that's not typical in young cat.

whats the typical life expectancy after diagnosis with proper medication?

T__T I'll be taking him to a cardiologist specialist in march when I go back to California. I'm hoping the ultrasound technician just messed up this time.

It varies widely. When I was a kid, I had a cat who was diagnosed with a heart murmur. No other tests were run and no medication was offered. He died very suddenly (fine one minute, gone the next) at the age of 12.