It's been a long time since I've visited the forum and much has happened. Yesterday, I took Bella to the vets because I was worried about her weight and she had seemed subdued for a few days. She had had laryngitis back in January and lost her meow and prior to that, in November she had to be treated for an ear infection. Bella has been healthy all 9 years of her life until November 2014 and apart from the annual visit to the vets for her vaccinations, we have never had cause for her to see the vet.
When she was treated for her ear infection it was noted that she had lost weight but we all put it down to her being under the weather. When we took her in because she had lost her meow (which she did get back), she had lost even more weight. It was put down to the fact that she was sick but with hindsight, perhaps I should have pushed for some tests because she had lost more than 300g.
So yesterday, i took her to the vets because her weight loss was worrying me and she seemed so subdued, I was worried there was something wrong. Our regular vet was off so we had the replacement guy - he suggested blood tests and an x-ray because he commented that her breathing seemed to be very laboured. Her temperature was slightly elevated and she had lost even more weight since January.
The x-rays showed that her lungs were full of fluid so I gave permission for this to be drained and for a test of her heart to be taken. Bella isn't a large cat but they removed 160ml of fluid from her lungs. Some of the fluid has also been sent away for testing. The vet reported that there seemed to be more fluid in the front of the lungs but he daren't drain it because it was too close to the heart and he was of the opinion that Bella was suffering from imminent heart failure. He suggested that we take her home and bring her back a few days later to see if draining the fluid made her breathing slightly easier.
By this point, I was already distraught so when he called me again 3 hours later, I was terrified that I had lost Bella. He told me that he had spoken to an ultrasound specialist who had agreed to take an ultrasound of Bella that evening to see if we could uncover the cause of the fluid build up. The results of the ultrasound shows that what the vet thought was more fluid on the front of her lungs is actually a tumour on her thorax.
Bella is going back tomorrow to see our regular vet for a check up and hopefully, we should know the results of the outstanding tests. I've been trying to read up on her condition but it's tough since we don't know 100% what we are dealing with. Given she only had a check up back in November, I don't understand how my vet didn't notice the laboured breathing and even when I took her in for the laryngitis, how this was still missed. I am currently swinging from being angry at my vets to crying fits because I don't want to lose my Bella.
Sorry for the long post. If anyone has any experience of this, I would really love to hear from them.
Thanks,
When she was treated for her ear infection it was noted that she had lost weight but we all put it down to her being under the weather. When we took her in because she had lost her meow (which she did get back), she had lost even more weight. It was put down to the fact that she was sick but with hindsight, perhaps I should have pushed for some tests because she had lost more than 300g.
So yesterday, i took her to the vets because her weight loss was worrying me and she seemed so subdued, I was worried there was something wrong. Our regular vet was off so we had the replacement guy - he suggested blood tests and an x-ray because he commented that her breathing seemed to be very laboured. Her temperature was slightly elevated and she had lost even more weight since January.
The x-rays showed that her lungs were full of fluid so I gave permission for this to be drained and for a test of her heart to be taken. Bella isn't a large cat but they removed 160ml of fluid from her lungs. Some of the fluid has also been sent away for testing. The vet reported that there seemed to be more fluid in the front of the lungs but he daren't drain it because it was too close to the heart and he was of the opinion that Bella was suffering from imminent heart failure. He suggested that we take her home and bring her back a few days later to see if draining the fluid made her breathing slightly easier.
By this point, I was already distraught so when he called me again 3 hours later, I was terrified that I had lost Bella. He told me that he had spoken to an ultrasound specialist who had agreed to take an ultrasound of Bella that evening to see if we could uncover the cause of the fluid build up. The results of the ultrasound shows that what the vet thought was more fluid on the front of her lungs is actually a tumour on her thorax.
Bella is going back tomorrow to see our regular vet for a check up and hopefully, we should know the results of the outstanding tests. I've been trying to read up on her condition but it's tough since we don't know 100% what we are dealing with. Given she only had a check up back in November, I don't understand how my vet didn't notice the laboured breathing and even when I took her in for the laryngitis, how this was still missed. I am currently swinging from being angry at my vets to crying fits because I don't want to lose my Bella.
Sorry for the long post. If anyone has any experience of this, I would really love to hear from them.
Thanks,
