Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

My cat has 'Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia' that she was born with. The vet says that this is where the diaphram is open to the abdomin and this puts pressure on the lungs. You can have this problem in an animal if they have a tramatic situation like getting hit by a car or kicked. She was a stray but there are no indications of trama so she was probably born with this condition. Surgery is out of the question because there may not be a diaphram to repair. She would need to be graphed a new one which is too risky and very expensive.

She has problems breathing because of pressure on her lungs but she's getting alone fine. The problem that I have with her now is that i cannot get her fixed and she's starting to go into heat. There are injections to take her out of heat but the side effects may cause problems that would require surgery, which she cannot have. 

I'm just going to ride it out and if things get intolerable I'll have to figure something out but I'm just wondering of any other suggestions that may be out there. I have an older male cat that is fixed and they get along fine, even when she's in heat. The meowing isn't too bad but I'm not sure if it'll get worse, especially at night. She's about 9 months old and I heard it gets worse as they get older. Not sure if theres anything that I can do but would appreciate any feedback.

Does anyone else have a cat that they can't get spayed? I know none of our cats back in my childhood were ever spayed/neutered, but I've never had one as an adult. How bad is it when a female cat is in heat?

My Persil had a hole in her diaphragm, too. I did not know until it ruptured when she was 6 months old, and she began breathing very fast and refused to eat. After she was treated for gastro-enteritis(!!!) for 3 weeks, during which time I syringe-fed her, I finally went to a university animal hospital w here they xrayed her and found the problem. They at first accused me of ill-treating her, which was very traumatic, and then wanted to PTS her, but I finally I saw a surgeon there who offered to operate, though he said the chances were slim. But 8 years later she is a normal cat with a good life. So what I am trying to say is that this is a very serious condition that many vets can't diagnose or deal with but in the right hands it is operable. @Jeffscat, has your cat been xrayed or had ultrasound to determine whether her diaphragm does exist? Persil had her intestines all caught up in her upper thorax by the time she was operated on, it was a mess, but they saved her. Good luck.

I don't have any experience in the condition, but good luck, and mega healthy  for your little girl

She had an xray done and it shown that her intestines had moved up against her lungs. They are not sure if there is no diaphragm or a tear but they figure that there isn't any to work with and so if she had surgery, they would have to make up some kind of a mesh for a diaphragm to grow around. They're saying probably $5000-$10000 for surgery at a specialist. I can't justify that. I brought her in from the bitter cold that she probably would not have survived in so she's had a better life then she would have already. I've gone through 1 heat cycle that wasn't too bad. I'm thinking that i do have an older male cat that is fixed and so being around him while she is in heat, she's not so crazy. Not sure if thats true but we'll see the next time. Plus I bought the plug in "Feliway" to help comfort stressful cats.

She seems healthy enough to play and race around the house with the other cat. She's gaining weight but seems a little thin, maybe due to the other cat eating her food but i'm starting to monitor that. I'm just going to give her a good of a life as i can and see how things go. 

Not positive I'm remembering this correctly but I think someone once told me about using a portion of a human birth control pill once a month to keep a cat from going into heat. Look online to see if there's any more accurate information.

Jeffscat said:

She had an xray done and it shown that her intestines had moved up against her lungs. They are not sure if there is no diaphragm or a tear but they figure that there isn't any to work with and so if she had surgery, they would have to make up some kind of a mesh for a diaphragm to grow around. They're saying probably $5000-$10000 for surgery at a specialist. I can't justify that. I brought her in from the bitter cold that she probably would not have survived in so she's had a better life then she would have already. I've gone through 1 heat cycle that wasn't too bad. I'm thinking that i do have an older male cat that is fixed and so being around him while she is in heat, she's not so crazy. Not sure if thats true but we'll see the next time. Plus I bought the plug in "Feliway" to help comfort stressful cats.
She seems healthy enough to play and race around the house with the other cat. She's gaining weight but seems a little thin, maybe due to the other cat eating her food but i'm starting to monitor that. I'm just going to give her a good of a life as i can and see how things go. 

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I think you are right, given all the facts, and that you are doing the best you can for her. It certainly sounds like she enjoying the life she has now, and that every day, week, month is a blessing. Good luck for a long future with her.

I don't see much info online but i'll ask my vet the next time. I did see something about sham breeding that i'm going to ask the vet about to.