Breathing problems

Hi, this is my first post. My cat is 9 years old and has had very few medical problems (infection once years ago and was bitten by another cat about 6 months ago).  During the previous couple of days I've noticed he was slightly lazier, doing his routine later but still fairly active. This morning his breathing was wheezy, although he seemed fine and playful. I decided to check his resting breathing rate which was about 50-60 per minute. I called the emergency vet and she said he doesn't have an infection but his lungs sound like there might be fluid in them so she's prescribed diuretics and will x-ray him tomorrow. He's also lost about a pound in the previous 6 months.

From doing some fairly brief research... this isn't likely to be a non-serious cause, is it?

Thanks for any input/thoughts.

Hi, welcome to TCS. I'm sorry your cat is ill.

Is your cat at the emergency vet right now?

It's good that you knew to check respiratory rate and took action quickly.

Is the vet aware that your cat was bitten 6 months ago? Just wondering because the timing of the bite and the timing of the weight loss coincides... Was he treated for the bite?

I found this and it's worth reading all the way through.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/health_information/CW_lungs.cfm

Sending mega vibes for your kitty. What's his name?

Hi LotsofFur, thanks for your support. His name is Alfie, and his visit to the vets was brief, she checked his heart and said it was fine (although explained heart conditions can be relatively hidden in cats), and said there was a bit of noise on his lungs initially, hence the diuretics. His breathing is still fast, although he's calm and sleeping now.

I don't think the bite was mentioned, although this is the same surgery that treated him for that (he was given a course of antibiotics for the bite in March). The fact that he doesn't have any signs of infection, nor any history of asthma made her conclude that the cause is possibly a heart condition.

I wonder if anyone's had any similar experiences of sudden breathing difficulties in an otherwise perfectly healthy cat?

If you go to "search" within the cat health forum you will find tons of threads regarding breathing issues.

It could be possible that these breathing difficulties may not have been sudden, over time he may have been starting to have issues and now you are just noticing as it is so noticeable?

I would get an X-ray asap.

Hope he gets better and keep us posted

His heart is enlarged, so the diagnosis is heart failure.

Our last cat was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy when he was just a bit older than Alfie, and he had a couple of bouts of congestive heart failure. They're scary. His heart condition was managed for quite a while (he lived to almost 14) with medications like beta blockers and diuretics he was prescribed by a veterinary cardiologist. This article gives a rundown on the possible types:

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for Alfie!

Thanks for your support, jcat. What symptoms caused the initial diagnosis, if you don't mind me asking?