Fluid in Heart Sac of 3.5 year old fur child- lab results showed no cancer, what to do?

Hello guys, I am new here hoping I can find someone who has had a similar experience with their fur baby. I have a 3.5 year old neutered male DSH bengal named Indiana Jones, Indy for short. Over a week he lost his appetite and was coughing/hacking. We thought it was a stuck hairball but after the primary care vet saw his heart on an xray they told us to take Indy to the ER vet with cardiologists ASAP. It turns out he had pericardial effusion (fluid in the sac surrounding the heart). They drained 200ml of fluid (!!) and he stayed overnight for observation. I was able to take him home yesterday and he's back to eating, drinking, playing and snugging like normal!

I also received the lab results they did to analyze the fluid as they feared it was cancer causing the fluid build up. Good news is there was no specific cancer cells found. Bad news is they don't really know what caused the effusion. The cardiologist gave us a few options to think about going forward, but I just don't know what to do. The options are A) treat Indy as if he has cancer with chemo/steroid drugs, B) perform an invasive surgery to biopsy a piece of the pericardial sac to see if it's cancer or C) just monitor him as they predict recurrence of the fluid build up since he's so young.

I hesitate to do anything drastic or treat him for cancer if they weren't able to definitively say he has cancer- that just seems totally unnecessary and ridiculous, and I don't want him feeling ill at all, especially if there really isn't cancer. I also don't want to perform the biopsy as the risks involved (sedation to having a hole in the sack that could lead to fluid build up around his lungs) are too severe. And financially, as much as we love him, we're not sure after this ER visit and heart fluid-draining how we can afford to do anything severe.

My question is- has anyone experienced this with their fur child? What was the diagnosis (if not cancer or heart disease)? How was it treated? Is it possible to prevent the fluid build up without a specific underlying cause (maybe with anti-inflammatories or steroids or something?) I love this little guy so much, any help is much appreciated!

-Indy's worried mommy

From what I've read, cancer is no the only reason for pericardial effusion in cats.  Did you see an actual cardiologist? (Did they do an echo cardiogram there? - that might be a clue)   If not, that would be the first thing to do,(see a Cardiologist),  IMHO. 

If the Vet you saw WAS an actual cardiologist, did you ask them what you could do if you go with Option 3 to try to prevent it from coming back?  Personally, I would choose that option rther than speculate cancer and sit down with the Vet and really discuss what the next steps are to TRY to prevent future episodes, like steroid, salt free diet, whatever.  Could this have been caused by some sort of infection?  (I don't have any idea, just tossing stuff out there) 

Thank you for your reply, mrsgreenjeens. My husband called the vet and apparently I misunderstood when she spoke of cancer cells in the fluid. There were a couple kinds of cells found, but they aren't sure what kind of cancer it is. We did indeed speak with a cardiologist who performed the echocardiogram and advised it wasn't infection or heart disease. So I guess at this point we can look into an oncologist and treatment but the expenses for that are quite astronomical, especially after what we have already paid for cardiac consults and the fluid draining and ER visit. And of course, I love him dearly and wish finances weren't an issue. This just sucks, and being an adult sucks.

Yes, it's a horrible situation when finances get in the way of being able to take care of your loves ones, cats included.  Is it possible to at least talk to an oncologist to get an idea of what the possibilities are?  That way you at least have some sort of idea.  It may be a fairly east "fix", or may not be treatable at all. 

In the meantime, maybe something in this article can help you with the financial end:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/no-money-for-vet-care-how-to-find-help-and-save-your-cats-life