Breathing problems

moocat

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Hey everybody. I'll try to keep this short without rambling on too much.

I have a 15 year old female cat. I had a vet who did home visits but she's taken a break for a while and has another guy doing it for her. I noticed the cat had been losing a lot of weight so we had him come check her out.

When he came, he said she had bad teeth and mammary tumors of about 1.75 mm in size (if I remember correctly). When he was there, she started breathing really heavily. It's something I never saw before in her. Ever since then, she's been very lethargic and even the slightest physical activity wears her out and she goes back to breathing really heavy.

He's done a few things to try to help the breathing since he's unable to determine the source. He prescribed something that would help if it were an infection and that did nothing. He gave her a Cortizone shot about 8 days ago and that hasn't helped. He did blood tests and said that the breathing issues were not from any sort of cancer of the lungs. He hasn't returned my call from the other day, I'm thinking about getting a second opinion.

So what is realistically the next step? What could be other sources of the breathing issues? It hurts me to see the cat in such bad shape. And should I do anything about the mammary tumors or let nature do its thing?
 

sharky

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All I can do is send
and prayer s ... I do know a few members have dealt with similiar issues and hopefully will give there expertise
 
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moocat

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Originally Posted by sharky

All I can do is send
and prayer s ... I do know a few members have dealt with similiar issues and hopefully will give there expertise
Thanks. Every little bit helps. It kills me inside to see my kitty in pain.


To follow up, I just found a list the vet wrote for some possible causes:

- asthma (for the first time in a cat this old, unlikely)
- infection (we tried antibiotics for this, didn't do anything)
- pulmonary embolism (what can be done if this is the case?)
 

huggles

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I am sorry that your going through this with your girl... I also cant really offer any advise but the first thing I thought of was heartworm disease, or possibly heart problems. Did the vet check for these things?

Does the vet seem concerned? If not then I most certainly would be getting a second opinion. When does your usual vet get back? or has she taken a long leave?
 
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moocat

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Originally Posted by huggles

I am sorry that your going through this with your girl... I also cant really offer any advise but the first thing I thought of was heartworm disease, or possibly heart problems. Did the vet check for these things?

Does the vet seem concerned? If not then I most certainly would be getting a second opinion. When does your usual vet get back? or has she taken a long leave?
He ruled out any sort of heart problems early on. My original vet won't be back to work for a while.

I spoke to the vet today, he referred me to a hospital where they will be able to do some tests to figure out what is blocking the airway. It could be tumors on the lungs. The uncertainty of it all is what bugs me, and the fact that she went from having an excellent quality of life to such a poor one practically overnight is quite confusing and surprising. Thanks for the well wishes.
 

miss mew

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I'm very sorry that you are having to go through all of this with your kitty and I'm sending both of you many prayers. Please keep us posted.
 
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moocat

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Originally Posted by Miss Mew

I'm very sorry that you are having to go through all of this with your kitty and I'm sending both of you many prayers. Please keep us posted.
Spoke to another vet today. No good news. I guess I know what the next step is going to be.
Thanks again for the prayers and well-wishes.
 
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