Abnormal breathing after vet visit today

Oswin

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I'm posting here because I just don't know what to do anymore.

My cat had a dental procedure done on Tuesday where they administered a mild anesthesia due to her age. She's 15. Since then she's been lethargic and not acting herself. On Thursday night I went to give her clavamox and had to wrestle her a little bit to get it in her mouth, afterwards she pulled back and breathed weirdly for a second or two and just fell over. For about 20 minutes she had trouble walking. Eventually she was fine, but I brought her into the vet this morning and told them what happened and asked for a checkup to be done because she's not really touching her food or water.

They tell me she has a mild case of spondylosis and a build-up of hardened feces in her colon. So they gave her fluids, an enema, then sent her home with gabapentin and warned that she will probably be a little miserable today and to monitor her eating and let them know by Monday if it hadn't improved.

Not long after I got her home I noticed she's breathing abnormally (I took a video). It sounds like huffs, but her mouth is closed. She's able to walk around fine, if I set her down, but when she is lying down she's very still and continues this abnormal breathing. I'm in tears at this point because I've spent so much money that I already don't have and all I see is another concerning issue. I'm just not sure what to do anymore. She was perfectly fine before this procedure on Tuesday.
 

silent meowlook

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Hi. This isn’t what you want to hear. You should get her to a vet ASAP. The recent fluids could have caused a fluid volume overload depending on how much was given and what condition her heart is in.

The reasons I am concerned about this is the abnormal breathing you are seeing and the fact that she fell over when stressed. All that could point to an underlying heart condition that wouldn’t be able to manage the fluids given.

it is worth a trip to the emergency vet.
 
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Oswin

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Hi. This isn’t what you want to hear. You should get her to a vet ASAP. The recent fluids could have caused a fluid volume overload depending on how much was given and what condition her heart is in.

The reasons I am concerned about this is the abnormal breathing you are seeing and the fact that she fell over when stressed. All that could point to an underlying heart condition that wouldn’t be able to manage the fluids given.

it is worth a trip to the emergency vet.
I contacted an emergency mobile vet and am waiting for a call back.

To clarify, she didn't fall over today. She is able to walk if I set her down. The only alarming signs I am seeing today is the abnormal breathing and lethargy when she's laying down. She's also not purring at all anymore.
 
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Oswin

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How are things today?
The vet found fluid in her lungs and a pleural effusion. Liquid was drained from her lungs, and he suggested an echo done for her heart, but no cardiologist was available. Unfortunately, the liquid does not appear to be because of the subcutaneous injection she received as the previous vet advised me that they lift the skin for the injection and don't insert. Most likely this is a result of her receiving anesthesia on Tuesday for her dental work. She has a heart murmur/slightly enlarged heart, murmur was labeled as a 2, but instead of them doing an echo to determine why, they only ran a physical and EKG. She now has to receive heart medication for the remainder of her life. And I will need to eventually take her to a cardiologist to run an echo for more information.

I'm a little upset that they didn't perform an echo on Tuesdah, I wasn't keen on the anesthesia from the start because she's old, but was reassured countless times it'd be fine. There was little that could be done as she needed the dental procedure due to potential infection if left untreated.

So I'm disheartened at her current state and I can only hope with meds that it will be manageable. She was given Furosemide for the lungs to take and they will examine again before renewal, and they prescribed Pimobendan for her heart. Since bringing her home after the ER, her breathing is much better and she finally ate a little and has been drinking on and off all day. She's also purring again, even though she's still a bit lethargic, but I'm sure she's also deeply unhappy that she's been to 3 vets in the past 24 hours.
 

silent meowlook

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I’m so glad she went to the vet and is feeling better. I am sorry that she had complications due to the dental. Anesthesia is always a risk.
 
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