Fluid in cat abdomen

[ahow1987]

Hello, I was needing some advice regarding a health scare I just had with my cat.

I have a 13 yo male and he’s also been a lean guy. This week I noticed he gained a pot belly out of nowhere. He also seemed kind of skittish and scared of me just acting off. Today I saw him and his stomach looked even bigger so I took him to the ER vet. I’m not sure what I expected but she came back in the room and told me he had a large amount of fluid and she is pretty positive it’s cancer. I’m still in shock.

I am low on funds so I did what I could For him tonight which is pain meds and the fluid was drained. The way she spoke to me was that I should put him down in the next couple days (he didn’t get any tests yet) but she’s very positive he’s got cancer. I am going to borrow money from family and get a second opinion hopefully this week. He’s been eating and acting pretty normal besides the stomach size and being kind of standoffish with me.

many advice or has anyone else gone thru this? I’m going to see if I can get him a ultrasound and blood work and go from there. I’ve seen others online keep them going with medication if he does have cancer. Thanks

 

[IndyJones]

How is his heart? Kabuto had the same thing but in his case heart disease caused by hyperthyroidism caused fluid to build up in his abdomin.

At 13 hyperthyroidism is defenatly a possability with a very good prognosis. It can be controlled with medication.

Fluid buildup in the abdomin can be caused by heart disease, pneumonia and more.

I would not jump right to cancer without further ruling out other treatable conditions first. Especialy if there is no visable/touchable lump.

Defanatly Run a seinor pannel with t4 test.

 

[ahow1987]

How is his heart? Kabuto had the same thing but in his case heart disease caused by hyperthyroidism caused fluid to build up in his abdomin.

At 13 hyperthyroidism is defenatly a possability with a very good prognosis. It can be controlled with medication.

Fluid buildup in the abdomin can be caused by heart disease, pneumonia and more.

I would not jump right to cancer without further ruling out other treatable conditions first. Especialy if there is no visable/touchable lump.

Defanatly Run a seinor pannel with t4 test.

She said based on what she heard his heart sounds find so that’s why she positive he has cancer. She basically told me he needs to be euthanized but I’m trying to remain positive till he sees the vet.

 

[fionasmom]

At this point, you seem well within any time frame that would allow a second opinion. I am assuming from your post that your cat, while acting differently, is not suffering or showing signs of distress. I would not jump right to euthanasia without at least another opinion.

When you see the vet, either the first one or the new one, ask which tests or diagnostics will give you the most information for your money, and don't be afraid to bring up cost. Ask for an estimate if one is not offered and then, if it is not in your range, ask if certain procedures can be eliminated or modified.

Yes, there are treatments and medications for cat cancers and most cats tolerate them well.

The vet who immediately suggest euthanasia is a common enough comment here in the Health forum.

 

[ahow1987]

At this point, you seem well within any time frame that would allow a second opinion. I am assuming from your post that your cat, while acting differently, is not suffering or showing signs of distress. I would not jump right to euthanasia without at least another opinion.

When you see the vet, either the first one or the new one, ask which tests or diagnostics will give you the most information for your money, and don't be afraid to bring up cost. Ask for an estimate if one is not offered and then, if it is not in your range, ask if certain procedures can be eliminated or modified.

Yes, there are treatments and medications for cat cancers and most cats tolerate them well.

The vet who immediately suggest euthanasia is a common enough comment here in the Health forum.

Thank you. This is my first major health scare with my own pet since being a adult. So it’s common for vets to just suggest euthanasia?

 

[fionasmom]

It can be, and the opposite is the vet who has a treatment plan running into lots of money in the face of a case which has little hope of recovery.

In your case though, I would want to know why it seems necessary to make the jump from fluid to euthanasia and why there is no possible treatment. I would also want to know why it is right now. Your vet may be highly competent; I am not suggesting that they are not. This may be related to a personal belief that this could be hard to treat, whatever is the underlying case, not having seen good outcomes, etc. My cat vet will not perform any surgery on an elderly cat, meaning higher teens, as she believes that the prognosis is always poor. However, she always tells people that they are welcome to get another opinion from another practice. (Vets at the same practice tend to stick together in their opinions.)

Testing for Abdominal Enlargement in Cats | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals

I hope that your cat does not have a serious condition, but I would not want to put a pet to sleep because a vet had a ballpark diagnosis. Yes, your vet could be intuitively correct, but I think that you don't have enough answers or information.

 

[ahow1987]

It can be, and the opposite is the vet who has a treatment plan running into lots of money in the face of a case which has little hope of recovery.

In your case though, I would want to know why it seems necessary to make the jump from fluid to euthanasia and why there is no possible treatment. I would also want to know why it is right now. Your vet may be highly competent; I am not suggesting that they are not. This may be related to a personal belief that this could be hard to treat, whatever is the underlying case, not having seen good outcomes, etc. My cat vet will not perform any surgery on an elderly cat, meaning higher teens, as she believes that the prognosis is always poor. However, she always tells people that they are welcome to get another opinion from another practice. (Vets at the same practice tend to stick together in their opinions.)

Testing for Abdominal Enlargement in Cats | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals

I hope that your cat does not have a serious condition, but I would not want to put a pet to sleep because a vet had a ballpark diagnosis. Yes, your vet could be intuitively correct, but I think that you don't have enough answers or information.

Thanks for the help. I want to note that this vet I saw last night isn’t my regular vet she was a ER vet. She explained that they can run tests there but they would be sky high cause they are a ER vet. She basically said in her opinion she’s very confident it’s cancer without running tests. Her and her vet techs were even apologizing to me about the horrible news and consoling me.The first hour I was there I was making plans in my head to put him to sleep in the next few days. I did more research on my phone and decided to get a second opinion at my vet with more reasonable prices for me.

 

[fionasmom]

Let us know what happens. I now understand more of the situation. She was upfront about costs, which was considerate, and it sounds as if she is sympathetic. However, unless your cat were suffering horribly, I would not take the word of an ER vet on immediate euthanasia. Even then, I would probably ask for painkillers and get a second opinion.

 

[IndyJones]

Many cats even with a terminal illness do better at home where everything is famillier. Palliative care is also an option, especialy if your cat is not suffering. He will be much happier at home than in a clinic scared and surrounded by strangers and strange smells.

 

[Mighty Orange]

This vet suggest this for treatment.

 

[silent meowlook]

If you are taking about fluid in the abdomen no dewormer will help.

Fluid in the abdomen is called ascites. It is a serious condition that can be caused by many things. Heart failure, cancer, liver disease, injury, virus, FIP just to name a few. It is not something that will resolve on its own, as far as I know.

The first thing that should be done is blood work and an ultrasound. It’s not really a which one is better to do because you need both. Provided the person doing the ultrasound is confident in their abilities and has been educated in interpreting ultrasound. An ultrasound will show if there is lymph node involvement, if there is a mass large enough to see, and some of the internal organ structures.

Blood work will show the internal organ functions, like liver and kidneys. It will also show how low the proteins are, since leaking all that fluid into the abdomen is drawing that fluid from someplace else causing protein loss and possibly anemia. Blood work will show this.

X-ray would be pretty much useless.

To keep costs down a PCV could be done and that takes a tiny bit of blood and shows if the cat is anemic and if the protein is low. You can also look at something called the Buffy coat to get an extremely rough estimate of the white blood cells. You can look at the serum after the PCV tube is spun and see if it is yellow. Yellow serum indicates elevation of bilirubin in the blood which could indicate liver or biliary involvement.

It sounds like the ER vet’s bedside manner is lacking, which is typical for an ER. If you told her finances were a concern, then she was just trying to rush things along so she could get to the next case that maybe she felt she could “save” Of course I don’t know what she was thinking or not thinking or anything. I am just guessing from my experiences working with ER Vets.

I am sorry your kitty is so ill. Is he still eating? Does he seem comfortable? I have seen some cats with fluid on the abdomen recover with care. So, if this was my cat, I certainly would not be giving up without trying to find out what is going on first and trying to treat.

Please let us know what happens!