Possible pulmonary edema

IMPORTANT: If your cat is in any distress or discomfort, please consult your own vet as your first priority.
Post Reply
krkt
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:38 pm

Possible pulmonary edema

Post by krkt »

Hello, I have an 18 year old cat that recently started breathing fast and shallow. He's only had health issues twice.

He was coughing 4 years ago and the vet gave us some meds and he was better. And 2~ish months ago when again he was coughing, this time we ended giving him "Tusifug" which is a herbal syrup which stopped the cough.

2 days ago he started coughing and struggling to breath with his head tilted down. Took him to the vet today for a pulmonary xray and the vet said there is some liquid in the lungs and the heart isn't looking that great either. We made an appointment for a full set of tests including a ECG tomorrow but in the meantime I'm wondering if there's anything I can do.

I only have "Tusifug" syrup and I've also heard that furosemide is commonly used to treat heart failure and pulmonary edema in dogs and cats. The vet did say anything about this and I found it upon googling. However I only have Furosemide intended for humans and im not sure if there's a different one for cats.

And from what I've read the side effects range from Dehydration to lethargy and increased heart rate, which sound concerning. I guess my question is, should I try and give him one of those 2 options or wait until tomorrow morning when we have a vet appointment.

Many thanks
User avatar
fjm
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 1675
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:11 pm
No. of cats in household: 1
Location: North West England

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by fjm »

I would definitely wait until you can discuss it with the vet - human medicines may be harmful, and even when the formulation is similar the dosage will be far smaller.
User avatar
Mollycat
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 2705
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:58 am
No. of cats in household: 1
Location: UK

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by Mollycat »

No please never give medicines that have not been prescribed or cleared by the vet. if needed out of surgery hours use the emergency vet. Even a harmless ingredient to us can kill quickly and horribly - some meds can be given to one pet species but be lethal to another, or dosages can vary even as a per-weight-unit calculation.
mustafa811
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:24 am

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by mustafa811 »

I agree with molly and fjm, you need to be sure 1st and have an accurate diagnosis, if it was a chest problem lasix could dehydrate her and complicate the condition, you also need to do some labs to check renal and liver function, they could be the culprit causing generalized edema involving the chest.

You will need to check electrolytes periodically if she is gonna take lasix, as lasix is a diuretic and electrolytes tend to exit with water excreted in urine.

Xray will definitely show the lungs and their pathology if any exists, also cardiac shadow size ratio will suggest cardiac disease (heart failure).

If she is distressed and you couldn't visit the vet now, you could contact the vet who examined her and suggest starting with oral lasix in the time being.

It will definitely help if it is related to heart failure.

A CBC could show anemia too, anemia could cause dyspnea, also thyrotoxicosis could push the heart past its limit and cause dyspnea too.
krkt
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:38 pm

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by krkt »

Copy pasting from the thread i also made on reddit as im on phone


Unfortunately a 24 hour emergency hospital is not an option. There's only one in my town, which is very far away and only has 1 star reviews, being accused of misdiagnosing and killing pets. He has not coughed at all today, except this morning (its midnight here in europe), he is eating just fine from what ive noticed, using the litterbox. Only thing I can tell is that he has very fast shallow breating from his stomach and he seems more lethargic. The vet appointment is in around 9 hours.

However i did end up taking him to a 24/7 er vet
krkt
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:38 pm

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by krkt »

Took him to the vet and he gave him some shots: furosemide, branchadilatator and anti inflamatory Hes been sitting in a oxygen chamber for an hour Had a big scare when i drove him here as he was had his mouth fully open trying to breath Unsure what to do next, just hope my baby gets better
krkt
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:38 pm

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by krkt »

He has liquid in his lungs and the doctors tried draining it but could only manage half a ml. They did a ECG and some blood work. Only ones outside the norms are Cl- 131, BUN 56, K+ 3.59, CRE 2.6 and Na+ 168. Now hes back on oxygen. Shouldnt draining the liquid be the nr one priority or are the meds also as good? Also im scared as ive read oxygen supply shouldnt be done for a long time
mustafa811
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:24 am

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by mustafa811 »

krkt wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 9:47 am He has liquid in his lungs and the doctors tried draining it but could only manage half a ml. They did a ECG and some blood work. Only ones outside the norms are Cl- 131, BUN 56, K+ 3.59, CRE 2.6 and Na+ 168. Now hes back on oxygen. Shouldnt draining the liquid be the nr one priority or are the meds also as good? Also im scared as ive read oxygen supply shouldnt be done for a long time
Apparently it is not only the heart, renal functions are abit high and sodium level is elevated after revising normal electrolyte numbers in cats, potassium level is low normal, so giving lasix might affect it too, i guess you need a very good vet to address these issues, will pray for him to get better.

My only advice for the time being to buy him royal canin renal diet if available, trying to lower the burden on the kidneys, and make sure he is quite hydrated.

Did the vet mention anything about dialysis?! That might be the real main cause behind the dyspnea !!
krkt
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:38 pm

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by krkt »

Did not mention anything about dyalisis. Is that an option? We were supposed to take him to the best vet in town but its a 35 min drive and i was scared so we ended up taking him to a 24/7 er vet so the other vet is cancelled. The vet appointment was supposed to be in 90 mins ,so not even yet. And i was afraid he wouldnt make it. Was that a bad call?
mustafa811
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:24 am

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by mustafa811 »

krkt wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 10:28 am Did not mention anything about dyalisis. Is that an option? We were supposed to take him to the best vet in town but its a 35 min drive and i was scared so we ended up taking him to a 24/7 er vet so the other vet is cancelled. The vet appointment was supposed to be in 90 mins ,so not even yet. And i was afraid he wouldnt make it. Was that a bad call?
I wouldn't call it a bad call, you are just trying your best, most probably they are all the same, but if you still can call him to make an exclusion for your cat case, that would be preferable, if he doesn't appreciate that then he isn't that good after all.

Dialysis for cats is limited worldwide and not quite available, i just asked about it because it seems there is an electrolytes imbalanace and fluid retension, and it might be the reason behind the pulmonary edema, so you need to discuss available options with your vet.
User avatar
Mollycat
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 2705
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:58 am
No. of cats in household: 1
Location: UK

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by Mollycat »

krkt wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 9:47 am He has liquid in his lungs and the doctors tried draining it but could only manage half a ml. They did a ECG and some blood work. Only ones outside the norms are Cl- 131, BUN 56, K+ 3.59, CRE 2.6 and Na+ 168. Now hes back on oxygen. Shouldnt draining the liquid be the nr one priority or are the meds also as good? Also im scared as ive read oxygen supply shouldnt be done for a long time
Something not right in what you're being told, potassium (K) normal is between 3.4 and 5.6 so 3.59 is not outside or norms for a start and sodium not too far from 140. The ratio between na+ and K+ is important though. As far as I know those BUN and creatinine readings are nothing that can't be supported with a renal diet and certainly nothing needing the extreme step of dialysis.

This might be a good time to either leave google alone or start reading in depth from reliable sources, and the best there is would be this:
https://felinecrf.org/index.htm - Helen is American so you might have to look up some of the numbers to translate between American and British measures but her website is just the best resource there is on feline renal issues.

But for now focus on the immediate problem, his heart and lungs and whatever is going on there which your vet is already investigating. Open mouth breathing can be simply down to stress, which is not to be underestimated but also not necessarily a sign of serious illness. It's important that you remain calm and focused so that you can give off the right healing vibes for your cat, your stress will make him stressed and interfere with medical investigation, symptoms and treatments. Try to be calm and positive.
krkt
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:38 pm

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by krkt »

I ended up leaving that vet clinic, and went to the initial vet appointment. The only reason I went there was because that was the only 24/7 clinic in town. I've heard of that clinic before and had extremely bad reviews which I can attest were legitimate. In the 12+ hours he was there and during oxygen therapy he was not given food or water once and I had to buy them on my own. We also did not get a clear diagnosis.

I took the risk to take him to the initial appointment which was with the best cardiologist in town.
Ride to the other clinic was 45 mins both ways, spent an hour there, cat was ok. We got an actual diagnosis and medication and the doctor explained everything loud and clear and was a genuinely nice human being. Cat's now on 1/4 50mg of Furosemide every 12 hours and 1/8 50mg Atenolol every 24 hours and we have a follow up on Friday. He said he expected the cat to be in worse shape from what he heard. He also said oxygen is not mandatory but can help.

Went to the other 24/7 clinic an hour ago (8PM here) to do oxygen therapy during the night and they made us do another ECG and wanted us to sign a waiver agreeing that the cat is very ill and they're not responsible if anything happens. They also did not allow us to spend the night there, like we did the previous night. They were very rude and arrogant. It was clear they held a grudge because we took him somewhere else for a 2nd opinion and I genuinely was afraid to leave my cat alone in their hands, which should NEVER be the case with a doctor.
mustafa811
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:24 am

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by mustafa811 »

How is your cat now krkt ?!
krkt
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:38 pm

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by krkt »

He's a lot better, thanks for asking. He has no more fluids in his heart/lungs and the doctor said that the danger has passed and that he's satisfied with the results. We have a follow-up check-up next Friday. He was on Prednisone/Synulox injections for 3 days, which have ceased and Furosemide & Atenolol since Tuesday, which he'll continue taking until next Friday the earliest.
Started eating more, isn't as withdrawn anymore. Looks like he's doing better every day.
mustafa811
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:24 am

Re: Possible pulmonary edema

Post by mustafa811 »

krkt wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 5:12 pm He's a lot better, thanks for asking. He has no more fluids in his heart/lungs and the doctor said that the danger has passed and that he's satisfied with the results. We have a follow-up check-up next Friday. He was on Prednisone/Synulox injections for 3 days, which have ceased and Furosemide & Atenolol since Tuesday, which he'll continue taking until next Friday the earliest.
Started eating more, isn't as withdrawn anymore. Looks like he's doing better every day.
That's good news , wish he improves more and more , don't forget to check the food type and try to search for a suitable type for his medical problems , royal canin is excellent
Post Reply