New diagnosis for my 6 year old cat: chylothorax

Hi all, I've started searching through the archives, but I thought I
would also post about this. Someone on another message board said
there were some folks here with experience with this condition.

My 6 year old kitty Kitsu was having some breathing problems last
week, so I took him to the vet. He was so stressed by the trip that
he was in crisis by the time I got him to the vet. They did an x-ray
and found his lungs were severely compressed, because of fluid
buildup. They put him on oxygen and later that morning drained the
fluid (72ml). My vet told me at the time he suspected chylothorax,
but sent the fluid off to be tested.

Because of a mixup with the lab, and the intervening weekend, I didn't
find out until late yesterday that Kitsu does indeed have
chylothorax. I haven't picked up a copy of the report because it came
through late yesterday, and I don't normally drive to work (my vet is
about a mile from my office). I'll swing by there on Saturday and get
a copy of it, so I don't have numbers to give.

At this point, we do not know if there is an underlying cause, and I
was referred to a cardiologist to get a chest ultrasound. I have an
apointment for that in 2 weeks (luckily my mother is sending me the
money to pay for that, I couldn't even pay the entire bill from last
week!).

Meanwhile, Kitsu came through the chest tap great, and has been doing
very well since I brought him home. He's breathing much more comfy,
he's eating and drinking on his own, purring, he seems much more
happy. He's especially enthusiastic about me giving him Fancy Feast
(I wanted to make sure he's staying hydrated). He's currently on
lasix, clavamox and prednisone (when I can actually get the darned
liquids into him!).

I'll be watching him like a hawk to make sure no more breathing
problems. I know I don't want him to have a tumor or heart problems,
but from what I can find reading online, it's kind of a mixed bag with
this condition if it's idiopathic.

This poor little guy has been through a lot in his life - he had a
particularly rough beginning (he was a 4 month old feral that I
rescued, and at the time was severely malnourished and had an eye
injury, and it took lots of nursing to get him just through that!). I
love this little guy more than anything in the world.

BTW, I have 3 other cats, one who is diabetic and has lymphoma (who
luckily is doing great), so I understand about costs and time
commitment and that sort of thing. I just want to do what I can to
make my little guy well.

Renee

Please email me. I know someone who has experience with this and can
get you in touch with her.

Rene