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Animal help rare condition?

Animal specialist or Medical Knowledge urgently needed? PLEASE HELP...URGENT!! Animal specialists and/or medically knowledgeable people needed! I am seeking the help of any health care/medically knowledgeable people for advice. I have a seventeen year old mixed breed cat. She has always been quite healthy. About 3 or 4 years ago, she developed a 'hyper active thyroid.' She has been on Tapazole ever since then, and has responded very well to it. She is currently on a dosage of 5 mg, 1/2 a tablet in the morning, and one whole tablet in the evenings. About two months ago I took her for her regular checkup and my vet heard a "gallop" in her heart. We started her on 2.5 mg of Amlodipine, 1/4 of a tablet every three days. Things seemed to be going well, I brought her in a couple of weeks later, and the vet said her heart sounded great, and to keep the treatment going. Two days later, my cat was having very labored breathing and I brought her into an emergency vet clinic. They told me that her lungs were filled with fluid, and that they had to "tap her chest." They were able to successfully remove the fluid, and I took her the next day to see a heart specialist. They did an echocardiogram on her, and even though her heart seemed to look all right, we started to treat her for heart disease. We took her off the Amlodipine and put her on Lasix (12.5 mg, half a tablet twice a day) AND Enalapril (2.5 mg, half a tablet twice a day). She remained on those medications for a few weeks. Meanwhile, every single Friday she was rechecked, and the fluid was always back. We had to continually remove the fluid (through chest taps). Finally, the cardiologist ran some kind of blood work, to look at where her 'heart values' were at. He said that if it was in fact heart disease, that the numbers would be "through the roof." When we got the results back, all of her heart values were fine. We were both surprised. So, then he said it could possibly be "vasculitis?" Something where the vessels in her body were leaking. So, we put her on Prednisone (5 mg, half a tablet twice a day). She was on that for a couple of weeks...still, every Friday like clockwork, the fluid was back. Always around the same amount...no more, no less. In a last ditch effort, thinking maybe it could be some kind of fungus, we have put her on Doxycycline (liquid form, 100 mg/ml...I give her 0.2 mls twice a day). We also know that it is not cancer, because we've run the fluid (from her lungs) on two separate occasions, to check for cancer. And, it keeps coming back clean. The fluid that they keep removing is perfectly clear...not cloudy or straw-like at all. This is what we know right now: It is not heart disease, leaky vessels, fungus, or cancer. She is currently on a half a tablet of Prednisone (twice a day), 0.2 mls of Doxycycline (twice a day), and Tapazole (half a tablet in the morning, whole tablet at night). Other than the fluid in her lungs, she is PERFECTLY fine. She doesn't show any signs of discomfort or pain at all. She is eating and drinking normally, she is playful and affectionate...you would never even know that there is anything wrong. We have tried EVERYTHING that we can think of. The only option left is surgery, where they will open her chest and dig around inside. I am desperately trying to avoid this at all costs, for it is extremely aggressive, and potentially fatal. I am turning to all of you. I am reaching out to the huddled Internet masses, and begging for you to help me. ANY suggestions, thoughts, opinions, and ideas that you may have are not only welcomed, but completely needed. I pray that if we all put our brains together, that maybe we can save my sweet little Mandrake's life. I am also willing to offer a reward to anyone whose information results in the correct diagnosis. Please help me, she means the world to me

Public Comments

1. i'm sorry, i don't have an answer for your question, but i wanted to say a few things. Number one i am soo sorry you, your family and your cat are going through this,. Reading this brought tears to my eyes and i will pray for her well being. You are a truly genuine person and obviously you are trying everything in your power to make your cat better, so i guess the only thing i can say is keep trying. All the luck to both of you
2. I am so sorry to hear about sweet little Mandrake's illness. I wish I could offer some advice, but there really isn't anything else that you can do. Each time the fluid builds up, the only way is to do a chest tap and draw it back out. We would, at our practice, recommend that you put her to sleep when she is tired of the fight. Each time her chest fills with fluid, it stresses all the other organs in her body. And, although, she may be fine once the fluid is removed, the fact is that she suffers until it is, and she suffers each time they have to pass a chest tube. You will find that there is a point where Mandrake will let you know that she is tired of the fight. That will be the time to give her the final kindness of not letting her suffer any more. I am so sorry. I know how awful it is to love something so much, and not be able to take away it's pain.
3. I'm sorry you're going through all this. It sounds as though you've done everything you can short of surgery. At 17 yo, surgery would be extremely risky. It it really worth it? About the only suggestion I can make is to check her albumin. Low albumin is associated with pulmonary edema. Since she's been seen by a cardiologist, I would think he checked her albumin level, but it never hurts to ask. It sounds as if she has a good qualilty of life right now. If she were my cat, I wouldn't do the surgery. I'd continue taking her in to have the fluid drawn off, and would keep her happy and as comfortable as I could. If the fluid started building up faster, meaning she'd have to go more frequently, then I'd start considering if her quality of life was still good. What you're going through is really hard. You want to do what is best, but is it best for her?