Dr. Steffen Runquist

What Cat Lovers are Asking this Week…

• Q:

  I adopted a six week stray and I fell in love - took her to vet for initial care but she seemed sickly. After several visits to vet who drained fluid from lungs was told she had pyothorax and I should consider quality of life. I don't know if I did the right thing by having her put down - is there hope for a kitten with that disease? What else could I have done? I can't top grieving and so full of guilt I don't know what to do. I'm 83 years of age, this being my first exposure to cats. Please help.

  A:

  I am so sorry about this little stray that you found and her sad story. It is always a struggle to decide when to let a sick cat go and I have struggled with the same decision myself. I think it is just human nature to look back and second guess the decisions we make. Pyothorax can be a very difficult disease to deal with and can often be fatal. Treatment can be extensive and your veterinarian was really in the best place to give recommendations.
  
  Speaking from experience, veterinarians never take the decision to recommend euthanasia lightly and I would never discuss it seriously with a client unless I felt it was a reasonable option. I think perhaps this little stray was meant to find you. If she had been this sick out where she was, she could have had a very distressing end. Because you found her, she had time where she knew she was loved and she was given comfort at the end. You will always remember and love this little cat but as the pain subsides, I hope you can find another cat to share your love with too. Please take care.

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• Q:

  My 5 pound cat has tetralogy of Fallot and tricuspid dysplasia. She was only supposed to have lived a few days but with special care and good doctors, she is now 8-1/2 years old and although tiny, looks normal. I give her oxygen when she gets stressed and special food and lots of love. As a kitten she was not deemed a good prospect for spaying so is still intact. Last week she developed vaginal hyperplasia as a result of estrous. I'm concerned that she would not survive surgery, which is considered to be the best solution. I've been given an alternative of treatment with Ovaban to try to shrink the tissue that has prolapsed, but I have read on the Purina site that it is not recommended for unspayed females. Her veterinarians have also expressed concern at this treatment. Do you know of any other alternative, or could you recommend a safe dosage of Ovaban or possible combination of drugs? At the moment, the prolapsed tissue is about jelly-bean size, I would also like to contact any other cat owners who have tetralogy of Fallot cats, if you know of any.

  A:

  I am so glad to hear that your cat has done so well. Vaginal hyperplasia is very unusual in cats and something I have never seen. As you've probably seen from some of my postings, I am not an Ovaban fan and I would be concerned about using it in your cat due to the side effects of diabetes, endometritis, cystic endometrial hypertrophy and mammary gland changes. If it is heat related, this may resolve on its own. If not, it may be time to make some difficult decisions and think about surgery. I am concerned that at some point she is going to have to be spayed for a pyometra (infected uterus) and at that point it could be an emergency and life threatening. You did not discuss any treatments your cat is currently receiving besides the oxygen.
  
  What I would suggest, is perhaps repeating an echocardiogram of your cat's heart to see how it is working. Beta-blockers, a type of heart medication, are being used more commonly with this heart condition and can help these cats quite a bit. If the heart looks stable, then surgery may not be as much of a risk. The cardiologist that does the echo could also give you and your veterinarian their thoughts and recommendations on anesthesia. Dependent on your location, you may have a veterinary anesthetist in the area that could handle her anesthesia. Your cat has already proved so many people wrong and is stronger than anyone thought she would be, perhaps this will be a case where she proves again her strong will.
  
  As far as other owners of cats with Tetralogy of Fallot...because it is fairly unusual, there are no groups of owners I know of. I would place a search out to that crazy world wide web or contact your local veterinary referral hospital that has a cardiologist to see if they have contacts for you. I wish you and your cat the best with all of this.

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• Q:

  My 14 year old black short hair cat died last nite. I have had him since he was 5 weeks old and except dental issues he has been a healthy cat. It all started this last Sunday (5 days ago) he started having breathing problem like birth labor and seems like he was in pain and not eating after that. I took him to vet and they did blood test and the result came to be some white blood disorder and pancreas inflammation. They gave me some pain killer and antibiotic but did not help much but he started to eat some. Yesterday (Friday) I visit him at home on my lunch and he was doing ok but when I came back from work 4 hours later on he was dead resting in my bed. The night before he slept with me all nite long purring even with heavy breathing seem like he knew it is coming. It has been tough for me dealing with it. I am trying to find out what happened so quickly. The vet said normally this type of symptom is from a tumor or cancer of something. I can't afford doing autopsy so it always stay in my mind what caused it. I am just wondering based on your experience what you might think happened. It just happened so fast.

  A:

  I am so sorry to hear about your cat. There are a couple thoughts that I have.
  
  Anytime we have a cat that is having trouble breathing I am always concerned about a problem in the chest. This could be disease to the lungs or heart and is usually best detected with an x-ray. Pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, can be a very serious disease and I have had patients die of this.
  
  When pancreatitis is severe it can cause kidney failure, fluid to accumulate in the chest or abdomen, and shock. I know it seems that this came on very quickly..certainly 5 days is not very long for a cat to be sick. It is important to remember that cats are the masters of hiding disease. Often by the time they show any symptoms they have been sick for some time and not showing it and their disease has progressed significantly. Whatever did cause him to pass, I suspect it was quite severe. Because of this, I suspect his prognosis was likely poor and it is possible this would have been his outcome even with different treatment. Again, please know how sorry we are.

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