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coughing feline

Sent to Pet Experts July 24, 2006 12:45 a.m.

Hello, I have a 7 year old tabby cat. He started coughing about 4 months ago, I took him to work with me(at the vet clinic), we did x-rays, total blood work up, an ecg, and and ekg. The x-rays looked terrible. His heart looked mildly enlarged but the lungs were so cloudy you could hardly tell. The ecg looked normal with possibly a small enlargment of the left ventrical. The ecg and blood work were compleatly normal. We thought chf so we tried enapril and lasix, he seemed better but started a very watery sneeze so we added clavamox, did not help. We stopped clavamox and started pred. He did much better and the sneezing stopped. I know it is not healthy for him to stay on all this medication. We are attempting to take him off of lasix and then pred if he seems to do ok. We are still very shakey about his diagnosis, we think asthma now. If any one has any input on possible diagnosis or medications we can try that are less risky please please help. This is my baby. Thank you

Optional Information:
Age: 7; Male; Breed: Domestic Shorthair

Already Tried:
Lasix 12mg 1/2 BID, Enalapril 2.5 mg 1/2 BID, Pred 5mg 1BID

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Status: Closed Value: $8

Answer
July 24, 2006 1:06 a.m. (20 minutes and 42 seconds later)

REPLIED

I would get some repeat xrays to see what changes have been made. Also, a heartworm test may be beneficial as sometimes asthma is diagnosed when heartworm disease is present. Only change meds under doctors orders and decrease the dosages slowly. If he hasn't been running a fever then the likelihood of fungal or bacterial infection of the lungs is low. Many cats have done very well on Flovent and albuterol inhalers as a maintenance. Flovent is a corticosteriod but does not carry the same systemic risks that oral prednisone does. Discuss this with your veterinarian. Without the results of an EKG or a repeat xray to see changes in the lungs I cannot say what is going on, only that it does sound like an asthmatic condition which is becoming more and more common in cats.

Good Luck

Theresa

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Reply to Theresa
Sent July 24, 2006 1:20 a.m. (14 minutes and 30 seconds later)

I am sorry, we did repeat x-rays. Every week since he started one month ago. It was not clearing up on lasix and enapril so we started pred, now the x-rays have been better. We still can't see the heart as well as we would like to. I did see the diaphram looked pushed up. What I believe to be a sign of asthma. I have only been a tech for 2 years and am currently training to become certified. I have asked every vet I see what they think may be going on and they are all split between asthma and chf. Do you know if asthma can cause the heart to look enlarge on a x-ray? The VD looks enlarged and the laterals look ok. Thank you soo much for your help.

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Answer
July 24, 2006 1:56 a.m. (35 minutes and 45 seconds later)

ACCEPTED

The fact that the prednisone has improved the condition leads me to believe even more that an inflammatory process is occurring in the lungs like asthma. If my thinking is correct the hearts main goal is to provide oxygenated blood to the body, with chronic asthma it has to work harder to do so which could be showing on xray as an enlarged heart. The enlarged heart is one more reason to have a heartworm test performed too. Technique is key when taking chest xrays to evaluate the heart. They body needs to be lined up perfectly with the spine actually being in a straight line through the heart. If it is off even slightly the results can be misconstrued. The fact that the heart is yet to be evaluated clearly on radiograph doesn't help matters much. He could have a concurrent heart condition though and once the lung condition is stable an evaluation by a feline specialist or cardiologist is recommended to rule this condition out. There doesn't have to be a split of heart disease and asthma he could have both conditions.

Thank you

Theresa

Theresa -- The Voice for Your Pet -- 100% Positive Feedback on 802 Pet Accepts
Veterinary Technician for 15 years

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