First of all, I’m calling the vet first thing Monday morning, but want to get an idea of what might be the problem. My 15-year-old, Paris, has an enlarged abdominal area. When I look down on him, the area between his rib cage and his pelvis, which usually is narrower, is much wider. And when he jumps up on things, he falls a little short, as if he weighs more than he did and hasn’t learned to compensate.
This started maybe two weeks ago. At first I thought he was simply putting on weight, which would be a good thing for him, because he’s thin. But now it’s definitely something not normal. He’s not complaining and doesn’t seem to be in any pain. His poop and pee look normal, although he’s becoming somewhat incontinent … probably as a result of pressure on his bladder. He has an excellent appetite and stays hydrated. He’s not very active anymore, but after all, he’s 15.
That area is where the stomach and intestines are.
He may have a blockage, in which case he needs an immediate treatment. If he swallowed something which will not pass through the intestines, it may require surgery.
More likely, a strong laxative will force it out.
If he trusts you enough to feel the area (cats have very strong abdominal muscles which can make poking difficult), see if you can find something hard (that is not a muscle tensed up), you have a diagnoses.
Let the vet determine treatment - this is a common problem.
If his poop production has not dropped, it probably is not an intestinal blockage.
In which case I have no ideas, absent a diagnoses.
Just a head’s up: a massive tumor is a possibility.
Get to the vet.
It could be fluid in his chest due to any number of things. Does he feel squishy? How is his breathing? With fluid in the chest, they’ll have faster respiration:
UPDATE: Took Paris to the vet today. His abdomen was filled with fluid due to liver failure. The visit was sheer torture for the poor cat, as they had to drain the fluid, among other things, causing him to scream for well over 1/2 hour. I have to give him three different medications daily, and have to take him to a specialist for a more thorough (and expensive) diagnosis. It doesn’t look good, but I remain hopeful.
Well, shoot. I don’t know much about liver failure, but even with the screaming, I’m sure he felt better after they drained the fluid. Please do keep us updated. I hope he can be with you and comfortable for awhile yet.
As miserable as the fluid drainage must have been, he probably feels a LOT better now. Hope you can keep his remaining days as comfortable as possible, however many they may be.
(I have a Facebook friend who has autoimmune cirrhosis of the liver, and she’s had a gallon or more of fluid drained from her abdomen several times, after which she always feels MUCH better; she’s currently being evaluated for a liver transplant.)
The vet added an antibiotic to his other meds, which means he gets two pills and 2 mL of liquid meds daily. He fights me too and claw, literally, but I managed to get most of it into him.
The vet can’t give me a final prognosis yet, until his appointment with the specialist next Tuesday. They may find that he has cancer or hepatitis, or any number of other things.
The vet asked about his quality of life, and I said he doesn’t realize he’s sick at all. He still eats like a horse and poops all over the house (that’s another problem). And he peed a huge puddle right in the middle of my bed, because the fluids in his abdomen are pushing against his bladder. But he’s still playful, and purrs and does his happy dance. He’s clearly not ready to go, and I’m not ready to let him go.
A quick note on dealing with unhappy cats while avoiding bleeding:
Bath towel. Throw it over him and wrap him up in it. Tightly. Make sure the pointy parts are secure.
They quickly learn not to hiss - an open mouth gets an eye dropper of medicine.
Don’t bother trying to open the mouth - just insert the eyedropper at the back of the mouth, inside the gums. Hold his mouth closed until he swallows.
I’m glad to hear he’s feeling well, at least! Why is he getting the antibiotic? It may upset his digestive system, so if he starts not eating or gets diarrhea, please consider that the first culprit. I have to respectfully disagree about holding the jaw closed when giving liquids. It’s much easier for them to swallow, and less traumatic, if they’re able to move their jaw. What I do is try to get the syringe at about a 45-degree angle facing backward into the side of the mouth. Don’t aim for shooting it down his throat, aim for the back corner (I guess) of his mouth. What are the pills he’s getting? If they’re small enough and he’s a good eater, you might try pill pockets:
The problem is, he’s become an EXTREMELY picky eater, and pill pockets don’t come in any flavor he’ll eat. And lately, he’s been partial to dry food. Tonight I got the liquid meds down, but he kept spitting out the pill, and I finally gave up fighting with him. Perhaps I’ll try putting it into a piece of shrimp.
I had reasonable luck getting a pill grinder (they’re usually sold in combo with a pill splitter at a drug store) and mixing the powdered pill with a small amount of soft food. My cats would usually eat it directly, but you could also put it on the roof of his mouth. He should lick it off of that.
If you need to keep giving pills long-term you can get the medicine compounded into a liquid form with tasty flavoring that cats like, chicken for example. I did this for one of my cats who was on long term meds, and he hated his pills. I used this place.
UPDATE: I spent over six hours at the specialist yesterday, while they did all sorts of tests. It turns out, he has cancer in multiple organs, starting with the pancreas. There’s a small chance his life - and quality of life - may be somewhat extended with chemo. They won’t know that until they get back the remainder of test results.
He’s not in any pain, just a little nausea, and his personality is still intact; he’s weak, but doesn’t know he’s sick. And lord knows, he’s feisty. They couldn’t get him sedated for the tests, having to do it gradually because of his liver, and he remained active as long as he could. And he fights me tooth and claw when I try to get pills into him. I’m glad he still has the stamina and will to do that.
I’m gonna try pulverizing his pills and mixing the powder with enough ice cream to mask the taste. Except for the one med that he needs to take on an empty stomach.
I’ll hold onto him as long as he’s not suffering. And chemo might become a possibility.
It’s amazing that the other cat, Vienna, seems to understand that something’s wrong. She seemed to show genuine concern for him last night, albeit from a distance (normally the two have very little to do with each other). And then she came and lay down right against me in bed, which she has never done before.
I had to make an appointment with an oncologist, and Paris and I saw her yesterday. I really like this doctor. She took the time to explain everything to me and to answer all my questions. At no time did I feel that I was being pushed into an expensive treatment that would just bring misery to the cat.
She explained that they still can’t tell whether he has a malignant tumor around his pancreas or whether he has lymphoma. So after discussing several options, we decided on a combination of injected chemo, which she gave him yesterday, and a capsule of chemo which I’ll give him in a week. She also prescribed a new med to be mixed with his ice cream, twice a day.
He may react to next week’s chemo by being sick for a few days, but it’ll only be temporary. If the swelling in his belly starts to go down after that, it means that it’s working (YAY!). Either way, I have to take him back to see her in January.
So his condition is still “guarded,” but there’s hope. Even if the chemo works, his life extension would probably be measured in months, not years.
But it’s amazing that he still doesn’t know he’s sick. He’s affectionate, playful, and has a great appetite. And last night he was actually playing with one of his sister’s catnip fish. He has NEVER shown any interest in catnip before.
I’m sorry I missed your first update. I’m glad he’s feeling well! You’re doing a great job making decisions and I’m so glad you found a compassionate oncologist. Please do keep us updated!
Ask about prednisalone - if it is lymphoma, it can help, as it’s cytotoxic against lymphoma. It is a steroid, and can also help with inflammatory swelling. Concur with an earlier poster about roadrunner being a good resource for custom compounded meds.
For difficult cats, liquid meds can be easier to dose.
I hope it’s nothing serious.
