my cat has Pyothorax

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Unregistered(d)	my cat has Pyothorax	Lead	[-]
Posts: 0 (08/18/03 21:08:01) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None Hi. Over the course of the past 2 months, my cat Uba has had recurrent symptoms of weight loss, lethargy, excessive shedding, and dry-heaving. Each time he's experienced these symptoms, the vet has prescribed antibiotics. Most recently, the vet suggested Uba may be allergic to the food I'm giving him, and put him on a hypoallergenic diet. The diet seemed to help (no more dry-heaving), but Uba again started showing some of the above symptoms about 4 days ago. Yesterday, I noticed Uba was having trouble breathing, but I wasn't sure, it wasn't pronounced. Today, I was sure, and my vet was off-work, so I took him to emergency. They took x-rays, found that his chest cavity was full of fluid, giving his lungs little room. They did a chest tap and gave him a bunch of fluids and medication, and oxygen. He has Pyothorax. He'll be in the hospital for the next few days. He'll have a tube put into his chest to drain the fluid. Hopefully, he'll be ok to come home in about a week, at which point he'll take antibiotics for many weeks. Anyway, I have two questions. First, does anyone here have a cat that has had this serious illness? If so, what was your/your cat's experience? Do you have any advice? Second, I am not a rich guy, and I hate to think about how much all of this is going to cost me (don't worry, I'll pay whatever it takes, I'm just trying to figure out whether I'll be able to afford toilet paper next month). If someone has a cat that has been thru all of this, could you tell me approx. how much the treatment cost? The visit today alone cost me 600... I was actually quite relieved when the vet told me the diagnosis. I was worried Uba had FIP. Thanks, Sam
Unregistered(d)	update	#1	[-]
Posts: 0 (08/19/03 14:54:25) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Ok, well I just got back from my regular vet. Estimate for the pyothorax treatment is 1500. Unfortunately, there is a significant chance that the cause of the absess in Uba's chest cavity is a foxtail (I live in S. California where they are plentify...and Uba spends a good amount of time outdoors). My vet said that if this is the case, there is a good chance that Uba's chest cavity will once again fill up with fluid after the treatment. If that happens, surgery will be required to remove the foxtail (approx. $2000 more). So I'm especially concerned about two things here. First, that the culprit is a foxtail. If this is the case, what are the variables involved which will determine whether the pyothorax returns after treatment? My vet said that sometimes very small foxtails can get flushed out during treatment, while the tube is in the cat draining out fluid. Does this happen often? My vet also said that sometimes scar tissue will develop around the foxtail, lessening the chance of reinfection. Anyone have experience with either of these scenarios? Lets say that reinfection occurs, and then surgury is required. Vet said that sometimes they won't even find the foxtail, and, worse, sometimes cats don't even survive the surgery. Anyone have experience here? I guess I'm just looking for someone whose cat has been in the same situation (or knows relevant info). Any comments/advice appreciated, Sam
subzero604	Pyothorax - My cat	#2	[-]
Posts: 9 (08/21/03 10:19:34) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Firstly, sorry to hear your cat has been diagnosed with this Secondly, my white persian cat (named Sashi), who is 11years old now but 8years old at the time of the incident, has had this terrible disease and HAS OVERCOME IT! The first symptom I notice was the unusual "open-mouth breathing" he was experiencing - it wasn't like he did some extreme running around or exercising alot so that was a concern. Took him to our local vet who immediately took x-rays of the poor feline. Results showed fluids in the lung cavities. Gave Sashi some antibiotics to start off with and he was then hospitalized over-night to monitor. The doctor thought he might of ate/swallowed something wrong (as a reaction?) as to blame for the symptom. Doctor then took some blood and sent it for a analysis, citing to check for FIP,etc. Results came back and pyothorax was to blame for the case and not FIP (whew!). Doctor starting draining the fluids out on a daily basis along with the antibiotics and spending at least another week in the hospital. As each day passes, his prognosis was getting better & better and eventually, he was ready to go back home with some oral medication to take along. At the end, the total treatment came out to be roughly ~$750 CAD. It is quite expensive but not as much as you had quoted by your Vet. Let me tell you, I was simply relieved that he had overcame the drama! He lost a bit of weight at the end but gained it all back after being home several weeks later. The best you can do right now is have some hope and fate and show your cat lots' of love. Because my cat is a persian type, I had done daily visits back to the Vet to brush his thick fur and cleaned his eyes - showing a lot of devotion and a responsible pet owner I am He is mostly healthy now but 4 days ago, Sashi caught URI (Upper Respiratory Disease) and currently fighting through his "cold" ; but I won't dwell into that as it does not relate to this thread. Good luck and hope your cat recovers to its full healthy life before this incident! At least now you have some hope after reading this.... David, from Vancouver, B.C \| CANADA.
Unregistered(d)	re: pyothorax	#3	[-]
Posts: 0 (08/21/03 11:07:46) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	David, thank you very much for writing, it was very good to hear about Sashi overcoming Pyothorax, hopefully Uba will do the same. I visited Uba just an hour, and he seems to be improving, slowly. I spent an hour with him, he actually purred while I was there, and ate too, which he hadn't done the whole day. It is sad to see him in this state, shaved and weak, tubes in him. And there's significant swelling in a couple areas, especially his left paw...vet says this is due to a lack of protein, and that she'll inject some protein into him if it gets worse. But overall the vet thinks there's reason to be hopeful. $750 CAN is about 1/3 of what I'm going to end up paying for all of this. My vet and her staff do seem to take exceptional care of their animals, but this is insane. I don't know what I'll do if there's a relapse, or if he needs surgery to remove a foxtail. Maybe I'll fly to Canada and leave him with your vet! Sami
subzero604	Re: re: pyothorax	#4	[-]
Posts: 9 (08/21/03 14:09:21) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Hi Sam! It's great to see some positive progress with Uba. Surgery is always scary, knowning all the "unknowns" that could happen, you have my sincere hope. Right now, Sashi has his own problems to deal with. I think my cat still has couple of "9 lives" still left to fight through this one with URI & heart issues. If you are interested to hear about it, it is posted here: http://pub66.ezboard.com/fpetagonia98262frm5.showMessage?topicID=1006.topic Meowing out for now....
Unregistered(d)	re: Uba	#5	[-]
Posts: 0 (08/22/03 19:11:54) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Thanks David, I hope Sashi will be ok. Uba has continued to improve, except his swelling has persisted, and the vet so far has given him two injections of protein to compensate. Apparently the pus that is being drained contains a lot of protein, and the lack of protein causes the swelling. Kind of unsettling to see, his left paw is about twice the normal size. I just hope he's fit enough to come home soon. And I hope whatever caused the infection doesn't cause another one when this one is over. By the way, do you have any guesses as to what caused Sashi's Pyothorax? I'm VERY worried that a foxtail is in Uba, and that it will continue to cause havoc once this infection is dealt with... Sami
subzero604	re: Uba	#6	[-]
Posts: 9 (08/23/03 16:59:57) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I really don't know the cause, Sashi does not spend much time outdoors as he is strictly confined indoors most of the time. The more you let you cat roam outside, the higher the risk(s) of exposure to more desease cats, which are often carriers unfortunately. So, basically it is unknown for Sashi. Lack of protein? Hmm, Sashi never had that problem while he was hospitalized. Do expect alot of lost weight though when Uba comes home ; he'll be expecting a good'ol fish buffet dinner upon full healing Btw, Sashi's prognosis with URI is getting much better today. He is more energetic, eating without assistance and drinking normally now. He is booked to go for a Ultrasound for his heart on September 22nd where I'll find out truthfully what is causing the heart enlargement. I am hoping it is not cardiomyopath. David.
Unregistered(d)	Sashi	#7	[-]
Posts: 0 (08/23/03 20:40:09) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Ok well I wish the best for Saschi, let us know how it goes. Sam
subzero604	Sam -> Uba	#8	[-]
Posts: 9 (10/10/03 08:45:23) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Hi Sam, It's been a while since we spoked about our cats. Sashi has recovered 100% already (URI infection went away approx. 10 days as well as taking him to get a Ultrasound done on his heart - it was a-ok), how is Uba doing???? let us know. regards, David.
Unregistered(d)	re: my cat has pyothorax	#9	[-]
Posts: 0 (10/17/03 14:30:50) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Hi David. Great to hear about Sashi. Good news about UBA too...he's doing much better, the latest x-ray shows his lungs are about 90% the size they used to be. He's breathing well and seems happy, besides one thing: One of the antibiotics he is taking (Clindamycin, the other antibiotic he is on is Baytril) gives him severe diarrhea. But he's been on it now for 7 weeks, and is scheduled to get off it next week. My main concern at this point is that when he gets off the antibiotics the infection will return. Apparently this isn't unheard of in the case of Pyothorax. How long was your cat on antibiotics? I'm thinking, instead of taking him completely off of antibiotics in a week, it might be good to keep him on the Baytril (which isn't a problem, I just crush it and mix with his food), and to replace the Clindamycin with Clamavox, which I'm hoping won't cause the diahhrea. Unfortunately the lab wasn't able to grow any bacteria from the culture, so there is guesswork involved here as far as which antibiotic he should be on. What do you think? What do you or anyone know about the chances of relapse with Pyothorax? It's been 1 1/2 months now since he was hospitalized. Thanks, Sam
subzero604	Re: re: my cat has pyothorax	#10	[-]
Posts: 9 (10/28/03 13:57:35) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Greetings Sam! It's always a pleasure to hear your cat is recovering well. If I remember correctly, Sashi stayed on antibiotics for 1-2 weeks. I cannot remember the name of it, it was spelled quite similiar to Clindamycin, I think. Nevertheless, you should talk to your vet and get his suggestion on which med he should continue to go on. My cat hasn't relapse from it since he originally got it, I guess keeping him indoors most of the time helps. If you let your cat wander outside alot, I would be cautious from now on since he is almost healed up. You never now what other danger lurks out there! Good luck and hope your cat lives a healthy life from now on....
subzero604	Re: re: my cat has pyothorax	#11	[-]
Posts: 9 (02/24/04 11:26:47) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Hi Sam, Happy New Year, etc... How is your little feline doing now since he was diagnosed with pyothorax? It's been almost 4mths now so you cat should be back to running & jumping for your love.... Sashi is still quite well, just recovering from another case of URI infection. These persians are troublemakers!! ~8-)

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