My cat has critical heart, lung, and liver issues. How can I save her?

I'm so sorry Lucy has been diagnosed with kidney and liver disease. Unfortunately I would need to know a little more about her particular case in order to give more specific advice on treatment and prognosis. Acute kidney injury can be caused by toxins or infections, and with aggressive IV fluid therapy and hospitalization sometimes the kidneys can recover full function. Chronic kidney disease happens more slowly, and while diet changes and monitoring for secondary problems like high blood pressure can help slow the progression of disease there is no cure. ALT and cholesterol can increase for a number of different reasons - gastrointestinal infections, pancreatic disease, and liver and gallbladder infections would be a few. It seems like her kidney disease is likely more significant at this point. If you have more specific questions you can consider starting a consultation with an expert or repost your question with a little more detail about her history and current treatments.

I am sorry you didn't have much useful explanation of your pets condition. These results are indeed unfavorable. So your pet Amelle has congestive heart failure, kidney insufficiency (the kidney isn't functioning properly) and liver enlargement (a sequela of the heart failure). So when a pet goes into heart failure that means that there is a defect in the heart that has overcome what the heart can correct for. The heart is unable to pump blood efficiently to the rest of the body, leaving fluid to build up in the lungs and also to lead to congestion in the liver. The pet will also have a low blood pressure, because again the heart can't pump effectively, leading to poor perfusion through the kidneys and subsequent kidney dysfunction as well. SO basically your pet Amelle has heart failure and multi-organ failures occurring as a result of the heart. You can try heart medication and diuretics, along with fluid therapy for few days to help the kidneys hopefully return to normal function. The fact that the CREA and PHOS levels are normal means the kidneys have a chance to correct themselves if they get proper perfusion. The liver congestion should improve if the heart improves, however the medications can only do so much to help manage heart failure. We will essentially be buying Amelle more time with an incurable disease process. That is why we call this type of treatment, heart failure management and not cure. It is worth a shot, especially if she is eating well and still has a will to survive. I wish you all the best in getting Amelle to a more stable state. Best wishes moving forward with her care. Take care. Here is a website link on heart failure meds for more information. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A

You could ask them if they work with a cardiologist. If she hasn’t yet had an echocardiogram (performed by a cardiologist) that will probably give you the best information. Don’t hestitate to respectfully and politely ask the vet in charge of her case for clarification if you don’t understand what’s going on with her. Sometimes we forget to discuss things in an understandable manner! I am sure your vet would be happy to clarify as best as possible. I’m sorry I don’t have more specific answers, but with complicated cases like hers I really can’t give you a whole lot without knowing the entire story. (Which can’t be done in 500 characters.

I'm sorry to hear that Mittens has not been doing well. I agree that Mittens' chest x-rays appear to be progressing over the past 2 weeks. At this point, either pneumonia is less likely or the bacteria causing a possible pneumonia are resistant to her current antibiotic therapy. Cancer is absolutely a suspicion due to the x-ray progression. Consider asking your vets if they have considered performing either endotracheal or transtracheal washes on Mittens, which would be able to obtain a sample of fluid or cells in the lungs. These samples could be analyzed for cytology (which may be able to diagnose cancer) or culture (to determine if bacteria is present and an appropriate antibiotic). There is a chance that Mittens may not be stable enough to undergo sedation for this procedure, but your vets will be able to examine her to determine if the risks are worth the benefits. I hope that all goes well!

Hello. I am so sorry that your pet is so unwell. Depending on the cause of the liver disease ( lipidosis, inflammation, infection, or cancer ), prognosis is extremely varied. If he is showing neurologic issues, this could be an indication that you have developed a form of hepatic encephalitis as the result to toxin buildup in the blood stream. The liver's job is to remove toxins, such as ammonia, but if the liver function is depressed enough, a buildup will occur. In general, subcutaneous fluids should not cause overhydration, but with organ failure, this too is a possibility & now the problem becomes how to manage dehydration without doing more damage. This sounds like a very difficult & complex case, so hopefully you have a very good team of doctors working on the problem. The questions you have asked are all very good ones, but difficult to respond to without having your cat's complete history. Tomorrow, ask to have a consult, or sitdown with the attending veterinarian. Write down all your questions & thoughts and keep asking until you are satisfied with their answers. Hopefully they will be able to at least give you some guidance as to what the next steps are to help your kitty back to health. Good luck & thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Coughing and bringing up clear liquid could be coughing up stuff instead of vomiting. This is important to try to differentiate. Coughing up liquid is more consistent with heart disease. The x-rays are difficult to read as the image transfer through is of poor quality and to really assess the lungs you need good quality images, however the heart does look a bit enlarged and the lungs do look a bit 'white'. I cannot assess the liver on these radiographs as you cannot see them. An enlarged heart, white lungs (fluid in the lungs), and an enlarged liver is consistent with both right and left sided heart disease. I recommend you return either to your vet, or another vet, and get a specialist ultrasound of the heart (an 'echo') to determine if heart medications are required. Your vet can also listen to the heart to see if a murmur is present in the heart, or 'crackles' are heard on the lungs. Heart disease is very serious and needs medications to manage. Without these Lily unfortunately will essentially drown in her own lungs, if heart disease is the problem. I suggest a recheck as soon as possible to get this figured out. Best of luck with Lily, I hope she feels better soon.

I'm so sorry Kitty is quite ill! It sounds like you have done all the right things by having her seen by the vet, but if she is in liver failure, that is extremely serious and is typically fatal. You can have her seen by another vet, who may be able to help you with her, and I would recommend having Kitty seen right away if you decide to do that. It may make you, and her, feel better to have her under the care of a vet in a hospital.