My cat has feline leukemia and stomach fluid. Can it be drained?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! From the X-rays, I can see that Mara's abdomen appears to be filled with fluid. It is obscuring his liver and intestines from being seen and there may even be a small amount in his lungs. Unfortunately it is impossible to tell what the fluid is from the x-ray alone. His blood work shows some abnormalities with his electrolytes, which may be if he is not eating or from fluid in the abdomen. Mara also has a high white blood cell count, these are the cells that are responsible for fighting off infections and increase if there is one present. Your vet can run some additional diagnostics, and perform a tap and remove the fluid as well as a blood test to determine if Mara is infected with FIP, a mutated form of a common virus that cats are exposed to. I hope this helps!

I am so sorry your young cat is so ill. I would have to disagree here and recommend draining the fluid to relieve the pressure and help with your cats comfort. However, this is likely something we are not going to fix just by draining the fluid, it will only buy us a little more time. Unfortunately the image you attached isn’t loading so I am unable to view it. Please repost your question to the forum or request a one-on-one private consultation session with either myself or one of the experts here for a more In depth response about your pets specific medical concerns. If a diagnosis for your cat has not been made, then an abdominal ultrasound and chest rads should be done, if not already. We look forward to hearing back from you soon!

I'm so sorry to hear that you and Sam are going through this scary situation. With normal blood work and the normal ultrasound, I would be concerned about the disease called FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) which is an uncommon response to a common virus in which the abdomen fills up with fluid and cats don't tend to recover from it. I would also continue to be concerned about cancer even though you're not seeing any signs in the fluid or on the ultrasound. A tumor has to be at least a centimeter in diameter before it can be seen an ultrasound, so it's not unusual for something to just be too small. Unfortunately, without a diagnosis, it's incredibly difficult to treat. And even with a diagnosis, at his age, it's mostly bad things that it could be. At this point, your vet is probably focusing on palliative care to keep Sam comfortable by removing the fluid, keeping him well hydrated, making sure he is comfortable. I would recommend talking to them about his prognosis and your goals for him.

Hello there and thank you for your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You have asked a tough question here- this is hard to answer as there are a lot of unknowns at this point. From what you have told me, it appears there is some tumor or cancer that is causing fluid to build up in his abdomen. This can be very painful but it seems like the pain is being controlled somewhat with draining of the fluid. Steroids can help the pain as well as slow down progression of certain cancers. If all else appears to be okay (eating and drinking okay, no vomiting or diarrhea), then Leo may continue this way for some time. In this case, I think it is best to take it day by day and focus on cherishing each day you have with him. Sometimes animals that do have cancer (depending on what cancer they have) can do very well for a while but then turn on a dime so it is important to cherish the present instead of focusing too much on the future in this case. I hope this has helped and best wishes to you and Leo!

I am so sorry you and Mimi are going through this. It is perfectly acceptable to seek a second opinion from another veterinarian or veterinary office at any point! If you aren’t comfortable with the testing or diagnosis you may want to reach out to Mimi s doctor first to discuss things again (maybe he had concerns based on the x-Ray? Or maybe fluid was actually examined and cancerous cells were seen?) and in more depth. If you are still uncomfortable though at all , there is no reason not to make an appointment with another vet for their opinion. Anytime a cat has a belly full of fluid, something very serious is going on. And It is unfortunately true that abdominal fluid (aka ascites) in an older kitty is often cancer. The more common cancers we see are lymphoma and adenocarcinoma and mast cell disease. However, there are several other causes including heart failure (the veterinarian would likely be able to rule this out based on exam and x-rays) or infection. Fluid cytology (having fluid submitted to lab to be examined under a microscope) and abdominal ultrasound often can help us start sorting out what could be the underlying problem. Again, I’m sorry Mimi is dealing with this.

In my opinion going to the ER would be best, although you may not be able to have a full ultrasound until Monday morning. Some potential causes of fluid in the abdomen include an infection or abscess in the abdomen, diseases like FIP, or cancer. If there were an infection it would be best to start treatment sooner rather than later. An ER vet could take a sample of fluid to examine for signs of white blood cells or bacteria and might be able to perform a limited ultrasound. It's also possible that a specialist could be called in to perform a full ultrasound if needed over the weekend.

Feline leukemia is a difficult disease. It is an immunodeficiency virus which means the immune system doesn’t work as well. Also with this virus they can develop leukemia or lymphoma (cancer of the white blood cells). So vomiting could be due to an infection or to a tumor in her abdomen. It is also possible that it could be completely unrelated to her FeLv status and she could have something like an object in her stomach causing the vomiting. If you haven’t already had an abdominal ultrasound and current blood work done then I would recommend both of those to help you decide what to do. Also maybe a medication called cerenia may keep her from vomiting while you wait for the medication that your veterinarian ordered. I’m sorry you are facing this decision. I usually make the decision to euthanasia my pets when they can’t live the quality of life that I want for them. Take care and thank you for using Pet Coach.