My 15-year-old cat has fluid in lungs and won't eat. Is there hope?

Poor Bella! I'm so sorry to hear about her diagnosis. Unfortunately, it's true that mediastinal lymphoma with fluid in the chest generally has a very poor prognosis in cats. You could certainly request referral to a veterinary oncologist for a consultation about this - the oncologist could give you a much better idea of whether there are any treatment options at all that might help her. If you aren't able to pursue referral to a specialist, then I'm afraid it's very unlikely that there is much at all that can be done by your family veterinarian - this is quite a serious problem that generally does not respond well to treatment. There may be some things that could help to keep Bella comfortable for a short time, such as draining the fluid to help her breathing and starting her on a steroid such as prednisone, but it's unlikely that these things will help for long. Again, I'm very sorry for the bad news you've received - cancer is a terrible disease, in pets just as in people. :(

I am so very sorry to hear about your kitty Tiger. It sounds like he has worsened. You don't mention if your vet gave any indication of what could cause the lungs to be unclear. There are many possible causes including things like pneumonia, heart disease, or cancers. If Tiger is declining/worsening, and is unable to walk across the room, it sounds like he may need more aggressive care such as oxygen supplementation. Treatment, if possible, would depend on the underlying cause of the lung issue but may include things like antibiotics or medication to decrease water retention. In some instances, when the vet feels treatment is not going to be helpful/is not an option and the pet's quality of life is declining, we do consider humane euthanasia as another possible option. I would recommend calling the vet who saw your kitty and giving them an update on his decline. Be sure your kitty has easy access to food and water and his litterbox without having to walk far if he is getting tired so easily. You can also put a humidifier in the room with him to help keep moisture in the ear, which is better for airway health, but in severe cases such as his, more intensive treatment is usually needed.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Cheeteo! Can you post the blood work results and X-rays? Based on your post Cheeto has fluid around his lungs and in his belly. This is a serious, sadly. The most common causes for bicavitary effusion (fluid in BOTH the chest and belly) are cancer, heart failure, and FIP. Heart failure can be managed, FIP sadly has no cure and cancer is not a good diagnosis either. I am guessing that Cheeto didn't respond (didn't get better) on the lasix? The lasix is for heart failure. That only leaves the other diagnoses which are all not good. Unfortunately for a diganosis tests need to be done. If you don't understand what is wrong with Cheeto and why your Vet is recommending certain tests you need to ask them to explain things better so you can make the best decision for you and Cheeto. I hope this helps and I wish you both the best!

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.

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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If she really is doing this poorly, it is very important to have her seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible as I worry she may be unstable. If this is all confirmed to be due to her cancer and you are not proceeding with treatment of the cancer, euthanasia may need to be considered.

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.