swollen sides

[muffin]

TRACI Thankyou for your advice about muffin my kitty
I note you said about blood pressure check, well he had this and we were told we have this under control with the amlomodipine, 1/3 per day, if he had fluid inthe chest cavity could they do anything for him at 16 years of age, we mentioned fluid retention to the vet and he didn,t take any notice he was just concerned about thyroid level, he isn,t very happy at the moment, bless him, not eating much at all, but I dont want him put to sleep, thats why I am reluctant to take him, because dont forget the hypertention caused him to go blind, he had bleeding behind the eyes but that is under control with the amlopodimine, its taking him all his time to get about with all this weight, please get back to me and advise, if they could do anything to remove this fluid to make him better.. thanks tracix

[Traci]

I'm not sure what your vet is telling you, but if he dismissed fluid or a heart problem and didn't discuss it with you or isn't looking further into diagnostics, then I must urge you to see another vet, seek a second opinion right away.

If you feel his abdomen has increased suddenly, with no explaination, then further diagnostics are warranted to get to the source of the problem. I mention heart disease because there are several heart conditions that are associated with hypertension, not to mention fluid around the heart. If there IS fluid in the chest or abdominal cavity, x-rays will show this, and the location, and a needle-aspiration may be necessary to draw the fluid for testing. If it is in lung space, for example, then needle-aspiration would be necessary to relieve pressure from the lungs. In emergency situations, this is done as well as oxygen support, but some cats, depending on the source of the fluid, can be needle-aspirated several times over the course of a few weeks if necessary...providing the source is identified and that treatment is implemented.

Again, your vet may not be telling you everything, if he is not discussing your kitty's health and condition thoroughly with you, it's time to get to another vet ASAP....and I do feel a heart workup is in your best interests, perhaps another x-ray to detect changes since the last visit, and re-check kidney and liver function as well as rule out cancer or lymphoma. Remember, with a primary disease (i.e., hyperthyroidism), any secondary condition can creep up, so it's very important to make sure nothing is left undetected. With hypertension, one can never be too careful.