Hi Everyone,

Today I went to my Vet with my beautiful 12 year old cat Cartman. It tuned out he has fluid in his abdominal cavity and the Vet suspected FIP or a problem with his kidneys

The thing is that he seems well enough – he eats, drinks and is active (he wants to go for walks with us all the time, without a leash, it is his favourite thing in the world!) I do suspect he is a little constipated as when out on walks he tries to poop but nothing seems to come out.
The Vet said that he has no fever and that his heart sounds fine but he sounded well gloomy about his prospects when we left. This evening he called back with the first blood work results and to his surprise all of them are normal. Now my vet is at a loss and he is going to consult his colleges.

So I wanted to know if anybody has had a similar experiences or maybe just has a theory as to what could be wrong with my beautiful boy? I am so so worried – he is the most wonderful cat in the world and he has so much life left in him.

Any help would be so appreciated - I simply cannot lose him.

Sorry about my English - it is my second language and I don't have the energy right now to check grammar and spelling.

Sorry i don't have any advice! but did not want to read and run! sorry your little one is not well, hope the Vet finds out what the problem is! best wishes to your puss!
PS welcome!

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Mr Benjamin: Shih Tzu
Oscar: Shih Tzu
Casper: Snobby puss
Urwin: Tortoise
RIP Candy: Long haired Colly
RIP Shane: GSD
RIP Saxson: GSD
RIP Blaze: GSD
RIP Buddy: cockatiel
RIP Lucky n Fluff: Hammys
RIP Cheeky n JoJo: Budgies
RIP Diggit: Nether-land Bunny

Thank you Angie that is very much appreciated. I just heard my cutieboy come though the cat flap - so will go and give him some love and attention and hopefully I can somehow get some sleep thereafter.

So sorry to hear your baby boy isn't well, but I'm glad to hear that tests for FIP came back negative! I sincerely hope the vet can find out whats wrong and make him all better again

Ems xxx

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Mummy to;

Sooty 9.6.1996 - 28.04.2011 Rest in peace my love!
Storm (Sueragdandy Phantom) 28.02.2010
Benji (Kassaro Benjamin Franklyn) 08.03.2011

Sorry to hear your boy is not well, can we ask what you are feeding him so we can at least make suggestions to help the constipation?

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Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

I give him a mixture of dry food my Veterinarian has recommended and a lot of cod, chicken and some shrimp (not raw). I also give him fish oil.

Hi Alfide!

Sorry to hear about your cat. It is a good sign though he's well otherwise. In view of the normal blood tests this is a bit of a mystery. I would have expected low albumin at the very least! The only other thing I can think of is masses which can bleed into the abdomen. An ultrasound would definitely be my next step - you really need to get to the bottom of this fairly quickly!

Hopefully the vet has drawn off some of the fluid and a sample has been sent to the lab for further analysis-this should help pin down the diagnosis.

We did have someone here recently whose cat had similar symptoms though not sure what the final diagnosis was - believe FIP was ruled out though!

Don't worry, your English is absolutely fine!

A little update

Today Cartman seemed to be very bothered by his belly so we took him to the Vet to get the fluid drained and he is staying the night over. That was rather traumatic to say the least – he sure can cry out loud my sweetheart! My Vet has also given him some diuretic (hope that is the right translation) He took a new x-ray and he saw no sign of cancer or any constipation.

My Vet now thinks that it is either FIP or a heart problem (which he says can be helped with medicine) so now we are waiting for results for these (unfortunately tomorrow is a bank holiday here so we have to wait until Monday) If it is none of these we will take it from there he says.

Thanks for your answer Ianthi! What do you think an ultrasound could tell us? My Vet has not mention that option so I will ask him about this tomorrow.

I just pray to all the deities I can think off that it is not FIP and I can't wait to pick up my sweetheart tomorrow so I can spoil him rotten over the weekend.

Hi Alfride,

Sorry to hear about Cartman but this is the problem with ascites ( abnormal accumulation of fluid in abdomen ) it will keep recurring unless the cause is found and treated. The danger when left untreated is the pressure this can put on the chest cavity and breathing can be compromised. At least now with the diuretic the fluid will be drawn off naturally via the kidneys.

An ultrasound enables the vet to visualise the organs a lot better with the added advantage of seeing them functioning. It could help a lot in diagnosing a heart problem - though an enlarged heart would also show up on X-ray. With ultrasound it's best done by a skilled sonographer. In this country at least this is usually outside the scope of most general vets!

It is important to test the fluid though and hopefully the vet has done this! Do you know what colour it was?

Hi Ianthi – Thank you so much for your answers - I am so grateful!

It was a clear watery fluid with a hint of yellow. My Vet has not tested the fluid – I suggested that to him today and he just looked at me weirdly and said he had send blood samples to Germany (testing for FIP and a heart infection). What can I say to him to make him do this?

I also suggested an ultrasound – he said he could do that but he did not think Cartman would co-operation (According to my Vet Cartman is back to his old behavior with hissing when he gave him a check up this morning)

I am not even sure we have sonographers in Denmark - Google does not seem to make me wiser here (there does seem to be a way they can specialize in this but I cannot fine names of Vets with this title). Unfortunately I am not sure the Vets are that skilful here – which I think comes from the fact people like to put animals down when sick and also being a small country – this is of course totally me speculating. On a positive note my Vet seems very interested in Cartmans case and has promised to call us tomorrow to hear how he is and he was also the one taking care of him last night.

They drained a whole of 800 ml/27 ounces out of him! I cannot believe we did not react sooner – but he is always chubby in the winter and then looses some in the summer so he did not undergo a serious change before it was extreme. Poor poor boy – I feel so bad!

Now Cartman seems a lot better – he refused to drink or eat at the vet but when he came home he ate so much fresh made quality chicken (without salt) and he drinks a lot. Are there any foods that is better to feed him than others? What about shrimps? My Vet just said to feed him whatever he wants and not to give him his glucosamine for his arthritis in his front paw. He still has no fever which is a good sign regarding FIP right?

My sweetheart is so mad a me right now – he just looks at me with eyes that says – how could you do this to me! But it is also very clear he appreciate the fluid being drained and he has been outside enjoying the sun all day and refuses to come inside! (he does not trust us at all)

Sorry about this long post (which is so unlike me) but this is the only thing that is occupying my mind and I am determent to find out what is wrong with him! Hopefully a miracle occurs and I can keep my boy for a little while longer...