Hi everyone Im new here found you whilst searching high & low for some ideas on what could be wrong with our new baby. So if anyone has any ideas they would be greatly received as we are all baffled here.

Its a long story so here goes.

We got a Maine Coon kitten boy on 11/9 he was born 19/5. Took him to vets to register & he was absolutley fine untill 25/9 he had realy heavey breathing & didnt want to lye down as seemed to make it worse (we were worryed about his heart as I know they can have HCM) anyway he had high temp & rough sounding chest had a jab & a course of noroclav anyway by the monday he was worse took him in & they xrayed but died? well thats what the vet said (he had warned us) 20 min later he rang again & said another vet had done something & Merlin was alive they were busy draining fluid off his lungs & kept him in for the night.

Got him back the following day (29/9) with more pills Frusemide & Fortekor & told not to give him any more of the Noroclav. He was doing fine untill 1/10 a little off his food so back to vet, his temp was high again & he came home with another lot of Noroclav & to take him back in a couple of days in which time he was alot better so they said ultra sound on heart on 7/10 to check heart for HCM anyway heart muscles are the same both sides & between 5mm & 6mm (a bit thick but he is Maine Coon so to be expected) come back in 3 months.

He finished the last course of Noroclav on 9/10 as was fine untill 15/10 slightly off his food again back in & temp sky high again so different vet & she took bloods FELV/FIV both negative but had to wait for the result of FIP & he got more Noroclav & is still on the Frusemide 1/4 twice a day & his appitie is fine again.

Had to take him back on 17/10 as his breathing was getting very heavey again but his lungs were fine & he got some more Fortekor & back in on Monday. Monday his temp was normal but his breathing was still bad the FIP result showed he had been exposed to the virus but the result was low & the vet wasnt to concerned. He had a jab of Dimazon & by the next day he was back to normal eating & at last lyeing down, which he hasnt been able to do properly for ages.

Anyway his appitie is still good but his breathing isnt & if you try & pick him up he crys I beginning to think he may have something wrong with his tummy & today he has sneezed a couple of times. He only wanders a few steps then stits for ages, he is bright enough just his chest heaving.

He hasnt had any diarrhea or sickness, his appite has been very good, even with a high temp he has been eating, no eye or nose discharge he is back at vets tomorro to so they can check his breathing & see if he up to more tests.

The breeder we got him off said none of his siblings are ill but a new stud cat which she got just before we got Merlin has now got cat flu & Merlin has been in contact with him, but he has nothing like cat flu.

Also he doesent seemed to have had a poop in the last 24 hrs but pee fine.

Any ideas anyone? we are desperate

Has he been seen by a cardiologist or perhaps a medical specialist?
If he hasn't I would get your vet to refer you.

He seems to have a lung problem, whether that is due to heart failure or to a problem in his lungs, it is difficult to say, needs further investigation certainly and soon.

see also - Pleural Effusion in Cats

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Lauren

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Have you discussed this with his breeder - hopefully they are offering lots of support but they perhaps could ask around their breeder friends to see if anyone has experienced a similar situation. Do agree though that perhaps the vet should refer you to a specialist.

Do hope he is feeling better soon.

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Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving

Thank you for your thoughts His breeder is devistated & is doing all she can but is just as baffled.

He hasnt seen a specialist yet as the vet wanted to get his breathing better before putting him through anymore strees. He is convinced there is an underlying cause as his heart & lung ultrasound looked fine & the xray of his heart was fine it just showed the fluid on his lungs which they drained but didnt test & no idea why a perfectly healthy kitten should suddenly have this problem.

We live at the end of the world well not quite but you can see it from here so realy hopeing we dont have to take him on a long car journey. The vet has always been very good at diagnosing our other pet probs he is just baffled hopefully we will get some better ideas & news tomorrow.

Hi,

They need to test the fluid that was on his lungs,it does sound similar to FIP but it could be something else so I do not wish to alarm you unecessarily. I can understand why they want him stronger before they do anything else.Stress can really bring a lot of illnesses to the fore.Have you tried anything that might improve his immune system. Garlic is really good for them. Also L lysine is supposed to be really good to. The stronger his little immune system is the more chance he has of fighting this off. But Im sure your breeder is well aware of all this too.

I hope you get some answers,sending you some good vibes, I know they definitely work. Everyone should send you good vibes for your baby.Try and stay as positive as possible because it really helps.They pick up your stress but also pick up your positivity too!

Izzie

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If nothing else shows up in test results I would definately give L-Lysine a try. I cannot praise this enough for boosting immune systems in cats. Hope all goes well and am sending good vibes your way

I would imagine they'd have considered pyothorax - chest infection with fluid around the lungs. One of my cats had this 7 years ago and the first symptom was laboured breathing - she had to have her chest drained twice in 2 weeks, then was on antibiotics for another month, but she made a full recovery. I'm surprised they didn't do any testing on the fluid.
If it's not heart disease then I'm afraid FIP is another strong possibility - the high temperature would fit with that too.

I hope you get some answers soon.

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Thank you all for your ideas & wishes unfortunately our brave little boy lost his fight today his lungs were full again & his heart beat was very iregular lost weight even though still eating, aswell as other symtoms pointing to FIP so we took the heartbreaking decision & let him go.

I have never come across FIP in over 30 yrs of sharing my life with cats must just have been lucky untill now.

I realy thought he was turning a corner thismoring he was haveing a little purr whilst enjoying a sunbeam maybe he was just saying goodbye I hope he has met up with our old Maine Coon who we lost to old age a few months ago & they are happy Thanks again

So very sorry to hear your little chap lost the fight.

Sleep peacefully little one.

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Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving

So sorry for your loss.

RIP little one. x

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Mummy to three kids
Three cats
And a rabbit