Dear Dr. John,
In the last 24 hours, our 14-year-old cat has started breathing very heavily. He is clearly in some distress. Our vet is away on a holiday break, and it is Sunday so we are not sure of what we can do. We had a cat a few years back with cardiac issues for which we gave Lasix to help clear the chest of fluid and it helped. What can we do today realizing that this question will be published after the fact? It will be helpful to have your input even later. We have some leftover Lasix and wonder if we can safely give it to our cat today. We feel it can be safe to do and we intend to get our cat to a vet tomorrow. What might be the possible causes for the heavy breathing? S.L.
Dear S.L.,
By the time this letter is published, I hope that your cat will be in good health and the problem resolved.
There are many possible causes for labored breathing in an older cat including, but not limited to, cardiac, primary lung, viral, bleeding, asthma, and other primary causes. Some of these can lead to accumulation of fluid in the thorax or chest cavity. This is different than fluid being in the lung tissue itself or in the pericardium. All of these need proper diagnosis and potentially different treatment modalities.
The diagnosis may require physical removal of fluid from the area in which it is located or medication, such as Lasix, to help the body rid itself of excess fluid. If the cause is asthma, corticosteroids and oxygen might be needed. I do not suggest that owners medicate a cat based on symptoms without a veterinarian doing the needed diagnostics and providing a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
However, if you gave a pill of Lasix, there is not too much that can go wrong provided the cat is seen promptly. There are emergency clinics everywhere and if there is one nearby, I would hope that you would have taken the cat there rather than waiting a day and randomly trying a medication, but that needs to be based on your judgment. Hopefully, everything worked out well.
Dr. John de Jong is President of the World Veterinary Association. He owns and operates the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic and can be reached at 781-899-9994.