My sweet girl - Update in Going public

Update 2:
The cardiologist can’t see her until Dec 20 :(

Update:

Thanks to all that commented with kind words <3

Sophie has been livening up since her procedure and seems to be doing well. I can’t stop touching her bald spot from where they shaved her to drain fluid. She was a real cuddle bug yesterday and seems lively today. Cosmo is entirely unsympathetic lol.

Anyway the vet just called. On the bloodwork they found no cancer, but some heart health indicator was off the charts of the machine :( Her heart also looked bad on the xray. They’re going to try to get a cardiologist to see her ASAP.

God help me I put lube onto a thermometer last night and tried to get her temperature but failed miserably.

I kept meaning to write because I have had a big few weeks, but this takes precedence.

Sophie is very ill. I took her to the vet at the end of September because she was doing a cough/gag thing. To me it seemed like she was trying to clear up a hairball. The vet recommended a diet change and we went on our way. 1 bag of new food later, and it hadn’t gotten better. I made an appointment with a different vet clinic (turns out I live a few blocks from a cat specialty clinic). I showed the vet a video of the issue and she said it was coughing, and immediately figured it was asthma. We did some xrays to confirm, and when the vet came back into the room it was one of those serious “we need to talk” moments.

To summarize what happened, here is what the vet emailed me:

On the exam:
- Fluid was seen within the chest cavity on radiographs.
- A mass effect was seen on radiographs after fluid evacuation.
- White/pink fluid
- Sophie has a mild fever today of 103.3 F

ASSESSMENT

Chylothorax - This is a disease in which lymphatic fluid which usually drains into the blood vessels, becomes blocked and leaks out and drains into the thoracic cavity. This can make it difficult for Sophie to breathe. This fluid can also cause inflammation which is what is likely stimulating Sophie to cough. Potential causes for Chylothorax include: idiopathic, cardiac and neoplasia. At this time Idiopathic Chylothorax is our most likely diagnosis followed by cardiac as Sophie’s heart is rounder than what a normal cat heart should look like.

She kept trying to emphasize how serious of an issue Sophie has. I think she was afraid I would try to blow it off or not deal with it right away. But it’s never a good feeling when a medical professional is like no, listen, this is a life-changing issue.

I left her there for several hours while they drained the fluid from her chest and took more xrays.

After some additional blood work comes back, I will be taking her to a surgeon (hopefully early next week). I was relatively calm throughout this until the vet talked about her prognosis. She said with surgery we can probably get more good years out of her, but she will likely not live a long life. That’s fucking gutting to hear, considering she just turned 3.

Sophie always was and continues to be a happy lively girl. This morning before the vet she was running around with the zoomies, being crazy and lively and fun. Last night she was on the couch with me in a state of dreamy sleepy bliss. I know cats hide their pain really well, so I hope she really is feeling OK. Draining some of that fluid should definitely help her too. I haven’t heard her cough since she got back.

I am grateful for the fact that she seems to be doing OK, that I can afford her treatment, and that the vet I found took great care of us. I’m grateful I’m not traveling for the holidays and that I have a flexible job where I can stay at home as much as I want and work around any appointments she will have.

For today, i just feel sad.

Last updated November 25, 2019