Has anyone ever had a cat with air in it's stomach and colon?

[AutumnV]

My 17 year old cat Molly has air in her stomach and colon...very full. She had x-ray's yesterday that cearly showed this. She started squeaking and breathing very hard about 5 months ago. At that time her x-rays were completely clear. She has been getting worse. Yesterday her blood work came back from Monday and everything was fine. After the x-rays the vet did a CBC to check for infection and a high white blood cell count. She said she saw 3 small suspicious areas on the x-rays too in her chest but not in her lungs. Her heart is also normal. She is on the Methamazole cream that goes on her ears twice a day...alternating ears for hyperthyroidism. As I said her kidney, liver, and thyroid numbers were all normal.She is producing normal stool and urine also. Now we wait for the CBC results to come back. I'll find out on Monday what the results of that are. The vet said she probably feels full  from the air so that's why her appetite has decreased. She also said she has lost weight because she's using all her muscles and energy to breathe like a constant aerobic work out. She prescribed a small dose of liquid prednizone to be increased until we reach 1.5 ml per dayto help her breathing. She also prescribed a quarter of a pill of 15mg Mirtazipine to help her appetite. Her appetite is better since she's been on the pill for a few doses. She has suggested a Chinese herb capsule twice a day to help her breathing too. She is extremely hard to give pills to. I can get the small quarter of a pill down her very easily. I tried everything with the herbal capsule this morning to get it down her and finally put some in her food. Of course she can smell it so it's pretty hopeless.

I think she probably has cancer even though the vet didn't say that. If so, I'll just give her the medicine as long as possible since she's eating and drinking well and not suffering.  I'm sure the inevitable is coming and she will have to be euthanized. I know she's an old kitty but I want to do the best thing for her as long as I can.

AutumnV

[JLMM61]

My cat was diagnosed with asthma. Blood work is perfect, lungs are clear, airway is clear, but he is filled with air pockets, from gulping for air. His lungs, stomach & intestines are filled with air. He stopped eating because he is filled with air. He's been to the vet 3 times in 2 weeks. He's lost more than half of his weight & I have been syringe feeding him & it's a nightmare. he spits up because of the air pockets in him. It's so frustrating watching this happen. Anyone else have an asthmatic cat with this problem?

[AnnieBrooke]

What does the vet say causes it? Eating too fast and swallowing air?

[CML2014]

Hi ross,

Are you saying that 3 vets have all told you she has an obstructed airway?
Have they done x-rays of the stomach and intestines?
How is elimination--constipated or diarrhea?
How often is she throwing up?
Why have you gone to 3 vets--second and third opinion?

Reason I ask these questions is it is very hard to make any sort of diagnosis without x-ray or ultra sound, let alone narrow it down to an obstruction in the larynx.  

If there is an obstruction an endoscopy is the only way to find out.
Personally It sounds like ZQ said Asthma or Pancreatitis.  Asthma will cause the coughing and wheezing.
My concern is the distended stomach---that is never good.  So as ZQ said until you get some x-rays done who knows what the problem is. Certainly there cannot be definitive diagnosis.
My cat has asthma and IBS , She was taken in to the vets because she was throwing up all the time. She was initially diagnosed as having pancreatitis, had exploratory surgery and fount it is a IBS. She takes Budesonide in liquid form once a day and has not thrown up since. She also was put on the Hills Z/D diet which is allergen free.

I am in total agreement with ZQ--I find Teaching Schools to be a great way to find out what the problem is because they are up on the latest and are so willing to investigate and learn. They are also pretty reasonable since you are part of their education.

Please keep us up to date . It will be interesting to find out just exactly what the problem might be-----BUT you need to do this Today or Tomorrow at the latest. Your kitty is really sick and in pain.

Keep in touch,
CML

[rossongco]

I have a cat that has about the same symptoms -- labored breathing, stomach full of air, noisy/wheezing breathing, hard time eating without burping, etc. After going through 3 vets I'm at the point where we all believe it's an airway obstruction -- but where is the hard part. I was told by one that she has a paralyzed larynx but I don't buy that -- her meowing has not changed one bit, which it would if her larynx was paralyzed. Next step medically is to do a scope of her head and neck, which I'm trying to find somewhere to get done, at a reasonably affordable price. Meanwhile, I'd like to be able to at least reduce the bloat effect in her stomach and reduce the inflammation caused by the irritation of whatever tissue is being obstructed. That's causing mucus formation which then builds and gets barfed. I don't buy the cancer explanation and haven't even considered it -- she's only 3 years old.

[zodiacqueen]

Hi, is there a veterinary teaching hospital in your area? That is the best option for your fur baby. And, just wondering if your vet has tried treating for asthma. It sounds like it could be a possibility.

[Crazycatladynj]

My cat also has similar issues. An X-ray showed a large amount of air in his colon. His breathing is loud and rattled but the vet is not sure why. If I pick him up he sounds gassy inside and burps. His esophagus also seems to be enlarged.  He is hyperthyroid as well and is on methimazole. It is interesting that a number of cats with this condition seem to have thyroid issues.

[MacARoonKitten]

My 3 year old cat DLH has the air stuck between the stomach and her colon.  The vet cannot figure out why.  They are treating her with an clavamox antibiotic for infection,  Pepcid AC because she was throwing up. And metoclopramide. She was at the vet overnight for 3 nights.  Not eating and had an IV.  She was doing the panting and dry heaving too.  She has just started eating small amounts again, wet food.  I tried tuna, chicken, and had to run out to get a can of fancy feast. They only thing she will try to eat.  They wanted her on a low-residue diet but she will not eat that type of wet food.  
After X-rays and the dye through the digestive track, the dye was stopping at her colon, they thought there was a blockage so they opened her up but nothing was there.  Here lymph nodes were also swollen so they took a tad for testing.  I find out Monday.  The vet thinks it is not cancer.  But after all this I am feeling horrible.  We just lost our 17 year old male cat 3 months ago and I have been on auto pilot dealing with this.  She has started to nibble on the wet food as of today, and although it is fancy feast thank goodness her appetite is back.  I wish you all the best with your cats and hope a prognosis and health come to all our sweet kitties.  Thank you for all your posts.

[Happysmominchicago]

Hi there,

My older cat, 17, has the exact same symptoms, including hyperthyroid and is on tapazole for that condition. Tapazole is the non-generic version of Methamazole - I found my cat was allergic to Methamazole and now I am wondering if the medicine we are giving them for the hyperthyroid could be causing the heavy breathing and/or gas. What do you think? Or could it be the food? I feed my cat Wellness canned food. How bout you? Thanks to anybody out there who might have some answers.

[opus88]

sorry I really can't shed any light to what causes this either.....I will give you a link to our medhelp Vet Dr. Redford perhaps he would know?

I have read you can use activated charcoal for this...1 capsule opened and put in her food, you can use for 2-3 days but not long term b/c it will interfere with nutrient absorption. its not an answer to whats causing this but at least it will bring poor kitty some relief.....be sure the tiny tummies you are using doesn't contain any sugar or baking soda!!!!

click the following for a link to dr. Redford.

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Animal-Health---General/show/112?controller=forums&action=show&id=112&camp=msc

[Lamplady44]

I, too have cat with large quantities of air in her colon. She has very labored breathing and has gone from 12lbs to 7. I have been giving her the tiny tummies gas relief med. the vet said it was ok. She, too has great blood work, clear lungs and her heart is fine. She is 14. Don't know what else to do and the vet is totally puzzled. Anyone?

[Amberspets]

I know you posted about your cat a long time ago, but I have a cat with the exact same situation and I was hoping you would have some advice!!  My cat Rusty is only 9 years old though.  Did you car recover?  Thank you for any reply!
Amber

[AutumnV]

She has improved but isn't completely well. Her breathing is still labored but I'm letting her be right now. I'll take her in January for her annual physical and I'm sure they'll do the blood work again at that time and probably x=ray her again too. I don't know if I mentioned in my first post that she has lost weight in two years from 16 to 10.2 pounds. It's not her thyroid that makes her keep losing weight now but something else. It seems that ther is something definately wrong with her but they can't find out unless they do exploritory sugery but that's out. The anesthetic would probably kill her and she's too old for all of that.

We'll just keep on truckin' until January. If things change I'lll let you know. I just don't understand with all the good blood work what it is since her main organs don't seem to be affected. Thanks for you post!

[Aussie000]

That's great news that Molly has improved, she certainly is in excellent shape with those good test results, if she continues to have a steady weight and keeps eating her food then I would expert her to be healthy. Long live Molly!

[zodiacqueen]

No problem, glad to help!!  Please, keep us posted and don't hesitate to ask for more advice or opinions!

[AutumnV]

Thank you for your post! I'm glad to hear that you see some air in the stomach on human x-ray's a lot. That eases my mind. She doesn't get any table foods (maybe a bite of  turkey bacon now and then) but that's it. I haven't given her any new foods because she won't eat them. I tried that to help her appetite but no dice.

When my vet returns tomorrow from her vacation, I will call her and ask her if she can give her something for gas or suggest something human I can get. Thanks for that idea too! I'll let you know what happens.

[zodiacqueen]

Just wanted to let you know that it is normal for some air to be in the stomach and colon-us humans ALWAYS have it.  I know because I'm an x-ray student and see it all the time when I take abdomen x-rays.  Totally normal and does NOT indicate any cancer.  I can promise you that!

Now, if there's a bunch of air that might mean that she's just extra "gassy".  Hey, it happens to us too.  Have you changed her food lately?  Or have you been giving her table foods, maybe something new?  That could explain a lot!!  Why don't you ask the vet for something to relieve the gas or maybe they can suggest an over the counter med for it?  It wouldn't hurt to call.

Keep us posted!

[AutumnV]

Molly's blood work was all fine...no high white cell count, no infection, and no anemia. These results join the ones that were perfect for her liver, kidney, and thyroid last week.
The two vets that have seen her are at a loss as to what is wrong with her. I believe it's simply old age. If it is cancer I won't do any invasive procedures at her age. I plan to let her live out her life in peace and keep her as stress free as possible. She swallows so much air when she gets upset so the less stress the better. Her stomach is back to normal size and she looks like she does all the time. Her appetite is fine so I'm not giving her the cortisone and the pill that are supposed to help her but upset her stomach.So that's where it stands as of now. I'll keep you posted.

[AutumnV]

Thank you for your post! I was thinking the vet would call before now but so far she hasn't. I'll let you know what the test results show. Her appetite is better without the pill and the cortisone so far. So we'll see. Thanks for the advice on how to get the pill down her too. She had another bad stomach upset when I gave her the pill on Friday so I'm reluctant to give it to her when the only thing it's supposed to do is help her appetite.
Thanks again!

[Aussie000]

I hate to see an unanswered post, good luck for monday and I hope the suspicious area in the xray isn't cancer but something treatable. I lost my 18 year old cat to cancer a few years ago. I've never heard of air in the colon so I hope that explains the weight loss as the vet suggested. With the dreaded pill taking, try coating the pill in butter and grab the back of her neck and gently tilt it backwards, throw the pill down the side of her mouth and then rub her throat, my cat used to face the wall when he saw me coming with his daily pill, it was such a hoot, I think he thought if he couldn't see me then i couldn't see him, lol.
Let us know how she got on with the test.