CHF? cancer?

Hi all! We took our 9 year old indoor boy to the vet yesterday as he had a bit of a cough/wheeze that started Friday/Saturday and we noticed his breathing was 45 breaths/min when resting. He was a bit sleepy and not playful. The vet did X-rays after mild sedation as he is a spicy kitty. She showed the X-ray to us and said usually where they’d see the heart there was fluid making it impossible to see the heart. She told us it was likely CHF or Cancer. She gave us furosemide and clavaseptin in case he had something bacterial. Is there any way this is simply something less nefarious than CHF or Cancer? He has never had a health issue and has always been indoors. When we brought him home he just stared and wouldn’t lay down but I’ll chalk that up to huge stress & sedation. He rolled around, played a bit and was asking for food (he lives to eat) so these were all positive signs. He hasn’t pooped since Tuesday night which I’m now worrying about a bit. Any help would be much appreciated. I am beside myself for my boy.

Hello - I'm sorry to hear about this change to the chest.  Of course, I haven't seen the radiographs and your vet has, so if they feel that cancer or CHF are most likely, I am not in a position to contradict them.   Fluid opacity that covers the heart is always going to be serious.  I wondered whether herniae, parasites, pericardial fluid might be on the list but would not describe these as less nefarious and can only reccommending asking what is needed to diagnose the issue definitively.  Good questions for your vet are 'what explanation for what you can see here might carry the best prognosis, and how likely is that outcome?'  and 'How certain are you?'  Of course, it is always excellent news that your cat is feeling well at the moment.

These are his X-rays here (he is a spicy boy even with mild sedative so this was the best they could do) any advice or guidance would be so great thank you so much  

Hello  In this rare case, it looks to me as though there may be something else going on, for example a diaphragmatic hernia (a hole in the diaphragm, which is a sheet of muscle separating the abdomen from the chest).  These can occur secondarily to another problem and therefore do not have to be associated with a recent traumatic incident (commonly, when they do, it would be a  car accident).  The symptoms can be chronic - i.e. long-lasting, come and go, but can also worsen acutely (suddenly) should the contents of the abdomen slide into the chest.  I am not responsible for your cat's healthcare or diagnoses and nor is it appropriate to make diagnoses out of context without your vets' referral (I am not suitably qualified to receive such referrals, either).  However, if this speculation is correct the this could make a significant difference to the treatment, so perhaps you could ask them to review the case and arrange a second opinion from someone experienced in dealing with diaphragmatic herniae, if appropriate.

Please note that the presence of a hernia does not necessarily rule out cancer or CHF, but may explain the symptoms without cancer or CHF needing to be present.

Sorry - I said that in a very convoluted way.  It looks likely to me that your cat may have a diaphragmatic hernia.  Please get them checked specifically for this, either with your own vet or as a second opinion.

You might want to look this page up for more information:   https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2011/07/04/when-liver-meets-lungs-diaphragmatic-hernia-in-a-cat/