Hi,
Was wondering if you could help me out with some advice.
I have a male cat ( approx 3 years of age ) that was ran over by a car about 2 years ago and has had issues breathing since.
It wasn't that bad at the time as he did not show any signs of distress, I took him to the vet and all, got a few shots and also his lower back was injured after he got run over, was paralyzed from waist down for about 2 weeks but then got up on his feet like nothing happened. Unfortunately the doctor at the time did not tell me anything about any ruptures inside his abdominal area and only advised that he had a leg fracture that was due to heal.
Unfortunately, for about 8-9 months, his breathing problems got worse as he is visibly breathing through his mouth, only sleeps in a few positions, tries to eat as little as possible but multiple times throughout the day, and tries to stay in an upwards position for as much as he can ( sometimes he even sleeps standing up, most likely because his intestines are slightly going back in his abdominal area and he feels comfortable ). His nose slightly turned purple alongside his tongue but he doesn't feel like he is in much pain, he just sometimes breaths awkwardly and has a few coughs every now and then with a bubbly, slightly foamy yellow-ish liquid coming out ( though as of late for the past 3 months, he did not cough at all and seems to be ok )
I couldn't take him to the vet sooner this year as he kept panicking as the car drive is really long to the veterinary clinic and he was barely able to breath, so I decided to wait a bit and take him when he feels better.
I finally took him today, he got an x-ray and the doctor diagnosed him with traumatic trans diaphragmatic hernia as his intestines shifted from the abdominal cavity to the thoracic cavity. Doctor said that this can be rectified by surgery but in his case there's about a 70% chance he'll make it due to that membrane being fractured ( which could pose a threat when the doctor attempts to close it ).
I really don't want to lose him but considering that there is a potential fatality risk when attempting the surgery, and as the doctor said he is not in any pain and can live many years with this diagnose, do you think are the chances worth it ? Could it be too late now since it's been 2 years since the accident and the complications can be fatal ? I will also attach a photo of the x-ray
maybe you can make something out of it as I am not specialized at all.
I am not based in the US so surgery costs here in my country are not a problem, the thing I think the most about are the risks due to him spending too much time with this problem and has been showing symptoms now for about 8 months.
P.S Do apologize for the hurried up writing and for the fact that English is not my first language but I am really curious for your thoughts on this.