Cat with ascites (abdominal fluid)
My 11-year-old male cat has abdominal fluid. He's an indoor-only cat in a single cat household. He is a big boy and has always loved his dry food. About 9-10 days ago he stopped eating his dry food. I switched to wet food and that did the trick. Then about 3-4 days ago he stopped eating most of his wet food and we noticed that his belly was very bloated. We took him to the vet a few days ago. The blood work and lab testing of the fluid came back normal. The x-ray was unsuccessful due to all of the fluid. My vet did not suggest draining. He gave us a prescription for a diuretic and suggested we make an appointment to get a scan when the fluid goes down.
Has anyone's cat actually pulled through after developing ascites? I haven't found many promising stories. We can do the scan, but it sounds like the prognosis for whatever they find won't be good. We love him so much, but it's so difficult to watch. He's always been very affectionate, but now he spends most of his days under the bed. I guess I'm trying to figure out if it's even worth the scan or if we should prepare to say our goodbyes?