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Hi, I hope you have read the FOLLOW-UP below this thread that I posted in reply to previous thread I posted in September concerning my cat - trying to determine the cause of the croupiness, wheezing, etc. I thought the answer was asthma, and it may still be, but there was fluid build-up in September and again yesterday, I took my cat to the vet and there was fluid build-up again.

I think there is a connection between the respiratory infection my cat got in September with the asthma symptoms and
the fluid build-up around the lungs.The first time he got fluid build-up it was after he caught a cold that lasted about 2 weeks.And the second time there was fluid build-up was also after a respiratory infection. My concern, and I've tried to explain this to the vet to no avail is that I think we might be using steroids to suppress the inflammation, croupiness, wheezing, etc, all the symptoms when, if the source of those symptoms was corrected the source may not be inflammation at all but infection.

I don't know if I'm reasoning this correctly, but from what I researched, a respiratory infection, if gone on long enough, can trigger asthma, and a lung infection, whether or not directly or indirectly the result of a respiratory infection,can be the result of microorganisms that, if not
killed by antibiotics, can create fluid build-up around the lungs.The other thing is, ever since he was a kitten, he was always a bit croupy, just in the chest, kind of a rumbling. It wasn't severe enough to require medication and if he caught a cold antibiotics got rid of it quickly....until in August he went out and slept on a window seat I had that's outside a bedroom window. I didn't realize it, but the cushion was wet from rain dripping in, and it was cool out, and after that he caught a bad cold, and after that these asthma symptoms started. I think that started a chest infection and possibly a lung infection which could have turned into asthma. I pointed this out to the vet ... again to no avail.

Would an analysis of the fluid show the presence of these microoganisms(if there are any) that could be causing the fluid build-up? What else does the analysis show? According to my vet, the analysis would be a waste of time but I don't think so.Each time the fluid was drained it was too late in the day, according to the vet, to have it sent to the lab in another city, so I need to know now what the analysis could show that would narrow down the causes of the fluid build-up.

In all other respects my cat is in good health/ He's currently on Flovent 250 mcg- 2 puffs twice a day, along with Prednisolone, 5mg on an as needed basis. Up until yesterday, he was doing very well on it. No croupiness at all, no wheezing. Good appetite. And even today,after the fluid was drained, everything is back to normal. If it was FIP or leukemia as the vet says(based solely on the fluid build-up) would Flovent be able to suppress all symptoms? What he is getting now is for asthma and there are no symptoms at all. The concern is the fluid build-up and I have to find an answer to that. I can't keep taking the vet's stop-gap measure of draining the fluid over and over without finding out what's causing it.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated. Thank you.

What is puzzling is that the first time my cat had fluid on the lungs and 2 ounces were drained, my cat could hardly breathe,
any exertion and he was fighting for breath. The vet said that
that was because the fluid was pressing against the lungs so they couldn't inflate and because they couldn't inflate they were rubbing against each other, that's why there was mucus and
phlegm, from the irritation. This time, four ounces were drained and before they were drained my cat had no problem breathing, in fact, upon exertion - he could run or jump to the top of cabinets and have absolutely no problem in breathing. Why is that when, this time, there was more fluid?

The vet said to me, do you want me to put him on antibiotics? My cat has had the Dexamethasone/Duplicillin shot that should last a couple of days. What antibiotic kills the microorganisms that infect the lungs and can cause fluid around the lungs that I mentioned earlier. I read that Doxycycline is used for severe lung infections. Would that be the one to suggest?

Even though the vet reluctantly agreed that it could be asthma, and is sure, based on the present of fluid around the lungs alone that the cause is either FIP or leukemia(when I said, but there's no other symptoms of FIP and leukemia, he replied that the Pred could be keeping them in check. For months?), the problem has always been mucus and phlegm, and lung infections, I think, can produce mucus and phlegm.

Since the start of this, my cat has had no sneezing and no cough, and now, after the last cold, he will give, once or twice a day, a cross between a sneeze and a dry barking kind of cough. No mucus or phlegm as long as he's on Flovent and a low dosage of Prednisolone.

While waiting for your reply, I've been doing some reading. According to this link http://health.hpathy.com/pleurisy-symptoms-treatment-cure.asp fluid collection around the lungs
is most often caused by a viral infection as well as lung infections. In listing the symptoms, I find that my cat doesn't have most of those symptoms. The vet said my cat doesn't have a fever, there was no pain at each breath and it wasn't worsened by deep breathing because just before the vet drained 4 oz of fluid from around the lungs yesterday, my cat was breathing at a normal rate (30 breaths per minuteat rest ) and breathing deeper, not more shallow. He would even take big sighs, and no sign of distress or pain. There was only a slight cough, about
one two-second cough a day, but a couple of light sneezes, once or twice a day. So, he didn't have most of the symptoms of pleural effusions. How come? I'm also wondering if there might be a lung infection as the link suggested. I'm not asking you to diagnose my cat but I do have to have something to say to my vet to encourage him to think past that my cat must have FIP or feline leukemia with no more to base that on than that there is a fluid build-up around the lungs every 6 weeks or so.

It sounds like the vet is draining fluid from the chest cavity; that is, from around the lungs rather than from in the lungs. It would be worthwhile to send the fluid out to be analyzed. From your posts, I gather that the cat has had intermittent respiratory problems, all of a similar nature, most of its life. If the fluid looks milky, it may have a chylothorax, which is chyle, or lymph, escaping from the ductus arteriosus on its way to the heart. I doubt that a chronic pleuritis could last years or not cause a constant pain. Get the fluid analyzed.