Megat (rather long) vet review

Megat's PCV fell way below the mark at 14 last week (20 September, Friday) when we had gone for the PCV check from 35. Then Dr Ly saw that he had a distended abdomen and ordered an emergency ultra sound. The imagist found nothing wrong with his organs, rather there was fluid in his abdomen and this was why his abdomen was round and a little turgid. Then she had taken out 5 ml of the abdominal fluids which made Megat very unhappy for a test. She also said that if Dr Ly agrees, it would be possible to extract the fluid using just one needle as well. When he knew this, Dr Ly ordered a 2 blood tests, which means Megat needed to be poked again. He was so unhappy that he bit me to tell me so (I had helped to hold him when Dr Ly took out the blood). Dr Ly suspected either liver failure or a heart condition. 

However, when he checked Megat's heart, there was nothing to cause any concern. His blood test was also not so worrying although the indicators for his pancreas was rather high. Dr Ly said because of the fluids in his abdomen, it was a little difficult to make any diagnosis. BUT because of his PCV, Dr Ly actually contemplated a blood transfusion but finally decided on Eprex and the Blood Stimulator. It is one capsule a day and one injection of Eprex on alternate days.

Then he said we should come to see him again yesterday (Monday 23 September) to have the PCV checked again. We got the results of the fluid yesterday and we were relieved that there was no cause for concern in that fluid. His PCV has also increased from 14 to 27 (HURRAH) and now we are more able to see what else we can do to help him. I did ask Dr Ly if it was possible to extract the fluids from his abdomen but he said it would not be advisable as it would be difficult to ascertain how much fluid can be extracted. He also said that there are drugs that Megat can take but since we are not going for an aggressive protocol, this would also be out. Finally the decision was to feed Megat with 2 soft-boiled egg whites a day for the albumin and if he has increased albumin in his system we hope that the albumin would absorb the fluids back into his system.

We are very lucky that Megat ate the soft-boiled egg whites quite happily yesterday. Thanks to cat_aunty for her advice on the best way to soft-boil an egg and to D, for telling me that the Blood Stimulator might cause constipation (yes, he had constipation again). As a result, I have increased his lactulose from 2 ml to 3ml a day.

So all in all I think Megat is still comfortable. I only have to watch out for breathing difficulties or if the abdomen becomes even more distended in these 2 weeks.

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/cliented/lab.aspx
Albumin is a small protein produced by the liver. Albumin acts as a sponge to hold water in the blood vessels. When blood albumin is decreased, the pressure created by the heart forcing blood through the blood vessels causes fluid to leak out of the blood vessels and accumulate in body cavities such as the abdominal cavity or in tissues as edema. Albumin is decreased if the liver is damaged and cannot produce an adequate amount of albumin or if albumin is lost through damaged intestine or in the urine due to kidney disease. The only cause of increased albumin is dehydration.