My cat's belly is swollen with fluid and he won't eat. What's wrong?

Question

Hi, I have a domestic shorthair cat with fluid in his abdomen. We saw a vet and X-ray showed his heart is fine. There was too much fluid for the X-ray to show what was happening in the abdomen. He hasnt been eating or drinking much, but after the vet took out about 200ml of fluid, he ran for the food/water bowl. Blood work showed low sodium and potassium, low glu and low creatine. Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered | 13 years and 3 months old | 15 lbs

Jeffrey Milner · Accepted Answer

If the vet who drained the fluid analyzed the cellular content of the fluid (or sent it to a pathologist), you might be able to obtain some valuable information that could lead to a diagnosis. If still possible, I would have seen if the veterinarian could re-xrayed after the fluid was removed for better visualization. The blood work findings you have stated are consistent with dehydration and anorexia. Fluid in the abdomen in my experience is usually originating from the liver. Another possibility is that there could be a mass in the abdomen that is leaking some type of fluid. I would recommend diagnostic ultrasound in addition to the other diagnostics already performed to better assess the situation. This imaging modality will provide different, and in general, more detailed information on the abdominal contents.

My cat's belly is swollen with fluid and he won't eat. What's wrong?

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