Yes, chylothorax is one of the forms of pleural effusion. It's discussed
on both links I posted in this thread.

Dan, that is correct what CN says.  My cat, Abbey, aged 4, also has
chylothorax.  She was diagnosed on 5/5.  I seldom post here to rpca but
post a lot to rpchb.  There are 2 threads, entitled, "My cat has a
grave prognosois-chylothorax," and "Abbey's ultrasound/no good news"
from the last month or so.  There is much helpful info in there
particularly from Phil P.

Abbey is still with us although her breathing is irregular and fast.
It varies a lot and is almost normal when she is asleep.
Unfortunately, Abbey apparently has damage to her lungs called
fibrosing pleuritis which occurred because she apparently had the chyle
in her pleural cavity for quite awhile prior to diagnosis and that
scars the lungs.  I never noticed any symptoms with her until the day I
came home and she was breathing hard.  This makes her prognosis far
worse than if her lungs were not so badly scarred.  She has had 2
thoracenteses but may not be able to have anymore because her
ultrasound showed that her fluid is accumulating in small pockets
rather than all in one area (due to the scarring).  Hopefully, this is
not the case with Harri.

I still have some hope for Abbey, that the chylo will be under control.
It has been almost 4 weeks since her last draining.  If it is
controlled, she may live although with very diminished lung capacity.
She is on lasix twice a day and rutin which the literature says may
help.  It's obtainable from health food stores.  Abbey is very hard to
pill and I've tried all the tricks.  I'm pretty good at pilling but not
her.  She has somehow gotten all her lasix doses so far but the rutin
is another story.  She gets *some* rutin everyday but not the
recommended dose.  If Harri is easy to pill that will help.

Abbey has a suspicious mass at the base of her heart that may be
especially thick lung scarring or it may be a tumor.  It is in a place
where they can't do a needle biopsy and she is not a surgical candidate
because of her lung damage.  My vet also said that if a chest tube were
an option for her, that would be something for which she would remain
hospitalized the whole time, not something she would go home with.
There was not really a cause determined for Abbey's chylo.  Her heart
is functioning normally.  If she does, indeed, have a heart tumor, that
is another story.  Many cases of chylo never have a determined cause
and are, therefore, idiopathic.  It can resolve spontaneously, which is
what I hope for Abbey.

I try to take one day at a time because I guess that's really all
anyone has, right now.  I monitor her respiration rate a lot.  She gets
up to 60 when active, in the 40s while sleeping.

Abbey had a hard time recovering from her thoracenteses (2 of them).
It took about a week each time before she started acting normal and
eating.  If Harri is acting normal already, that's good.

I have read many of your posts about the Roadcat and loved them.  She
sounds so darling.  Abbey has many, many people praying for her
recovery and I know Harri does, too.  Count me among them.

Candace

Christine,

How is Omar doing? Haven't seen you posted about his condition.
Please keep us updated.
Rusty is still purring for him and Harri .

Winnie