We gave Whiskers his normal feeding and medicine using the PEG tube. The cat vomited a small amount about a few minutes into the feeding. I had decided to administer the food over a 10 minute time instead of 5 minutes to minimize this problem. Whiskers took all the medications and food. We moved him into the laundry room with everything he would need for 10 minutes while I went to shower and shave. After dressing for my workout I went down and let him out. I noticed that he was breathing rapidly. I took a measure and came up with 54 breaths a minute. Yesterday he was breathing just above 30.

After coming back from my work out, I measured Whiskers breathing again and it was over 50 per minute. I called Critical Care and they suggested I bring the cat in. I called my wife and she suggested I call the surgery unit. I did and found that the cat who performed the surgery had the next two days off but they would call him at home for a consultation. About a half hour later the doctor called and I told him this new development. He told me to now aspirate the stomach contents out using the PEG tub too see how much was inside the stomach just prior to each feeding. Then calculate the difference to finish giving the cat the prescribed 30 cc. It is not uncommon for cats to not move stomach contents very fast after surgery. He suggested that I bring the cat in for an X-Ray to see if there is a significant fluid buildup in the lungs.

I took the cat in to Critical Care unit and they did withdraw fluid out of the cat’s lungs.   It was interesting that they did not charge for this visit.