Use of high-flow oxygen therapy in a cat with cardiogenic pulmonary edema

A 7-month-old female spayed domestic shorthair cat was presented for respiratory distress due to cardiogenic pulmonary edema. Despite initial treatment and oxygen delivery in an oxygen tent, the cat still showed signs of severe respiratory effort and oxygen saturation measured via pulse oximetry was below 85%. Because the owners declined mechanical ventilation, the cat was transitioned to high-flow oxygen therapy (HFOT). HFOT allowed significant improvement of the respiration parameters within 15 mins without causing clinical complications. The cat was briefly anaesthetised for the placement of the nasal cannula on initiation of HFOT, and the interface was well tolerated thereafter. The cat was transitioned to an oxygen cage after 16 h, weaned from oxygen 4 h later and was discharged after 3 days of hospitalisation. Long-term follow-up showed no abnormalities, and the leading hypothesis was transient myocardial thickening.

The first use of HFOT in a dyspneic cat is described in this study. HFOT could be a life-saving option for cats with severe hypoxemia or do-not-intubate orders that fail to respond to conventional oxygen therapies.