Possible problem with heart or lungs

Question
Hi Sandra.  I wrote to you last weekend about Iggy, my 1 1/2 year old male who has been very healthy until about six weeks ago.  I have some new information since first writing.
Six weeks back, Iggy started behaving differently.  His breathing seemed labored, even though he never had a problem with sneezing or red discharge from eyes and nose.  The sound he made, which came and went, seemed more like a rhythmic moaning / whirling, not a wheezing.  His appetite decreased and he started losing weight.  And he became dehydrated.  My Vet took an X-ray and saw a slight cloudiness in one lung (less than half the lung area) and what she thought might be an enlarged heart.  She did a blood test and, with what little blood they were able to get from his tiny veins, the white cell count appeared normal.  She gave him fluids under the skin and prescribed Baytril.  He felt better for a few days, then the symptoms returned, as did the dehydration.  We've been giving him fluids twice a week, and continuing with the baytril for a month now.  
A second X-ray was taken last week, four weeks after the first.  The cloudy area in one lung had diminished somewhat; the heart looked the same, just slightly larger than what they felt was the norm, but not so much as to indicate heart decease.  
Besides the labored breathing, which has gotten worse, resulting in rapid breathing sometimes, and a bobbing of the head, and the loss of appetite, he also, on occasion, seems anxious, and climbs ontop of his cage, seeking higher ground, and hanging his head over the edge.  
I visited your website the other day and saw where you wrote that these symptoms could indicate heart or lung disease.  I shared this info with my Vet yesterday.  Based on the X-rays, she believes it is more likely the lungs, not the heart.  She gave him a shot yesterday that she calls "rat rescue."  It contains a steroid, an antibiotic, and something to open up the airwaves in the lungs.  Within hours, for the first time in weeks, Iggy seemed energized, and he had an appetite.  I didn't have to force him to eat liquid diet.  He had a feast of pees, Total cereal, banana, pees and rice baby food, and even some proper rat food.  And he still appears the have an appetite this morning.
My Vet wants me to start him on Metacam today, along with the Baytril, and to go to the pharmacy to fill a prescription for Albaterol syrup drops to further help ease his breathing.
Does this sound like the right path to take?  Do you have any other thoughts that might help Iggy feel better in the time he has left, or prolong his life?
I respect your opinion greatly and appreciate anything you may wish to offer?  Marc.

Answer


I agree with the rat  rescue medicatin, but he needs to continue with the steroids as well. The albuterol alone is not what helped him, but the combo of the drugs together did.  I suggest that your vet not give up on the fact it is infection and get more aggressive with the antibiotics.  Its obvious that the baytril isnt going to work and in fact it is absolutely ridiculous your vet kept your rat on baytril despite the fact he was getting worse, not improving. Thats one good way to start a  super infection and create a tolerance to the drug.  I wish these vets would do their homework if they are going to see there rats.