A cat forum. CatBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » CatBanter forum » Cat Newsgroups » Cat health & behaviour
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Cat has heart trouble, not poison or eye trouble



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old May 31st 08, 01:50 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
PRW
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4
Default Cat has heart trouble, not poison or eye trouble

I posted earlier this week (under a different user name, I'm away from
home and posting through Google instead of with Outlook Express from
my home computer) about my cat, 4-year-old Maine Coon/Norwegian Forest
Cat mix, who at first we thought had been poisoned because of dilated
eyes and agitation ... then we thought it was glaucoma or retinal
damage.

After a visit with a veterinary opthamologist today, who went above
and beyond a regular eye exam, and then a return visit to our regular
vet, we now know exactly what is going on.

Our cat has cardiomyopathy, with an enlarged left atrium. Which I
know, based on some research I've done online, is pretty much the
worst-case scenario here.

The cat apparently has a heart murmur that is coming and going. The
opthomologist detected one that she ranked as a 4 out of 6 on the
scale. However, our regular vet did not detect one, but they said that
it could be coming and going. Both vets detected harsh breathing
sounds.

The opthomologist also said it sounded to her that the left atrium was
involved. Our regular vet did X-rays, and the side view didn't show
anything but the direct view showed a very, very enlarged heart, as I
said in the left atrium area.

Our vet now feels certain that the cat threw a blood clot and had an
ischemic incident, like a stroke, the other day when his eyes were
impaired.

The next step would be to have an echocardiogram done to absolutely
nail this down, then go with some medicines to try to treat the
condition.

Our regular vet painted an optimistic picture, saying that vets are
doing amazing things in treating heart disease in pets medically these
days.

As I said, though, my research on this has painted this as a worst-
case scenario in which treatment with medicine will only stave off the
inevitable, maybe even for just a matter of months.

We love the cat, we don't want to lose him, we don't want to just sit
around and wait for him to die, our inclination is to do something ...
but I don't want to do anything that's just going to buy him a few
months with no guarantee of good quality of life, because that few
months would be for us, not him.

Anyone who's had experience with this, or knows anything about this,
can you give me some idea of just how dire a situation this is, and
whether going above and beyond in treating this cat would be just
staving off the inevitable for a very short period of time? Or is
there reason for my vet's optimism? I guess the question is, is there
any real, legitimate hope or reason for optimism here, because my
family and I feel like we've been punched in the guts and all the air
knocked out of our bodies right now.

Thanks in advance for any help or input.
  #2  
Old May 31st 08, 02:02 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
PRW
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4
Default Cat has heart trouble, not poison or eye trouble

Had complete bloodwork, including thyroid, done today, will have
results in the a.m.


On May 30, 7:58 pm, "Matthew"
wrote:
did you vet check for hyperthyroidism if unchecked it can cause heart
murmurs and eye trouble

"PRW" wrote in message


  #3  
Old May 31st 08, 08:53 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
rich
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13
Default Cat has heart trouble, not poison or eye trouble

I do a bit of rescue work, and tend to keep the sickest as unadoptable. My Bear
passed on a few years ago with a similar condition. My vet didn't believe treatment
was advisable except for staying well ahead of colds, infections, and anything that
would tax his system. At the time, I was taking care of my mother (since deceased),
and did not have the time to do research on my own, but do not assume the vet is up
on the latest techniques. I found treatments for an FIP and a diabetic that the vet
was unaware of, with slight success in the former, and substantial in the latter. If
I were you, I'd be going nuts on the search engines as well as the newsgroups.

Good luck,
Rich



PRW wrote:
I posted earlier this week (under a different user name, I'm away
from home and posting through Google instead of with Outlook Express
from my home computer) about my cat, 4-year-old Maine Coon/Norwegian
Forest Cat mix, who at first we thought had been poisoned because of
dilated eyes and agitation ... then we thought it was glaucoma or
retinal damage.

After a visit with a veterinary opthamologist today, who went above
and beyond a regular eye exam, and then a return visit to our regular
vet, we now know exactly what is going on.

Our cat has cardiomyopathy, with an enlarged left atrium. Which I
know, based on some research I've done online, is pretty much the
worst-case scenario here.

The cat apparently has a heart murmur that is coming and going. The
opthomologist detected one that she ranked as a 4 out of 6 on the
scale. However, our regular vet did not detect one, but they said
that it could be coming and going. Both vets detected harsh breathing
sounds.

The opthomologist also said it sounded to her that the left atrium
was involved. Our regular vet did X-rays, and the side view didn't
show anything but the direct view showed a very, very enlarged heart,
as I said in the left atrium area.

Our vet now feels certain that the cat threw a blood clot and had an
ischemic incident, like a stroke, the other day when his eyes were
impaired.

The next step would be to have an echocardiogram done to absolutely
nail this down, then go with some medicines to try to treat the
condition.

Our regular vet painted an optimistic picture, saying that vets are
doing amazing things in treating heart disease in pets medically
these days.

As I said, though, my research on this has painted this as a worst-
case scenario in which treatment with medicine will only stave off
the inevitable, maybe even for just a matter of months.

We love the cat, we don't want to lose him, we don't want to just sit
around and wait for him to die, our inclination is to do something
... but I don't want to do anything that's just going to buy him a
few months with no guarantee of good quality of life, because that
few months would be for us, not him.

Anyone who's had experience with this, or knows anything about this,
can you give me some idea of just how dire a situation this is, and
whether going above and beyond in treating this cat would be just
staving off the inevitable for a very short period of time? Or is
there reason for my vet's optimism? I guess the question is, is there
any real, legitimate hope or reason for optimism here, because my
family and I feel like we've been punched in the guts and all the air
knocked out of our bodies right now.

Thanks in advance for any help or input.

  #4  
Old May 31st 08, 08:57 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Janet Boss
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 69
Default Cat has heart trouble, not poison or eye trouble

In article
,
PRW wrote:


As I said, though, my research on this has painted this as a worst-
case scenario in which treatment with medicine will only stave off the
inevitable, maybe even for just a matter of months.

We love the cat, we don't want to lose him, we don't want to just sit
around and wait for him to die, our inclination is to do something ...
but I don't want to do anything that's just going to buy him a few
months with no guarantee of good quality of life, because that few
months would be for us, not him.

Anyone who's had experience with this, or knows anything about this,
can you give me some idea of just how dire a situation this is, and
whether going above and beyond in treating this cat would be just
staving off the inevitable for a very short period of time? Or is
there reason for my vet's optimism? I guess the question is, is there
any real, legitimate hope or reason for optimism here, because my
family and I feel like we've been punched in the guts and all the air
knocked out of our bodies right now.

Thanks in advance for any help or input.


In 1992, my then 9 year old Mitze, who had a murmur since birth, threw a
clot, was partially paralyzed and was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy.
My vet recommended euthanasia, but another vet in his practice
recommended seeing the cardiologist. I jumped at the possibility of
saving her and we did that and things went from there. Kind of an "in
for a penny, in for a pound" situation.

There was no cure, but I'm not sure we really heard that as clearly as
we needed to. With meds and care, she recovered from the paralysis
after about 7 weeks and went on to live a pretty decent life for the
next 8 months, but with a lot of daily meds, side effects from such, and
a fair amount of veterinary expenses.

At 8 months, it happened again. We had just recovered from that
paralysis (about 7 weeks again) and it happened a 3rd time. That's when
we realized we couldn't continue. She died before the vet appointment.

If I had it to do over again, I'm not sure I'd put any of us through it.
Hindsight is like that though. While she did have 8 pretty good months,
then 2 rough months, but they were also a struggle with the meds and the
side effects, and the cost has to be a factor in most peoples' lives as
well.

If faced with the same thing today, I wouldn't choose the same route. I
don't know that it was right for her, and it was rough on all of us. I
think I was a bit selfish and fearful, not ready to let go.

An incredibly personal decision, we each have to know our limits of all
types, and take a very hard look at what a quality life is.

I wish you all the best in making tough decisions.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
  #5  
Old June 1st 08, 05:05 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
PRW
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4
Default Cat has heart trouble, not poison or eye trouble

Following up on this, we got the bloodwork report back today and our
vet described it as "perfect ... beautiful." No signs of liver,
kidney, thyroid, etc., problems. So basically, the cat has no other
physical problems aside from the enlarged heart and the incident it
caused with the eyes the other day. So we will be consulting a
cardiologist and going from there.
  #6  
Old June 2nd 08, 02:59 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Rene S.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 741
Default Cat has heart trouble, not poison or eye trouble

I wish I could offer some help, but I can only send my best wishes.
I'm very sorry about the diagnosis, but Cindy did offer some good
advice that's worth looking into.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
TV trouble Hans Schrøder Cat anecdotes 22 March 20th 08 12:01 PM
Boy, Are We in Trouble. [email protected] Cat anecdotes 36 July 9th 06 10:22 PM
Dog trouble? Matthew Cat health & behaviour 1 June 26th 06 01:45 AM
I'm in trouble now Kim Walters Cat anecdotes 1 August 22nd 03 04:13 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:27 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CatBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.