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Thank you so much LIgirl for taking the time to write that. I really appreciate it. Maggie was never what you'd call a "highly active cat" (Lordy, I laugh as I write that - her nickname is "Tub o' Lard"!) the ONLY sign that anything was amiss was her breathing and looking back - hindsight is always 20/20 - the way she lay to sleep (keeping her head and shoulders upright so as let gravity help drain her lungs) - but she's not above sleeping in weird and wonderful ways, so I didn't put too much stock in it.
Not being a domesticated cat, her predisposition to hide illness was probably even stronger than in an ordinary cat. I discussed pill pockets with my vet.... Maggie's not a treat eater at the best of times so I decided to go with the compound first and see. I suspect she'd sniff at it and give me a look just like this: . LOL
Kansas... she is, or was because she's home now, in the hands of the man that wrote the book on feline-only practices. Literally! I'm blessed he's right around the corner... Oh yes, 100+ miles in this neck of the woods is "just up the road". Dr. Norsworthy is just a poppet - he called at 07.30 this morning to let me know how she was.
Now it's fun and game with the meds... She's winning so far (having taken two mouthfuls and then decided she wasn't eating), but it's hard to know because she's still recovering from the ordeal, so is she off her food due to stress/upset or has she spotted she's been slipped a mickey? She's on two meds once a day, but as we had it made into a compound, it's just a .5 ml dose once a day. My gut is telling me she knows it's there.
Unfortunately, the other two cats are behaving as if I've brought home Satan's spawn. This is NOT making things easier. We've had hissing and swatting and me about to blow a fuse. I suspected this was going to happen.
Yep, I do agree, hindsight is always 20/20. Just like when we thought Fred's breathing loudly in his sleep was funny or the way he sits upright. We would have never thought anything was wrong b/c he would stay up all night annoying us. I'm sorry to hear that Maggie is not a treat eater. I have 2 other cats and my cat Otis had a respiratory infection a year ago after getting his teeth cleaned and I had to give him a few different pill medications a few times a day. I tried the pill pockets with him, note that he is my fat cat....and he would eat the pill pocket around the pill and leave the pill behind. I dread one day if he really needs to get a daily dose of any type of pill or liquid medication for a disease b/c he is VERY finicky and won't take anything. I had to end up bringing him to my vet to get medications injected into him. Wish they would have told me that from the start instead of wasting so much $$ on all the pills.
I had to laugh when you said Maggie is a tub o' lard. LOL.. I call my cat Otis, Fotis which means fat Otis. LOL..
Did they say what stage the HCM is in with your kitty? Mild, moderate, or severe? I think it's great that you have a great vet so close to you. That means a lot. The heart cardiologist we chose for Fred is #1 in New York and has been featured in lots of articles. That's why we ended up choosing him.
I heard about those compounded treats and meds. I hope she will take it since she needs to take it every day.
As for your other kitties harassing her, that's normal. My cats would do the same. Each time one goes to the vet for anything, when that cat gets home, the other 2 always bully that kitty around and harass them. Eventually though, they get past it...Probably in about an hour or so.
Eventually though, they get past it...Probably in about an hour or so.
Hour?! ROFL
No, no, no - hours I could deal with. Over 24 hours later one is behaving as if Maggie might be closely related - and not by marriage - to Satan, and the other has decided that she must stay hidden at all costs - and this includes meals - lest Maggie steal her soul.
Knowing our cats, I'd say this is not going to improve for at least a few days. Not much I can do about it I guess however irritating it is. At least the dogs are nice to her.
Anyone on here have a cat diagnosed with HCM? Just looking for some experiences - good, bad, or indifferent.
We got the bad news today... our Maggie-Pudding-NoTail has been diagnosed. She's in hospital, on oxygen, but is expected to be able to come home in a couple of days. She'll be on meds for the rest of her life... which will, no doubt, be a foreshortened one.
About two years ago, we lost little Annabelle to cardiomyopathy too - but her's was a much more severe kind. Still, after the vet confirmed it, there was that haunting sense of "this cannot be happening again". It's the same vet, bless him, so he was all too aware of what he was telling me. The prognosis isn't dire - she'll be on meds, but... well, eventually the disease will win. She's only somewhere about 5.5-6 years old.
The stress of being at the vets is going to be hard on Maggie. She's not an entirely "normal" cat - being as she was born into and spent her formative first 6-8 months in a monitored feral colony. But she is the bravest cat I've ever known.
Anyway, just looking to hear from anyone who has had a cat diagnosed &/or is currently being treated for HCM.
In the meantime, I'm going to go be very upset into a very large drink.
First off I am so sorry for everyone's loss it is the worst thing ever in our life anyway. We just lost of baby boy he just turned 7 found him about 5 minutes after seeing him up on the bed paralized from the waist down. And no we had no idea at all of this condition, now have his sister to worry about and nowhere near to get her a test. But we are talking with our vet and a nice lady I found who does test her exotics and she is giving us a wealth of information and links and said to post about our Muggins in all these forums.
We are devestated , angry, afraid and appauled at breeders who know they have this and still are breeding. Something needs to be done to stop them from gaining on others heartbreak and our a animals horrible death and excruciating pain when they throw a blood clot and years of poor health, medical expenses that are avoidable if someone steps in and stops them. So if your pet died as a result of this keep all records, pictures of their heart and confront the breeders and anywhere they post if they do not acknowledge this , start testing right away or continue breeding.
Anyone on here have a cat diagnosed with HCM? Just looking for some experiences - good, bad, or indifferent.
We got the bad news today... our Maggie-Pudding-NoTail has been diagnosed. She's in hospital, on oxygen, but is expected to be able to come home in a couple of days. She'll be on meds for the rest of her life... which will, no doubt, be a foreshortened one.
About two years ago, we lost little Annabelle to cardiomyopathy too - but her's was a much more severe kind. Still, after the vet confirmed it, there was that haunting sense of "this cannot be happening again". It's the same vet, bless him, so he was all too aware of what he was telling me. The prognosis isn't dire - she'll be on meds, but... well, eventually the disease will win. She's only somewhere about 5.5-6 years old.
The stress of being at the vets is going to be hard on Maggie. She's not an entirely "normal" cat - being as she was born into and spent her formative first 6-8 months in a monitored feral colony. But she is the bravest cat I've ever known.
Anyway, just looking to hear from anyone who has had a cat diagnosed &/or is currently being treated for HCM.
In the meantime, I'm going to go be very upset into a very large drink.
We did. A cat who was given to my husband by his boss who bred American Short Hairs and who suppposedly was cautious about blood lines, etc. That's another story.
Smokey was diagnosed at, say, 2 or 3 and died in front of me while playing hard with a catnip toy mouse. We used a board certified vet cardiologist (is yours a cardiologist?) and he was on meds, too. The doctor said it is hard to tell how long they will live. We had an ultra sound done - you must have had that if you know the diagnosis. It's very sad. Be sure you are aware that paralysis of the rear legs, exquisitely painful, happens sometimes with this condition and is an extreme emergency. You must talk to a cardiologist if you can.
Wanted to revive this thread. My beautiful boy Albert has been diagnosed with HCM. It was found incidentally when he developed pneumonia after his left eye enucleation. X-ray showed a very enlarged heart.
Took him to a veterinary cardiologist, who said he is not yet in heart failure, thank goodness, but that his left atrium is very enlarged. She put him on 2 medications (benazepril and pimobendan) and I have to monitor his breathing. He does not have a pulmonary effusion at this time. But his breathing rate and work of breathing (effort) are definitely elevated over those of a healthy cat.
Albert is 14, so we are lucky that he is not a young cat with this diagnosis. We have been spoiling the daylights out of him since his enucleation, and will continue to do so. He is sleeping next to me on the kitchen table right now, blissfully unaware of his medical condition.
We will just take it one day at a time. The vet said he could easily live a few more years with HCM, but once frank heart failure develops, they only have about a year.
Had I known about the HCM, I am not sure I would have gone ahead with the enucleation. Now we know why he had such a tough time after that surgery. But, on the plus side, the enucleation relieved his pain and stopped him from hiding and not eating for days. So there's that. So had I known about the HCM, the surgery decision would have been a much more difficult one to make.
Luckily, Albert is a purr machine, so he was easy to handle, both at home and at the vet's. I have some other cats that would be very difficult to handle. One screechy girl in particular. LOL
If anyone else has a cat or had a cat with HCM, I'd love to hear your experiences.
We had no idea our little Hobbes had HCM until it was too late. He was about 4.5 years old.
He and his sister Luna were found abandoned. Their eyes weren't even open yet, they were so young. A friend of mine who did cat rescues took them and their brother in. We adopted Luna & Hobbes a few months later.
First vet visit, dr said they detected a slight heart murmer. Then it was not detected on subsequent visits, so we didn't think much of it again.
Hobbes had gastrointestinal issues and crystals a when he was around 2.5, and we had a different vet since we moved to CA. He went on special prescription food and meds for a short time. A year later, issues again, and his food was switched, along with more meds. He hated going to the vet so much, he tried to scratch his way out of the soft cat carrier, and ripped out one of his claws. Didn't know until I got him to the vet and took him out of the carrier - and there was blood on his paw.
During his annual visit, which was a follow up from the last gastro problem visit, the vet (not our usual one- someone younger and less sure of herself) detected a "mild arrythmia." Thought it was due to him being afraid of going to the vet, especially after what happened the last time.
Every once and awhile, it would sound like Hobbes was trying to cough up a hairball. We now think it may have been him having trouble breathing.
In January, after a morning of running around with his sister, I heard a strange meow, and found him laying down on the floor in my office. I picked him up then put him down, but his legs were paralyzed and he couldn't sit up. I freaked out, took him to the vet, where it was determined he threw a clot to his hind leg and he had lost oxygen and had a low body temp. Said he most likely had HCM. My husband and I rushed him to a specialty vet, where they put him on oxygen and meds. He was screaming in pain the whole trip there, and I have never seen my husband drive so fast in the 30 years I have known him. We were told that he might be able to recover, but it might be for only a few months, and it would be a tough few months. We tried to do what we could, but the next morning he was getting worse, not better, and he hung around long enough for us to see him again before we made the agonizing decision to end his pain.
We found out after taking Luna and our dog to a different vet office, that the vet who thought the mild arrythmia was from fear of the vet had no idea what she was talking about, and it should have sent up red flags. He said there was no way it was from being afraid of the vet. It kills me to think he could have been on meds to control the situation well before it got the best of him. This new vet told me of a blood test for Luna to determine if the heart emits some sort of enzyme, which would indicate an enlarged heart. Thankfully it was negative.
You are lucky that you discovered this before it was too late. I would enjoy every precious second with your boy while you can.
I am so sorry about Hobbes! How awful. I do worry about strokes and blood clots with HCM. The cardiologist told me to start him on aspirin twice a week once he is established on his other 2 meds. So far, he is doing Ok with them, but has a little diarrhea. He is sleeping next to me right now, again. I definitely have the sense that our time with him is limited. Only time will tell how he does.
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. LOL
Dr. Norsworthy is just a poppet - he called at 07.30 this morning to let me know how she was. 
She's on two meds once a day, but as we had it made into a compound, it's just a .5 ml dose once a day. My gut is telling me she knows it's there.
ROFL
