my cat went off balance today....

today my cat,who is overweight went off balance and now seems to be having trouble breathing. He is just breathing heavy. I plan on being at my vet's office waiting for her to open first thing in the morning. Has anyone ever had this problem or heard of this problem w/cats? It almost seemed as if he was having a stroke....

Does your vet have someone that takes after hours calls for emergencies? If it is a stroke, time is critical. Labored breathing would be reason for not waiting also. I would look for an emergency animal clinic if your vet is not available and at least ask them what to do. I hope everything is ok.

I would find a vet who is open now & get him there ASAP.

You need the er vet right now.
Hl can die.

It could also be heart problems, which can cause a thrombosis to one or both of their legs, which would cause him to fall over. Heavy breathing is another sign. This is most common in overweight male cats between about 7 and 9 years old.

It sure sounds like a medical emergency to me.

Did you go to the Vet already? If so, how did it go?

My boy is at the vet now....she kept him for tests. She said that his heart rate is elevated and she was going to do a chest x-ray and EKG if necessary. To the last poster, you seem to have hit the nail on the head...she thinks it is heart disease which she says can affect his balance.
He weighs 21lbs so if he comes through this ok, he will be on a strict diet!
Thanks for the replies and everyone keep their fingers crossed for "Tiny" who isnt so Tiny!!! Im supposed to be able to pick him up by lunchtime.

Originally Posted by meower3

My boy is at the vet now....she kept him for tests. She said that his heart rate is elevated and she was going to do a chest x-ray and EKG if necessary. To the last poster, you seem to have hit the nail on the head...she thinks it is heart disease which she says can affect his balance.
He weighs 21lbs so if he comes through this ok, he will be on a strict diet!
Thanks for the replies and everyone keep their fingers crossed for "Tiny" who isnt so Tiny!!! Im supposed to be able to pick him up by lunchtime.

Click to expand...

Many vibes, and please update us, ok?

for Tiny. Please keep us posted!

Well, not good news....Tiny has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) What I'm getting from the vet is that we need to try to control this w/medication but there is no cure. She wasnt sure how bad his condition is, recommended a cardiologist for cats if we "want to find out how long he has to live." I dont think we are going that route.... We got the meds and will hope that he can stay with us for a few more years. She said that eventually he will die from congestive heart failure and it will probably be sudden.

The worst part of all this is that we look at him and he seems fine! We need to keep an eye on his breathing and hope that he doesnt come up w/any blood clots. The vet said this disease can be common in cats but I've never heard of this. Any feedback from any members would be appreciated.
Im severely bummed out!

Heart problems can be like that, it's why people often don't know until it's too late (ie, they're in the ER with a heart attack).
I walk around daily with my heart rate 150bpm+ and you'd never know anything was wrong with me because I do look reasonably healthy.

I'm sorry to hear this about Tiny. Hopefully your vet can and diet changes may be able to keep him with you a little longer.
Though maybe not reassuring. No of us ever really know if there will be a tomorrow, anything can happen between now and then. We have to cherish the time we have now and at least be thankful we have had that. Love Tiny as much as you can while he's with you.

Meower3,

Here's a link to the Feline HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) Group (it's a forum/message board) on Yahoo Groups. I'm sure you'll find lots of good info and support from the many members there who, like you, have a cat that's been newly diagnosed - or has a kitty who's been dealing with this for some time. You'll have to "join" the group to be able to read and post there:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/feline-heart/

thank you so much food lady!