Taking Charlotte to the vet today, not sure what to make of all this

Hi everyone. I sort of disappeared from here not long after losing Everest last summer. I have some concerns about his sister Charlotte, who will be seeing her vet today at noon.  Around 2:30am Thursday morning I went into the bathroom to find Charlotte sitting in a meatloaf type position and not real interested in what was going on around her. I also noticed she hadn't been eating or drinking that night. I've been taking notes for the vet, so I'll just post them here.

Thursday May 17, 2012

2:30am- Noticed Charlotte resting on her stomach in the bathroom. Not sure how long she was in there. She seemed disinterested in what was going on around her.

There were two pieces of stool in the litter box that appeared to be hard and dark in color (the stool wasn't wet and it was recent.

Charlotte didn't appear to be eating, the bowl didn't look it had been touched but she was drinking some.

She did engage in play with me for about 20 minutes, eagerly chasing a toy on a string the entire time.

5:00am- I went to bed and Charlotte slept in my desk chair until about 10:30am.The rest of the morning she split time sitting in the window sill and the bathroom. She still ignored the food bowl but was drinking water on a frequent basis.

Thursday afternoon and into the evening she could be found in the bathroom, in the window and atop the fixture for the light on the fish tank.

Continues to groom herself, stretch, and sharpen her  claws. She also comes to me for attention.

Tried to give her some wet cat food in gravy, which she ignored, and some chicken (also ignored).

There was a small amount of discharge around the eyes but this was only seen once by me.

9:45pm- She urinated in the litter box and there was a single piece of stool in the box that was dark brown in color and glossy (appeared somewhat moist).

10:05pm- Kitty ate something.

Not long after eating she went back to the rug in the bathroom and is in a "meatloaf" position again. I went in to use the bathroom around 11:45 and she got up long enough to drink some water before coming back in and getting in that same position again.

Friday May 18, 2012

12:15am- I was picking up some of the cat toys and she came out of the bathroom and wanted to play with the bird toy. Did that for about 10 minutes. She is still in the bedroom and is back in the meatloaf position again after grooming.

That's the end of my notes so far. She's going to have some blood work done and I think I'm going to bring a stool sample from the box too. I get the impression she doesn't feel well, but there are times where she doesn't seem like that.

Thanks.

The vet listened to her heart and said she has a heart murmur. Took some blood for a full workup and she wants Charlotte to get an ultrasound. I might not have the results of the blood work back until Monday but she said there is a chance it could come back tomorrow. Charlotte has lost 3lbs since last year. Hopefully, the murmur isn't tied to any other problems. Shadow had a murmur and was hyperthyroid.

On the bright she is eating again. She had a little food before I took her to the vet (forgot to check before we went). The vet recommended giving her some kitten food. I bought some Nutro kitten and she went right for it as soon as it was in the bowl.
 

Has she ever had a murmur before? Kitties will often have a murmur at the vet, just from stress. But if it happens when they're older, and has never happened before, I really don't understand why the first thing a vet does is take blood pressure. Took three vet visits with two vets - everyone hearing a murmur in our 9-year-old Flowerbelle (who never had one at a vet visit before) before someone took her blood pressure, which was high. She needs blood pressure medication.

Hope all your Charlotte experienced was a bought of constipation that made her not feel well temporarily!

No, she has never had a heart murmur before now, at least as far as I know. It didn't show up during her checkup last November.

She wasn't "backed up" either.

She has been her usual self since we got home. She has been drinking often. I'd like to see her eat more, but I'm watching that closely.

I just thought maybe she'd had a little bout of constipation from the description of the poop. :dk:

But SO glad to hear she seems to feel herself again!

Thanks Laurie. I was thinking she was constipated too. I am happy that she is using the box (urinating and defecating), and that she is eating and drinking. On the flip side I'm always nervous nellie while waiting for the results of blood tests.

Well, it'd be nice if it's back tomorrow and they don't make you wait all weekend. :nod: :cross:

How old is Charlotte? I'm wondering why the vet wanted an ultrasound? Just a kind of "look see?" My vets usually start with an x-ray (a LOT cheaper, and you can do a whole body shot, basically - see if you need to target further diagnostics).

Hope the blood work looks fine!

Obviously the vet didn't seem concerned, but if she still has a murmur the NEXT time you take her to the vet, for her annual or whatever, you might ask them to take her BP. And there is a blood test for HCM, depending upon what kind of murmur they hear, you might want to consider it since it's so easy to do. The type of murmur the vets heard in Flowerbelle was a regurgitation murmur, not a muscle-deterioration type murmur, so the test for HCM wasn't indicated (it checks for the enzymes produced from heart muscle deterioration, which is HCM). (Flowerbelle's BP problem appears to be due to damage from a very bad lung worm infection when she was rescued, not heart disease).

Charlotte is six. The vet called a few minutes ago with the blood work results and it all came back normal. She wants me to continue with getting her the ultrasound to find out for sure what is going on. I am relieved that the blood work came back fine, and I'm going to call the specialist Monday to set up the ultrasound.

Laurie, I didn't even think about getting her BP checked. Is Flowerbelle on any medication for her murmur?

Aw, that is GREAT news! I'm so glad you didn't have to wait until Monday! :bigthumb:


As to Flowerbelle, she's on medication for her high blood pressure, not a heart murmur. I don't think there is medication for a murmur. She's on a calcium-channel blocker, Norvasc. But she had high systolic and diastolic BP. (What they do is shave a small spot on the foreleg and back leg. They use a very small cuff with a microphone, and measure it four or five times in each place, and take the total average. Her average BP was 195 over 100. And she wasn't overly stressing (which gets factored into the decision to treat or not). The upper end of normal for systolic is 165 - I don't remember what it is for diastolic, but that was high too). I just don't understand why it's not normal for a vet to take a cat's blood pressure when the kitty never had a murmur... and then does. It's normal for many cats to have a murmur at the vet, just from stress. But if a cat doesn't have a murmur from stress from a vet visit for six years (in Charlotte's case) and 9 years (in Flowerbelle's case), and then does... :dk: It's pretty quick and relatively easy for them to do, and isn't expensive. I just think it would be (or should be) a normal precaution.

I can finally post an update. Charlotte had her ultrasound done this afternoon and her heart is in good condition. He detected a very faint murmur ( I believe he called it an "ejection murmur") that he said occurs when Charlotte has an increase in her activity level (such as playing), from excitement, or stress (such as being upset about being in the carrier and the car). Since she doesn't need to any treatment for it, we can now focus on whatever problem she has had where she continues to lick the fur off of her belly and the inside of her legs. Her next appointment is on July 5. This vet's wife specializes in dermatology. Hopefully, we can get this issue taken care of.