My cat was diagnosed with CHF (congestive heart failure)

Hey, one of the original posters on this thread. Wanted to let anyone who checks know, Rocky is still going! CHF doesn't have to be the end of the world.

Way to go Rocky !!!!!

zenseed75
Go rocky!! So happy to hear is doing well.. May he have an amazing quality of life. He is beautiful, always in my prayers..

So great to hear that he's going on five years with his battle! May he have even double that. 

Thank you all. Thankful for all the vets along the way. Each second with him is a blessing. Good luck to all the kitties (hang in there) and my heart goes out for those that have passed. Glad this site is here for us.

I lost my 11 year old boy Buster 2 days ago to CHF, he lived for 2 years after diagnosis, I miss him so much :'( Found this site while looking to see if I could have done anything more, his CHF progressed so fast the last couple of months, he was on the highest dose of 2 diuretics and still filling up with fluid in his tummy, his lungs and even his back legs, and started to struggle to breath, I decided it was time to let him go before suffering anymore

Buster looks like a kind old soul. You did the right thing by easing his suffering. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for your loss.

there is something very special about that sweet face. I am sorry for your loss

I'm so sorry L0v3 Buster looks like he was quite a character, such a sweet face.

We have a forum where you can start a thread in his memory, if you would like to.

Crossing the Bridge

zenseed75 said:

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• zenseed75
• Feb 2, 2017

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L0v3 said:

I lost my 11 year old boy Buster 2 days ago to CHF, he lived for 2 years after diagnosis, I miss him so much :'( Found this site while looking to see if I could have done anything more, his CHF progressed so fast the last couple of months, he was on the highest dose of 2 diuretics and still filling up with fluid in his tummy, his lungs and even his back legs, and started to struggle to breath, I decided it was time to let him go before suffering anymore
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So sorry you lost your dear Buster. You gave him a great gift by setting him free from his suffering.
Such a lovely photo of him.
It would go well in the 'Show us the whiskers' and 'Show me the eyes' threads.
My thoughts are with you.

I'm so sorry to read about your Buster, such a sweet face. Aren't orange kitties just the best?! I never knew that until an orange kitty in a shelter picked me to be his companion 11 years ago. I also found this site while looking to see what others had pursued for their HCM & CHF kitties. My orange kitty was Mr. Jinx and I lost him 2 days ago to that horrible disease. Christmas is very trying for me this year, as I'm sure you know, part of my heart is gone. We did absolutely everything we could for Jinx from multiple ICU stays, building an oxygen cage at home, administering medication nearly every 2 hours, etc. He was on Pimobendan, Lasix, Torsemide, Tumil-K ... you name it. I was also treating him for elevated liver values and managing his urinary crystals. I felt fortunate to have the financial ability and the time to pursue every possible treatment but it is simply one more example that money can't buy everything. I kept trying for him because he always responded so well to treatment and lived a very normal and happy life in between treatment. My kitty was diagnosed in mid October. He had three trips to the hospital during that time due to relapsing into CHF caused by his HCM. The last time, his body was resistant to the Lasix and increasing his Torsemide didn't help either. It seems once they stop responding to Lasix, even at the max end of a CIS IV dose, it is over. The last day, I visited him in the morning and while he was alert, I sensed his eyes were telling me to let him go. I decided to see if his new meds that had been started would make a difference, and if not, let him go that evening. However, later that afternoon, the vet called and said he had rapidly declined. I arrived and it was a quick decision, he was a completely different cat and I could not tell the veterinarian quickly enough to end it. My friends questioned me spending so much money on a terminal prognosis and I'm sure the veterinarians wondered as well however, I don't regret anything I did for him because it gives me peace of mind knowing he was given everything possible. If you'd like to know what every possible treatment includes, feel free to message me. It's very natural to feel helpless when dealing with disease progression you can't stop and sometimes can't even slow. We will always wonder if we missed something or could have tried something else. Hopefully it will help to tell you I tried it all and still had to say goodbye. I'm so, so sorry you lost your Buster. I know your pain.

It was last Friday, 12-22, my fiancee and I took our 5 yr old Jasper to 24 he emergency vet hospital. He had plopped down on the kitchen floor and his chest was going up and down super rapidly. Totally reminded me of my 19yr old cat's last day 2 yrs ago. Af

Sorry, meant to delete. Too emotional to finish. A terrific, yet sad, thread. Hopes and prayers to you all.

I’m so sorry to hear all the sad stories about the horrible disease and what it has done to our best friends. Here is my story with my kitty, Jeffery Scott. We adopted him at a killing shelter that had horrible conditions for the animals in there. When we were in the room where they roam, he was the first to come up to my family and we fell in love with him. After adopting him, he was about 1 year old. We had him for around 1 and a half years when he started to get a dramatic cough. We took him to the vet and she gave us his meds that were taken everyday, then once a week, and so on, until he looked good. Fast forward a year, we are here now and two nights ago I heard him coughing again (What a great New Year’s Day) the next morning he had a very hard time breathing and brought him to the vet for an emergency appointment. She diagnosed him with CHF, which left us devastated. That day we gave him is Laysx every 8hours and he seemed to be fine. Today he slept all day, getting up a couple times to use the litter box & and did not eat or drink anything. I’m worried that he is at his end. We all have our special moments with our beloved friends, and I will miss every one of them once he passes. Although it is sad that our best friends are passing, we gave them a good life while it lasted. I always remind myself that we will see all of our kitty friends in heaven, which makes me less depressed. Until then, I pray for miracles to all families that are suffering from this life changing disease. Will miss my bear hugger greatly.

We just got home a few hours ago from this horrifying ordeal. Our little Wolverine went into respiratory failure from CHF yesterday morning, we raced him to the nearest vet where they attempted to stabilize him the best they could with a makeshift oxygen chamber. We then raced to the next vet hospital because that one didnt have the meds to help him. We almost lost him then, but I got him back. Thankfully we got to the vet and they told us they had about 30 seconds to intubate or he wasn't going to make it...they were very adamant that they didn't think this would work and that he may not wake up if it did. Well our little Wolverine is a fighter...he made it through and made it through the night, by some miracle. He was successfully weaned off oxygen this morning and we're thankful we get to bring him home to make him comfortable and show him how much we love him. I've barely stopped crying for over a day. He has severe chf and was not given long to live. I thought this would be eazier, he's live a long life and be a little old kitty man...its just not fair. He is so loved, so strong...seeing him today he looks like he aged dramatically since yesterday and I know how traumatic it all was, I'm not suprised. I don't really know why I'm writing, just needed to get it all out. We've got decisions to make in the next few days, I just want him to be comfortable and not suffer.

I'm so sorry to hear about all these poor kitties and scared because I know this is in our future. But in a way this is helpful because I know what to look out for and what to expect. Speedy lived with HCM for a decade until two years ago when, after some disturbing symptoms, her diagnosis changed to CHF.

Speedy is one of the lucky ones, she has been stable for two years. We went to the cardiologist for a routine annual checkup today and they said she is still stable and come back in a year! But I dread having to make the kind of decisions that you all describe.