Cat breathing....

Although she did eat the tuna and tuna water I gave her; not voraciously but she did eat it all .

I don't think you would be able to give her something if she is going somewhere to get a Cardiac Ultrasound, it would alter the results. Once we are in the car I let mine roam, but there is someone with me always and there is no way they can get to my feet.  It sounds like it causing you more anxiety than it is her.. getting the ultrasound would be a good thing.  if she licked the tuna and ate some, she is fine.  You are going to have a heart attack before you know anything about your kitty!

It's just not like her to not eat.... I wouldn't give her anything for the ride no.

I honestly think it's most likely that the stress and meds have affected her appetite. It's great that she's still eating something, even if it isn't cat food! Give her meds separately from her meal tonight, and see if that works any better. There are tons of ideas in these articles on how to give or hide meds[article="22402"][/article] [article="32724"][/article]

Columbine said:

I honestly think it's most likely that the stress and meds have affected her appetite. It's great that she's still eating something, even if it isn't cat food! Give her meds separately from her meal tonight, and see if that works any better. There are tons of ideas in these articles on how to give or hide meds[article="22402"][/article] [article="32724"][/article]

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I picked up some critical care food from the vet and she ate a little over a tablespoon from a tongue depressor from me. I got some pill pockets from the vet to try and give her prednisone tonight, but I can't give her lung worm med because it's powdered for her food. She's sniffing at her kernels but doesn't eat any, just kind of sniffs and walks away.

It's great that she's eating the critical care food. That's perfect for this situation as she doesn't need to eat a lot of it to get the nutrients she needs.

With the lungworm med, it might be easiest to mix it into some water/goat's milk/whatever and syringe feed it to her. Sure, she won't love the process, but it doesn't take long and at least it's in her that way. Do double check with your vet that it's ok to do this first though - I'd always prefer to double check before giving a medication differently to the pack directions.

Yeah, I'm trying to get her to eat a bit more before attempting meds. She's actually just gone over to the dry food and started eating a bit, so that's a good sign. I wonder if the pred and or dewormer made her nauseous??

Definitely a possibility :nod: More likely the wormer than the prediction imo, but it could be either. Hopefully the side effects will wear off soon :cross:

She's getting a blood work up tomorrow to see what her organs are doing.... Gotta rule everything out. I almost hope we find something else because otherwise it must be heart related...

Try not to worry Stressing isn't going to help either of you.

She's only 2 and a half, I'm not ready for her to be sick yet She's my baby, they both are.

My almost 2 year old had a few coughing fits that looked like asthma. Vet saw some lung inflamation-mild asthma probably.....
but....I had just changed my rabbit's bedding to aspen pellets instead of paper. It was very strong and had been giving me a headache. A short dose of steroids and changed back to old bedding....cat went right back to normal. Turns out, he was allergic or extremely irritated by the aspen..
Is there any new scents or products you have started using?

Editing to add that he also refused to eat during this time.
Fingers crossed it's nothing serious!

KKoerner said:

My almost 2 year old had a few coughing fits that looked like asthma. Vet saw some lung inflamation-mild asthma probably.....
but....I had just changed my rabbit's bedding to aspen pellets instead of paper. It was very strong and had been giving me a headache. A short dose of steroids and changed back to old bedding....cat went right back to normal. Turns out, he was allergic or extremely irritated by the aspen..
Is there any new scents or products you have started using?

Editing to add that he also refused to eat during this time.
Fingers crossed it's nothing serious!

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No, nothing new. The radiologist did not see any inflammation or fluid, but the recommendations said it might not rule it out because mild asthma may not show up in an X-ray. It said to change the litter to dust free, which I already use Worlds Best. She's only had a few coughing attacks in the past year... Which is why I'm more worried about heart.

I've just made her eat another tablespoon of the recovery food... She wasn't really interested in it and that's concerning to me. She did drink a small fish of water and I put some in a syringe and gave her probably 5 small syringes full, she loved the water dripping and she could lick it up. I put her prednisone in a pill pocket and gave that to her but couldn't give the lungworm meds cause it has to be mixed with food. I'm wary of the meds cause she started them last night then didn't want to eat this morning... Should I continue to give the prednisone? Can it result
In adverse reactions such as this?

Well, this morning she ate almost a whole little can of Purina adult cat veterinary formula wet food. The vet tech called it kitty crack lol. She sniffed and ate a few kernels of dry, had some water, but wouldn't eat any more of her dry food.
All signs I have been researching point to HCM;
Lack of activity- she will play when I engage with her, but otherwise she is mostly resting in her favourite spots.
Lack of appetite- this has just developed over the past going on two days now. She is eating the specialty food but has no interest in her regular food. This symptom literally developed overnight... She's drinking but I've also been making sure she is by playing with her with a syringe so she will drink from that. She is peeing in the litter as normal.
Weight loss- she had lost a quarter of a pound when she was weighed last week, but she hadn't been weighed in a year so I don't know how long it took to lose that weight. She's still just over 11 pounds but I have noticed more of a waistline.
Laboured breathing- the video I posted shows the breathing. The vet said it was more abdominal than normal, but the other vet at the practice said she wasn't alarmed by it.

Her X-ray and ekg were allegedly fine. Going in for blood work this afternoon, I've read there is something they can test for that measures proteins related to heart disease or something.... If that's present I will travel the 2 hours with her for an echocardiogram so I can be sure and we can start whatever treatment is possible. She's only just about 3 years old...

Stop torturing yourself with Internet research. Asthma/allergies with this presentation could well produce most (if not all) of these symptoms...and being off her food seems to be related precisely to starting the meds, and can easily be explained that way.

Stressing yourself out like this isn't going to change anything, and it certainly isn't going to be beneficial for anyone. Try to relax and stay in the present for now. You should have some answers pretty soon.

I know this is FAR easier said than done, but scaring yourself online isn't the way to go. Trust me - I've been there MANY times, and it's NEVER worth it

Columbine said:

Stop torturing yourself with Internet research. Asthma/allergies with this presentation could well produce most (if not all) of these symptoms...and being off her food seems to be related precisely to starting the meds, and can easily be explained that way.

Stressing yourself out like this isn't going to change anything, and it certainly isn't going to be beneficial for anyone. Try to relax and stay in the present for now. You should have some answers pretty soon.

I know this is FAR easier said than done, but scaring yourself online isn't the way to go. Trust me - I've been there MANY times, and it's NEVER worth it

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I agree!  I know it's hard, but you need to try to relax and let your Vet do his or her thing.  Let them do that blood test to check her heart and take it from there.  Being off her food is not that unusual when starting up new meds, and since she is eating SOME, (almost an entire can this morning ) that's a good sign.  She is quite possibly picking up on YOUR stress.  No matter how hard you try to hide it, they can pick up on it, I'm sure.  As I said, I know it's hard, but you need to try not to assume it's the worst case scenario .  And if it IS HCM, then you'll deal with it....you'll get very good at pilling her.  Cat's with HCM are not given an immediate death sentence. They can live for quite some time with medication and the right diet, just like humans.  But for now, let's think positive

Thanks for the vibes. Just returned from the vet, in a week she went from 5.26kg to 5.16kg.... Not good. She's getting a full blood work up including the heart protein test but also feline leukemia and AIDS... She's been fully vaccinated her whole life, what's the chances she has something like either of those horrible diseases?

In a year she went from 5.45 to 5.26kg, although I don't know how fast that happened cause it had been a year of seemingly good health, and in a week from 5.26 to 5.16.... This seems rapid and significant, although I know that .10 of a kg is about 0.019% of her body weight.. Could that be just from not eating for just over a day??

I could be from not eating as much, perhaps just having pottied, maybe before she NEEDED to potty, etc. 

Please try not to worry until there is something to worry about .  I've got company arriving from out of the country in a few hours, so will not be on line nearly as much for the next several days, if you don't hear anything from me.  (doesn't mean I don't care, and I might quickly come on-line for an update but not have time to write anything)