Heartworm in cats

I think my 8 year old cat, Rita may have severe heartworm disease. She was perfectly fine this morning and when I left my house at around 1:00 this afternoon. But when i got home around 4:30 or 5:00 she had very rapid and labored breathing and was vomiting (her vomit was dark brown with blood). I got her to an emergency vet right away. The vet suggested that it could be heartworm, but couldn't do the test at the time because he thought that it might kill her if they tried to get blood. They treated her for shock, and are giving her oxygen therapy along with fluids, but said prognosis is poor. She's being kept overnight and i am so distraught right now. This cat is my baby.
I don't know yet if this is in fact heartworm disease, but i am very unfamiliar with heartworm in cats. My three dogs are kept on a monthly preventive. I had heard of heartworm in cats, but thoght it to be very uncommon, even in the South (I live in southern Alabama).
Has anyone here had experience with heartworm in cats?

I believe it's uncommon in cats, but I know it does happen. I don't have experience of it myself, but did a quick search and it seems the prognosis for cats is generally better than for dogs. The heartworms infecting cats have shorter lifespans and don't release as many offspring into the bloodstream, so cats can usually overcome this parasite without the rather nasty poison treatment used for dogs. It seems treatment for cats is supportive while the parasites die off through a shorter lifespan. And then you need to use preventatives to stop her getting infected again.

How healthy was she before this happened?

I just got off the phone with the vet. Rita did test positive for heartworm, but they do believe if she does make it through this episode, that she does have a good chance at survival. She has responded to the drugs and therapy and is now more coherent and sitting up. Her breathing is still labored, but not as bad as it was last night. I have not seen her yet. I will be visiting her in a few hours. I'm not sure how long she will need to be hospitalized.

pushylady said:

I believe it's uncommon in cats, but I know it does happen. I don't have experience of it myself, but did a quick search and it seems the prognosis for cats is generally better than for dogs. The heartworms infecting cats have shorter lifespans and don't release as many offspring into the bloodstream, so cats can usually overcome this parasite without the rather nasty poison treatment used for dogs. It seems treatment for cats is supportive while the parasites die off through a shorter lifespan. And then you need to use preventatives to stop her getting infected again.

How healthy was she before this happened?

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Rita has always seemed to be a very healthy cat. She did have a cough earlier this year, but my vet thought it was due to the clay based cat litter and suggested i switch to a non-clay based litter. That seemed to work.
She would vomit periodically, which apparently is one of the symptoms of heartworm. I didn't think it was anything serious, as she usually only did it after eating too fast. I never even talked to my vet about it. She never seemed sick when she vomitted and would go right back to playing, or whatever she was doing at the time.

Rita is showing signs of improvement. Vet says her prognosis has gone from poor to fair. If she continues to improve at this rate, I'm told i may be able to bring her home by the weekend.
I miss my baby so much!