Vet gave cat one year prognosis

Hi. I just lost one beloved 17 year old cat in June. I took my other 17 year old for a checkup and the vet found a heart murmur and enlarged heart 

(I think the left lobe?) and the blood panel revealed anemia and possibly the very early stage of kidney disease. My cat hates going to the vet - they had to sedate him, which was unnecessary when he was younger. Ironically, when I first got him as a 1 year old rescue he was skittish and grumpy and in the last few years has become extremely mushy and loving at home.

Anyway his appointment was 3 days ago. The vet made an appointment for him this coming Wednesday to have a dental cleaning, echocardiogram, urine sample extraction, and an enema (which probably isn't necessary any more because the stool softener they gave me for him has been working. He was very backed up.) I decided to postpone it all for about a month because I'm giving him oral medication 5 times a day (which he hates) and I think he needs a breather. Also, I'm very frightened that at 17 with heart stuff he won't survive the anesthesia for the dental work (for tartar scraping and investigation of a retained root.) I'd actually rather have them skip the dental stuff and do the rest with him sedated but not totally under. I think they made the appointment for that soon because they have a special on dental cleanings this month and were trying to save me money.

I feel with this possibly being his last year, and given his age and his fear/hatred of going to the vet, I should make it as easy on him as possible - for example, have everything but the dental done in one visit to minimize his trips. At this advanced age, I wouldn't put him through anything invasive like heart surgery. I want him to live as long as possible, and for him to have any treatment that's not traumatizing and invasive (meds would be fine even though he hates taking them), but I also want him to have a happy and unfearful final chapter.

Anyway, I am heartbroken and overwhelmed. I just had to make a very difficult snap decision to put his buddy to sleep in June. I can't bear the thought of losing him so soon, too. I cry pretty much every day.

Shouldn't he be on something for his heart murmur? The vet hasn't prescribed anything yet.

thanks for listening.

If I were you I would skip the dental/anesthesia part. I hate to tell you this, but my 10 month old kitty died in July post-oral dental surgery. He woke up from the anesthesia, but then went into cardiac arrest. He had had an incident earlier in my vet's office when he developed arrhythmia from being stressed. My vet rightly or wrongly said he would be fine with the dental surgery, but he wasn't. He most likely had an undetected heart condition.

At your cat's age, I agree with you that he doesn't need to be traumatized with one thing or another. I'm glad that you are giving him a rest for while.

As to meds for a heart murmur, I have no idea. Something you should Google maybe to get the best advice from online vets.

Primula, thank you SO much for that info. It's very helpful. I feel okay with him having diagnostic stuff just under sedation, but putting him totally under with anesthesia for dental work at this point really scares me.

I'm so sorry about your cat.

Thank you again.

If your cat has a heart condition the dental disease can contribute to it and make it worse. If you took him to a cardiac specialist, why wouldn't you take him to a dental specialist? They use the safest type of anesthesia and are extremely experienced with senior and high risk patients. They are also a lot faster than a typical rDVM is at cleaning and extracting teeth. If I were you, I would look into having it done right the 1st time, not a special on cleanings.

You get what you pay for.

pgalore said:

If your cat has a heart condition the dental disease can contribute to it and make it worse. If you took him to a cardiac specialist, why wouldn't you take him to a dental specialist? They use the safest type of anesthesia and are extremely experienced with senior and high risk patients. They are also a lot faster than a typical rDVM is at cleaning and extracting teeth. If I were you, I would look into having it done right the 1st time, not a special on cleanings.
You get what you pay for.

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I took my Harry to a dental specialist at a lovely hospital in a neighboring town where his full-mouth extraction would cost at least $2K. Unfortunately, Harry died post surgery. So, no, you don't always "get what you pay for".

It does happen. Sorry about Harry.

we went to two vet offices and several vets who told us strongly not to get any dental work done on HK due to his age and condition.  perhaps you could find a different vet who prefers a gentler approach with aging cats.

why not take your cat to a vet cardiologist to hear more about the heart murmur?  and if the cardiolist suggests it, he/she can do the echocardiogram.

btw, our cat HATES going to the vet - but not all vets, just our current vet, mostly due to the manner of their head assistant, who i often stop from doing what he's doing. 

Good advice though, no doubt, this is expensive.

Primula said:

Good advice though, no doubt, this is expensive.

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probably not as expensive as getting all that dental work plus an enema the cat will hate that isn't necessary.