Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Hello, 

Our wonderful cat Taz has been diagnosed with HTC a couple months ago after having a couple fainting/ panting episodes.  He saw a cardiologist who put him on atenylol twice a day. We've noticed an improvement in his energy level since his being on the medication, he's pretty much like his normal self.  However, last week he did wake us up vocalizing loudly, lying on the floor.  He recovered quickly, but this is the first episode he's had since being on the meds starting Nov 30th.  i'm just wondering if there's any other meds we should ask about him being on at his sixth month follow up (fingers crossed he makes it that long) as I've read about other cats with this condition being on up to three different types of meds.  Taz is almost 15, but we want to make sure we are doing the best for him to prolong his life.  I read online somewhere that antenylol has a half life of only 3.5 hrs in cats, if that's true a feel like there's a few hrs after each dose where he probably doesn't have much protection.   

Just wondering if anyone who's been threw this with their cats has any advice?  His kidney values are also slightly high, so it might not be good for him to be on too much medication, but right now they're only slightly above normal.  He can still run after his lazer pointer, his fainting spells/panting episodes have been triggered when he's been scared or startled.  I've read a few incredibly touching threads about people going through HTC with their kitties, so I thought I would post and see if anyone has any advice or commiserations. 

Thanks and cheers!

I have a cat with HCM.  He takes Vetmedin, Enalapril, and Salix.  It is six pills a day, and I am so happy that he likes Pill Pockets or it would be very difficult to pill him.  

Vetmedin modifies the contraction of muscles and dilates blood vessels to put less strain on the heart.  Enalapril treats hypertension and protects the liver.  It is sometimes given just to protect the liver.  Salix is often used with medicines like Enalapril and is an anti-diuretic.  My cat is about 4 1/2 years old and has been on these meds for about 8 months.  He seems normal, has not had episodes and at his last check-up which included an ultrasound, the doctor said he was doing great and might be a cat that lives for a long time with this condition.

I don't know Antenylol, but Atenolol  is a beta-blocker.  It is interesting that our vets have different protocols for this disease.  I have great confidence in my doctor as she is known as the best veterinary internal medicine specialist in a metropolitan area of over 1 million people.  This is not to say that she is right and your vet is wrong.  Atenolol might be best for your situation.  Perhaps it works better in older cats.  I won't see my internist for a while, but I intend to ask her about Atenolol.  I will ask my regular vet about it next time I see her, too.  If you ask your vet about the meds I use, I would be interested in hearing the answer. 

I lost my four-year-old best friend to HCM in April.  He went from healthy cat to euthanized in 12 hours.  He did not respond to treatment and his liver values were very high.  I am glad that Taz is responding well to his medication.    Sending my best that Taz will keep responding well and give you many more years of his love and affection.

Thanks for  for your nice response and so sorry to hear about the loss of your four year old.  Wishing you many more yrs with your kitty too!  I'll look into the drugs you mentioned, and yes I meant atenolol, sorry.  The cardiologist we saw has a good reputation but there's a lot of scary reviews about the emerg hospital itself that she works out of.  I'll definitely pass on any info about your drugs that I find out.  Why is your cat on an anti-diuretic if you don't mind me asking?

We decided to compound his meds into a liquid that we squirt into his mouth, bc I read on cat info.org she recommends following pills with a squirt of water so that the cat doesn't get that terrible throat burn that can happen when a pill is swallowed dry.  However cats often swallow dryfood whole anyways so I'm not sure that is even something that even needs to be worried about,  The taste is terrible but he doesn't give us a hard time about squirting the meds into his mouth and he doesn't like pill poppers much.

Apologies.  I meant diuretic, not anti-diuretic.  That should make more sense!  

I'm glad to hear that Taz does well with the liquid, even if it is bad tasting!    

Our cat didn't last more than a week after diagnosis so not much experience with this.[emoji]128549[/emoji]

I'm glad yours seems to be doing ok

Marrin,

Sorry to hear about your cat and thanks.  But yes we don't take any time for granted bc a serious event can happen out of the blue.  Boris your cat is adorable.

Wow, what a beautiful, sweet looking cat.  This is our Taz.