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- Sep 28, 2016
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Hi all,
I hope this post is in the right section, and sorry for the long read. I have 3 cats that I love dearly. Our newest, Toffee, was adopted about 4 months ago. He's a 5 year old extremely lovable DSH. We took him out vet right after adopting to get him all checked out and treat his chin acne, and put him on c/d food for his history of urinary issues. Heart sounded good, no issues. Up until this incident he was perfectly normal- no lethargy, good appetite, no coughing etc.
Well, about two weeks ago I noticed him breathing odd and instantly brought him into the hospital I work at. The Dr. heard a murmur and we did x-rays, and turns out that he is in congestive heart failure. He was given several doses of injectable lasix and once his respiration rate was low enough, we took him home. We performed a cardiac echo the next morning and sent results to a specialist who confirmed he has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and is in advanced stage heart failure. He was put on furosemide and had recheck x-rays done days later. We were very pleased to see that his lungs and heart looked much more clear, and he seemed much more comfortable. Still we were given a prognosis of 4-6 months max. To add, I have worked alongside this doctor for over a year and I trust her judgment and guidance 100%. She is a great friend and is the kind of doctor that treats you with compassion, but also does not give you false hope.
He has been doing okay at home now on multiple meds- furosemide, enalapril, vetmedin and more recently plavix. He also takes a cardiac supplement. He was doing pretty good for a week or so, but recently he seems to be going downhill. He spends a lot of time lying down. He will get up, walk a short distance, then lie back down. He doesn't seem uncomfortable at all, but just seems tired. He is still eating good and purring, cuddling etc. but his behavior is noticeably more lethargic. Last night his breathing became labored, the first time since this all happened, and we had to give him another dose of furosemide. It feels like he is starting to decline pretty rapidly.
This is extremely traumatic for us because it came completely out of the blue. He never showed any symptoms of his HCM and so by the time he started breathing odd and we took him for x-rays, he was already in basically end stage heart failure. It has been like a nightmare for us knowing that we have only had a few months with him, but will lose him soon. We will not allow him to suffer at all, but I am very heartbroken and I don't know how much time he has left. He seems to teeter between good and bad. I constantly monitor his respiratory rate and check his gums for color. I worry about him every single minute. It is just terrible watching a cat that once played, ran around etc. slowly become more and more lethargic.
Does anybody have any advice, experiences to share, or wisdom about this? My boyfriend and I are heartbroken about losing our sweet kitty. Any advice at all is very appreciated. Thank you.
I hope this post is in the right section, and sorry for the long read. I have 3 cats that I love dearly. Our newest, Toffee, was adopted about 4 months ago. He's a 5 year old extremely lovable DSH. We took him out vet right after adopting to get him all checked out and treat his chin acne, and put him on c/d food for his history of urinary issues. Heart sounded good, no issues. Up until this incident he was perfectly normal- no lethargy, good appetite, no coughing etc.
Well, about two weeks ago I noticed him breathing odd and instantly brought him into the hospital I work at. The Dr. heard a murmur and we did x-rays, and turns out that he is in congestive heart failure. He was given several doses of injectable lasix and once his respiration rate was low enough, we took him home. We performed a cardiac echo the next morning and sent results to a specialist who confirmed he has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and is in advanced stage heart failure. He was put on furosemide and had recheck x-rays done days later. We were very pleased to see that his lungs and heart looked much more clear, and he seemed much more comfortable. Still we were given a prognosis of 4-6 months max. To add, I have worked alongside this doctor for over a year and I trust her judgment and guidance 100%. She is a great friend and is the kind of doctor that treats you with compassion, but also does not give you false hope.
He has been doing okay at home now on multiple meds- furosemide, enalapril, vetmedin and more recently plavix. He also takes a cardiac supplement. He was doing pretty good for a week or so, but recently he seems to be going downhill. He spends a lot of time lying down. He will get up, walk a short distance, then lie back down. He doesn't seem uncomfortable at all, but just seems tired. He is still eating good and purring, cuddling etc. but his behavior is noticeably more lethargic. Last night his breathing became labored, the first time since this all happened, and we had to give him another dose of furosemide. It feels like he is starting to decline pretty rapidly.
This is extremely traumatic for us because it came completely out of the blue. He never showed any symptoms of his HCM and so by the time he started breathing odd and we took him for x-rays, he was already in basically end stage heart failure. It has been like a nightmare for us knowing that we have only had a few months with him, but will lose him soon. We will not allow him to suffer at all, but I am very heartbroken and I don't know how much time he has left. He seems to teeter between good and bad. I constantly monitor his respiratory rate and check his gums for color. I worry about him every single minute. It is just terrible watching a cat that once played, ran around etc. slowly become more and more lethargic.
Does anybody have any advice, experiences to share, or wisdom about this? My boyfriend and I are heartbroken about losing our sweet kitty. Any advice at all is very appreciated. Thank you.