Congestive Heart Failure

[frippenomarley]

Eno has been with me through my divorced years,  and adopted my wonderful husband and his son in the last five years.  In fact , he is daddy's boy.  Fripp(his bro) and Eno are 10 1/2 years old.  Eno was diagnosed on Monday with congestive heart failure.  We took him to the vet after noticing a severe weight loss,  and rapid breathing.  He was hospitalized for one night.  (Over $1000) and sent home with meds.  He is not eating,  he is on pain meds,  a diuretic and heart pill.  He wont take a pill pocket so I am doing the pills by hand.  Vet is not a fan of pill shooters.  He is lethargic ,  but is purring and somewhat responsive to my presence. Although he is getting pissed because I keep showing up with pills.  Is there a way to get him to eat.  Vet gave a canned special food (we have been on dry food for years)  he is not eating.  Today he suggested fancy Feast.  Still not interested.  Vet suggested a specialist that couldput in a stomach tube.  I am pretty sure the bill would wipe us out.  I truly am at a loss.  Can we recover from this?

 

[Columbine]

I've been through this before. My heart goes out to you.

Several things spring to mind:-

How is Eno's breathing now? If it's still very laboured he may not have the breath to eat. As this is usually due to fluid on the lungs diuretics are the answer. I know you have them, but if there's no improvement the dosage may need adjusting.

Has he had a vitB12 injection (or any other kind of injection to stimulate appetite)? The B12 made a big difference in rekindling Cal's interest in food.

Have you tried sitting with Eno, dipping your finger into the food (gravy varieties are best for this) and smearing it on his tounge/lips? Sometimes, giving a little taste can help stimulate a cat to eat. With Cal, I'd start like that, and then feed him by hand - tiny bite by tiny bite - holding the food up to him so he didn't have to bend to eat (again related to breath...it allowed him to stay in the position he could breathe best in). Each meal would take 15-30 mins. Tedious, but it did the trick. It's very important to stay and sound calm, like it's no big deal whether he eats or nor.

I'm guessing the heart pill is Vetmedin. A possible side effect is loss of / reduced appetite. The same can be true of chf itself. That's why it's such a struggle to get him to eat.

Is Eno on steroids (prednisone most likely)? They're given to treat other chf symptoms, but a handy side effect is increased appetite.

As he's struggling to eat, I'd put any thoughts of 'ideal' foods out the window. Anything he'll eat is worth a try - fresh cooked chicken/turkey/any of his previous favourite 'treat' human foods. Strong smelling fish (tuna,sardines etc) may help get him eating again - after a few meals you can try transitioning back to cat food. Any appropriate food that Eno will eat is fine for now.

Lastly, Cal's breathing/lungs got so bad that we started him on asthma meds with an Aerokat. It made a huge difference, and gave him an extra few months of good quality life.

Re meds - if you're struggling with pills, find out what meds you can get in liquid form. Sometimes syringing a liquid into their mouth is easier than a pill down the throat.

Hope things improve soon

 

[tulosai]

First have you tried feeding him the dry food he used to eat? If not do that- it could be as simple as he doesn't like wet food and it's much better that he eat the dry and you try to slowly transition him to the wet than that he eat nothing.

If a tube is not an option financially or otherwise, then you could try just plain old syringe/force feeding. It is very important that you do get him to eat though since cats truly cannot go very long at all without eating before they develop major complications that would definitely end up costing you more than a feeding tube.

To force feed a cat,you first need a plastic feeding syringe. If you are in the USA they have these in most common drugstores, sometimes in the baby aisle. Once you have that you will need to mix the food to go in it.  This will be a pate wet food. You will want to mix this with water until it is a consistency that can go easily through the tube.  Sometimes warming it will also make it more palatable for the cat but it isn't necessary.

At that point you want to stick the syringe into the cheek (NOT down the throat or just straight into the mouth, this is VERY important) and squeeze in a small amount, wait for the cat to swallow, then repeat.

Here is a link with some other links and tips http://www.thecatsite.com/t/227858/syringe-feeding-lucky-video-if-your-cat-is-not-eating

Both syringe feeding and tube feeding are much easier and less scary than they actually sound. 

Good luck and vibes to you.  I am sorry you are going through this.

 

[stephenq]

 
Eno has been with me through my divorced years,  and adopted my wonderful husband and his son in the last five years.  In fact , he is daddy's boy.  Fripp(his bro) and Eno are 10 1/2 years old.  Eno was diagnosed on Monday with congestive heart failure.  We took him to the vet after noticing a severe weight loss,  and rapid breathing.  He was hospitalized for one night.  (Over $1000) and sent home with meds.  He is not eating,  he is on pain meds,  a diuretic and heart pill.  He wont take a pill pocket so I am doing the pills by hand.  Vet is not a fan of pill shooters.  He is lethargic ,  but is purring and somewhat responsive to my presence. Although he is getting pissed because I keep showing up with pills.  Is there a way to get him to eat.  Vet gave a canned special food (we have been on dry food for years)  he is not eating.  Today he suggested fancy Feast.  Still not interested.  Vet suggested a specialist that couldput in a stomach tube.  I am pretty sure the bill would wipe us out.  I truly am at a loss.  Can we recover from this?

Probably the most important medicine for his longevity and feeling well is the diuretic to drain the fluid in his lungs.  Lasix, the most common diuretic is available as a sub Q injection and with a few minutes training you will discover is much easier to give than a pill, he won't even realize youre giving it to him.  This could dramatically make him feel better and that in turn could help with the appetite.

If you're only choice is to consider a feeding tube, unless that's being done to get him through a crisis (as opposed to artificially extending his life) you may have to consider the very hard decision of letting him go.  The feeding tube doesn't address the issue oh how he is feeling since he obviously feels badly enough not to eat. Having said that, many cats can get through the initial crisis with a diuretic, but it needs to be carefully monitored as the down side is it can put them into kidney failure.

There is no cure for CHF, just a balancing act of treatments, ultimately you with your vets advice need to decide who long wage the fight.

I'm very sorry, one of my cats had this. Please keep us posted and consider inject-able Lasix.

 

[kaysy]

Unfortunately, I just lost my Bandit on Tuesday to CHF. Had no idea he had it, no warning.

 

[tulosai]

Unfortunately, I just lost my Bandit on Tuesday to CHF. Had no idea he had it, no warning.

I am sorry for your loss. You may have already seen  it or been there, but there is a crossing the bridge forum if you'd like to post more on your cat and/or your story.

 

[frippenomarley]

He has now urinated , has taken some juice from the canned tuna.  And just now drank water for an extended period.  1-2minutes.  The Doc suggested upping the diuretic dose and holding off on the heart pill for now.  He is still taking the pain killer.  Breathing is MUCH MUCH better.  He is purring and responding to Daddy.  I am keeping him in the upstairs bedroom and allowing visits from Fripp and adoptive kid bro Marley.  They seem pretty worried about him. Doc left a message today saying that the tests suggests that the damage to the heart is high.  I want to buy some time with our baby.   Tube feeding and more hospital stays are out of the question.  Finances are tight.  I have come to the conclusion that if the situation does not change in a positive way , we will need to let him go.  As much as it hurts.  I keep trying to think about it as if he is a 77 year old guy with congestive heart failure.  I know that it could go either way and I believe he will let us know when he has to go.   I know all too well that when you take the pledge to care for a pet it is a commitment to the end.  Mears was only 6 when he passed of Urinary Tract Infection,  Ozzie was 17 when he died of a gum infection.  He held on until he knew I was ok after my divorce.  Fripp and Eno were my companions after that divorce.  When they were about a year old and were indoor outdoor cats,  Eno ran off for about 3 days and it felt as if I had lost a child.  He showed up finally and they have been highly guarded indoor cats since then.  They have had the best food , the best care and all of the love that my husband could possibly give them.    I wish that I had the resources to see the "specialists"  but we don't.  I am not sure that his quality of life would be all that great with artificial life support ( feeding tube)  The CHF is not going to go away.   As of now,  all we can do is keep trying and letting him know that we love him with all of soul. 

 

[kaysy]

It has been suggested Bandits "sister" (don't know for sure) have an echo to see if she has CHF. She also has arthritis. From what I read about CHF some cats progress and some it doesn't affect. Anyone have experience in this?

 

[Columbine]

I'm so sorry things aren't looking good for Eno. It's so, so hard to watch chf (sadly, I speak from experience). I absolutely agree that, even if you had the money for specialists, it wouldn't necessarily be in Eno's best interests. Whatever happens, you've given him a wonderful life. I hope you're able to stabilise him and have a few more weeks/months of good quality life with him. If not, allowing him to go with dignity is the last gift you can give him, and one of the most valuable.

Really hope he stabilises for a while

 

[Columbine]

kaysy My understanding is that chf will always progress eventually. What can differ is how long the cat can be stabilised for. Chf caught early can be slowed with drug intervention. However, if it's caught late (as it often is - chf can be very hard to detect early) the prognosis is much poorer. It all depends on the degree of damage the heart has experienced at the time of diagnosis.

 

[stephenq]

 
He has now urinated , has taken some juice from the canned tuna.  And just now drank water for an extended period.  1-2minutes.  The Doc suggested upping the diuretic dose and holding off on the heart pill for now.  He is still taking the pain killer.  Breathing is MUCH MUCH better.  He is purring and responding to Daddy.  I am keeping him in the upstairs bedroom and allowing visits from Fripp and adoptive kid bro Marley.  They seem pretty worried about him. Doc left a message today saying that the tests suggests that the damage to the heart is high.  I want to buy some time with our baby.   Tube feeding and more hospital stays are out of the question.  Finances are tight.  I have come to the conclusion that if the situation does not change in a positive way , we will need to let him go.  As much as it hurts.  I keep trying to think about it as if he is a 77 year old guy with congestive heart failure.  I know that it could go either way and I believe he will let us know when he has to go.   I know all too well that when you take the pledge to care for a pet it is a commitment to the end.  Mears was only 6 when he passed of Urinary Tract Infection,  Ozzie was 17 when he died of a gum infection.  He held on until he knew I was ok after my divorce.  Fripp and Eno were my companions after that divorce.  When they were about a year old and were indoor outdoor cats,  Eno ran off for about 3 days and it felt as if I had lost a child.  He showed up finally and they have been highly guarded indoor cats since then.  They have had the best food , the best care and all of the love that my husband could possibly give them.    I wish that I had the resources to see the "specialists"  but we don't.  I am not sure that his quality of life would be all that great with artificial life support ( feeding tube)  The CHF is not going to go away.   As of now,  all we can do is keep trying and letting him know that we love him with all of soul. 

There is no reason to do a feeding tube even if you had the money as it would only extend his life without any quality.  In my opinion having been down this road myself with one of my cats, seeing a specialist might give you more info, but it won't help him live longer.  All you can do is try to keep him balanced and comfortable for as long as you can, and when that's no longer possible you say goodbye.  Lasix can cause kidney failure so you have to keep your eye on that as well, and since the treatment for that is usually sub q fluids - not safe in a CHF cat the only way is via a mainline into an artery, which is probably expensive, it was with mine.  So i would give him measured doses of lasix, pain meds as instructed, and monitor his breath rate at complete rest.  If it gets to about 40/min he needs help, normal is under about 20.  I wish you and him all the best.  Every moment is precious and there is never enough time.

 

[frippenomarley]

Eno has urinated 3 times in 2 days and it was a substantial amount.  He took some more water and has taken in some more liquid protein,(  juice from canned salmon this time) .  He continues to take his diuretic.  I let him out to explore the house today .  He came down stairs and checked out the universal water dish and sniffed at some of the food.  Then he went down to the basement to hang out with my son in the video room.  Eno has a favorite chair there.  Still worried about fluid and food intake. 

Thanks for all of your words of experience.  The feed back helps. I dont think people understand the tragedy of a cat who is ill.  My whole life now revolves around med times.  If I werent working it would nt be as stressful. 

It pains me to leave him during the day.  So I am thankful that the weekend is here.

 

[blackmagik]

I'm so sorry Eno is not doing well...My black Dot behaved the same way when I brought her home from a weekend at the emergency hospital being treated for the same condition. My regular vet gave me 'mirtazapine' to stimulate her appetite. Dot was so irritable with her tail flipping constantly...even while resting.  Her experience at the hospital may have caused her irritability, but I really don't know. She felt better in a day or two and began to eat regularly. This took place October 2014.  Dot never spent time in the hospital prior to this, so I now think she was so stressed by the treatment and being away from home that it took some time for her relax.

I'm hoping Eno is getting over the stress of being hospitalized and not anything more serious.  I know what you mean by life revolving around med times. I leave for work at 6:30 am and return around 6:30-45 pm. Sometimes in the morning, I am chasing Dot around the house as she is seemingly running playfully with her tail up and back arched almost as if she is laughing at me......while I curse "you are supposed to be a convalescing cat...get over here!" 

I hope that Eno is back to his usual self soon and I hope for you and Eno, that the medication times become just another part of the day. It does take some getting used to.

Warm regards,

 

[frippenomarley]

Eno has given it his best effort ,  But he has not eaten and is stressed over his medication.  He is hiding from us and not responding to interaction.  I know that the time has come,  but my heart hurts and I am crying a lot.  How do I let go of such a good friend.  I need help getting through this.  We are setting him free from agony tomorrow.  I love you Eno.

 

[kaysy]

My heart goes out to you. We lost our beutiful Bandit last Tuesday to chf. Very hard to lose one of your babies. Our thoughts are with you.

 

[frippenomarley]

Thank you.  I dont know how to go on with out him,  Eno had an obsession with Q tips.  He would seek them out and when he wanted something, like food,  he would drop a Q tip as a hint.I want him to be at peace,  but I dont want to let him go.

 

[blackmagik]

Oh my dear, I am so sorry for you and Eno. I know your heart is breaking. Eno is so fortunate to have your care and love, and you so blessed to have the experience of having his love in return. I'm wishing for you both, healing that touches both body and spirit...peace in those moments when you need it most.....and strength to sustain you day by day.  We grieve with you during this time.

warm regards,

 

[Columbine]

I am so, so sorry. My thoughts are with you. You're doing the right thing. You gave him the best life possible. Letting go his so hard - especially when you have to make the decision. I truly believe that the last gift we can give our animals is a peaceful, dignified end, before the pain becomes too much for them to bear.

 

[stephenq]

I'm so very sorry.