Feline Dilated Cardiomyopathy

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Schroedinger's Cat - 09 May 2006 03:50 GMT

Hello all,

I originally posted this to alt.med.veterinary but I don't know how
many people can bring themselves to read it with all that bizarre
flooding by the person-who-shall-not-be-named... But I know there are
plenty of experts (hi, Phil P!) who may know something about this, on
this group. We'd welcome any input.

A friend of mine has just had a Siamese cat put to sleep with what
turned out on autopsy to be dilated cardiomyopathy (he was in cardiac
failure with a chest full of fluid). We're assuming he had no taurine
deficiency, as he was fed a super-premium dry food, plus half-and-half,
raw and canned cat food. The problem now is that this cat has several
offspring and siblings that could be at risk if this is a genetic
issue. Net searching thus far has only revealed that there is a
"genetic link in Siamese, Abyssinian and Burmese cats", but nowhere is
it stated as to how the disease is inherited, whether autosomal
dominant, recessive, sex-linked or whatever.

She's planning to have ultrasounds done on his relatives, but her
question is this: if they are younger than he was at his time of death
(2.5 years), could their hearts have normal function now, but go on to
develop the problem later? This boy always presented as slighly fussy
with food, and was hard to keep at a good weight; he was also a lot
more refined in build than his brother (who lives with him, so has
always been present as a "control"). Practically all his offspring are
built like his litter brother - big, strong-boned, no weight problems,
great eaters (and one daughter has sailed through a pregnancy and
delivery, and lost no condition while nursing). This suggests to me
that they probably don't have a problem, but of course it would be
prudent (and the responsible thing) to check them all out. The main
thing she's worried about is that they could check as normal now (the
eldest son is 15months) but then things could change. So should she
wait until they're all around the age her stud was when he died? Also,
if his litter-brother tests normal, can she assume that his offspring
should be OK?

Has anyone read anything that might shed any light on this? (Her vet's
already offered a bulk discount on echocardiography, but it's still
going to cost a bomb!).

TIA,
SC

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Nomen Nescio - 09 May 2006 18:40 GMT

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Phil P. - 12 May 2006 11:58 GMT

> Hello all,
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> plenty of experts (hi, Phil P!) who may know something about this, on
> this group. We'd welcome any input.

I'm not an expert- but I had a cat that died from DCM in the '60s- almost 30
years before the cat's essential taurine requirement was known. I think
I've only had two cases in my shelter- one was in cat that was previously
owned by a vegetarian- not hard to figure the cause in that case.

> A friend of mine has just had a Siamese cat put to sleep with what
> turned out on autopsy to be dilated cardiomyopathy (he was in cardiac
> failure with a chest full of fluid). We're assuming he had no taurine
> deficiency, as he was fed a super-premium dry food, plus half-and-half,
> raw and canned cat food.

Not necessarily-- I'll explain why later.

The problem now is that this cat has several

> offspring and siblings that could be at risk if this is a genetic
> issue. Net searching thus far has only revealed that there is a
> "genetic link in Siamese, Abyssinian and Burmese cats", but nowhere is
> it stated as to how the disease is inherited, whether autosomal
> dominant, recessive, sex-linked or whatever.

I don't know of an inheritable form of DCM as there is for HCM, but there
might be a genetic predisposition to systemic taurine deficiency that can
lead to DCM. DCM has been so rare in cats since '87- when cat foods were
reformulated and fortified with taurine- that I don't think anyone would
fund a study.

> She's planning to have ultrasounds done on his relatives, but her
> question is this: if they are younger than he was at his time of death
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> if his litter-brother tests normal, can she assume that his offspring
> should be OK?

Not necessarily. With genetic diseases, one or more siblings could be
affected while one or more siblings might not be affected - or all siblings
could be affected-- or none could be affected.

> Has anyone read anything that might shed any light on this? (Her vet's
> already offered a bulk discount on echocardiography, but it's still
> going to cost a bomb!).

If a cat is affected, DCM might not show up on a echo until much later in
life. So, it might be good idea to start monitoring *whole blood* taurine
levels. If the cat has a genetic predisposition to taurine deficiency, it
might show up long before DCM begins to develop. Whole blood samples are
better than plasma because plasma taurine levels fluctuate with eating
whereas wholw blood samples give you an idea of the taurine levels over the
past few weeks or month or two. Also, many vets shoot the blood back
through the needle into the tube, many samples are hemolyzed- which can
falsely raise the plasma taurine levels

DCM has all but disappeared in cats- so I don't think you'll find much info.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Phil

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Schroedinger's Cat - 13 May 2006 11:38 GMT

> > Hello all,
> >
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> I've only had two cases in my shelter- one was in cat that was previously
> owned by a vegetarian- not hard to figure the cause in that case.

Hi Phil,

Thanks for your reply!

> > A friend of mine has just had a Siamese cat put to sleep with what
> > turned out on autopsy to be dilated cardiomyopathy (he was in cardiac
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> reformulated and fortified with taurine- that I don't think anyone would
> fund a study.

That's exactly what I was wondering - maybe a rare, in-born error of
metabolism or absorption that results in a functional taurine
deficiency.

> > She's planning to have ultrasounds done on his relatives, but her
> > question is this: if they are younger than he was at his time of death
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> affected while one or more siblings might not be affected - or all siblings
> could be affected-- or none could be affected.

But do you reckon that f the brother is OK that the brother's offspring
would therefore be unaffected? I would suspect this to be the case but
we have to wait to ultrasound the brother...

<snippage>

> If a cat is affected, DCM might not show up on a echo until much later in
> life. So, it might be good idea to start monitoring *whole blood* taurine
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> through the needle into the tube, many samples are hemolyzed- which can
> falsely raise the plasma taurine levels

The pathology lab will have kept other samples in case further testing
was needed - which might include blood, so it might be possible to test
the taurine level in that case. I think the vet who saw him did say
something about testing the level not being a good predictor of
disease, but perhaps that's because of that you've mentioned above.

> DCM has all but disappeared in cats- so I don't think you'll find much info.
>
> Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Thank you, you've added some insights anyway! More perhaps than any of
us have found thus far... My hunch is that this could have been a
one-off, as this cat was physically so different from his siblings, and
even his sons and daughters; he was extremely fine-boned compared to
his brother, fussy with food and never kept a good weight, whereas his
offspring are much more like his brother and quite imposing in size,
and woe betide anyone that comes between any of them and their dinner!
One or two are distinctly podgy... But she'll be doing the responsible
thing and getting the brother tested, and the son, but possibly waiting
until he's a little older. But it would probably be a good idea to
take whole-blood taurine levels on a few of the offspring now, and see
if they show anything. Luckily these boys are closed studs so the
number of people and cats involved is small...

Thanks again!

Catherine
BTW: To Nomen: I'm using the Schroedinger's Cat as portrayed in
Heinlein's "The Cat Who Walked Through Walls"; I have several kittens
who appear to exist as an infinite mass of probabilities, and just
appear where they will, when they will! But I take your point...!

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Nomen Nescio - 16 May 2006 09:20 GMT

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