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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / January 20073-year-old cat w/ dilated cardiomyopathy
A month ago, my 3 year old cat Omar suddenly opened his mouth and seemed to gasp for air. He's a big cat (20 lbs and looks like a Maine Coon mix) so he often seemed a bit winded when he exerted himself. This time his tongue was blue so my mother rushed him to the emergency vet. There he was on oxygen for 13 hours before he could breathe on his own. X-rays showed his lungs were full of fluid and one was partially collapsed. The vets mentioned a number of tests that could be done, but seemed to think it was asthma and/or pneumonia. For the next 2 weeks Omar was on antibiotics, steroids, and an Albuterol inhaler. His breathing remained labored. He's hard to pill, so I took him back in for a long-lasting steroid shot. I noticed he seemed to go downhill after this. I then took him to my regular vet and she recommended an echocardiogram at a veterinary specialist clinic. I took him in that day and they put him on oxygen for 5 hours in addition to running the echo. The results of the echo were devastating. The doctor says his left ventricle is enlarged, and he had dilated cardiomyopathy. He warned us that Omar could suddenly die at any time, but he also seemed kind of baffled. My regular vet too says she hasn't seen a case of feline dilated cardio in years due to the addition of adequate amounts of taurine in commercial cat food. Omar was a stray for the first 7 months of his life, but ever since then he's been on a diet of Iams and Purina One dry food with a little bit of Fancy Feast canned food every morning. When given pills, he starts breathing real hard and acts panicky, so I asked the vet at the emergency clinic for alternatives (since he will not eat his food with any medicine in it). They don't like giving out needles to people, but I begged successfully for some injectable Salix (diuretic). They also got my local compound pharmacy to make a transdermal ointment of Enalapril (rubbed in the ear daily). I also had taurine compounded in a tuna solution (no prescription needed for this one) which isn't too hard to get down his throat. The veterinary specilaist said a taurine deficiency is unlikely (as this is probably genetic), but I should add 500 mgs a day anyway. I know there are other helpful cardiac supplements (Hawthorn Berry, CoEnzyme Q10) but I can't get any pills in him, and it's just too expensive to have everything compounded into a liquid. I feel like I'm on a deathwatch with this dear, sweet cat. He's so gentle that all the other cats adore him. Now he seems lethargic and eats only a little. My incessant crying isn't helping I know. Does anyone have any ideas. Is there any hope?? Thanks, Sheri > Does > anyone have any ideas. Is there any hope?? Oh, I am so sorry to hear this... Were there any arrhythmias noted? If not, and if your cat does well over the next couple of weeks, he might be okay. His prognosis really depends on the specifics of his other symptoms. I would run any supplements by the vet specialist before giving them to your cat. They may be natural, but they are also often "drugs" too and can have nasty side effects or interactions with the other drugs your cat is taking. Keeping your cat's stress levels to a minimum is very important, so pilling him is really not a good idea if you can avoid it. If he likes his canned food better than kibbles, give him more canned food. It would be a good idea to weigh him every day, or even twice a day. The best way to do this is to hold him and get on the scale. Then put him down and weigh yourself. Subtract your weight from the first reading and you will have his weight. A digital scale will make this easier. If you notice any weight gain, get him to the vet specialist right away as it's likely due to congestive heart failure. CHF causes fluid retention and therefore weight gain. If this happens, they can put him on IV diuretics and give him palliative care (which may include medicine for pain). I'm sure he's picking up on your stress, so make a point of enjoying every moment you have left with him. I hope he recovers and lives a long, healthy life.  SignatureLynne Lynne, He had been gaining weight over the last few months. Now I wonder if it was fluid retention. Since all this has happened, he lost several pounds, but still doesn't look too svelte:-) I'm looking at how he's breathing as an indicator of how much fluid has accumulated (it looks close to normal since he's been on Salix). But I'll watch for overall weight gain too. I'm not sure about the specifics of his heart condition. The vet specialist uses many technical terms, and I'm too upset to really comprehend everything , except when he said "the prognosis is poor." He's a very smart man, but I hope he's wrong on this one. I spoke with a homeopathic vet about the supplements. She works with the emergency and specialist clinics. She recommended L-Carnitine, Vitamin E, CoQ10, and Hawthorn Berry etc. Now it really doesn't matter, because I feel the stress of shoving pills down his throat all day is too harmful. Maybe I'll eventually add CoQ10 to the regimen. Right now he's so lethargic and seems to want to be left alone most of the time. My heart is just breaking, but I know I have to be rational about his treatment and prognosis. Thanks for the info and encouragement, Sheri {{{{Sheri}}}}... my heart truly goes out to you. Your post brings back so many memories. I lost my beloved 12 year old Siamese cat 2.5 years ago to the same disease and still miss Maxx every day. His cardiologist had said it was genetic and that Maxx could go anytime within 3-6 months. Maxx had also been fed quality foods throughout his life, so I know his diet didn't have a taurine deficiency. I only had 4 extra months with him after his diagnosis. Over the years with him, Maxx would also seem winded after playful exertion, but I wrote it off to the virus he had caught as a kitten that would show up once or twice a year as eye leakage and nasal congestion. I found this blurb at http://www.homevet.com/petcare/felcardi.html#prognosis "Many cats will live up to three years if properly medicated. If clinical heart disease is already present when cardiomyopathy is detected the survival rate averages three months to three years. If the disease is detected in its asymptomatic state however, your cat may live a long life with close monitoring of the condition by your veterinarian or a veterinary cardiologist. The survival rate averages about 6 months. The exception is when CM is caused by hyperthyroidism. If hyperthyroidism is successfully treated, the heart function will generally return to normal and the cat will no longer require treatment." On an off chance, you might want to have Omar tested for hyperthyroidism, unless your vets have already done that. The very best luck to you and Omar... I hope you can beat this. hugs, Linda Tucker-cat photos: http://www.picturetrail.com/bluemaxx Cat Surgery Fund eBay auctions: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZtwolegs :A month ago, my 3 year old cat Omar suddenly opened his mouth and : seemed to gasp for air. He's a big cat (20 lbs and looks like a Maine [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] : : Sheri So sorry to hear about your Maxx. We're never ready to lose them, but the thing that's killing me is that Omar is so young. I once had a cat die of kidney failure at age 10. I felt so cheated because the cat I grew up with lived to be 15. Now I would do anything for Omar to live to be 10 years old. As for the hyperthyroidism issue ... I have two cats with this disease. They're old, but skinny and active (and perpetually hungry even with the medication). Omar's never been very active. He just likes to lay around looking gorgeous :-) Thanks for the info on the website ... I'll check that out, Sheri > A month ago, my 3 year old cat Omar suddenly opened his mouth and > seemed to gasp for air. He's a big cat (20 lbs and looks like a Maine [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > eats only a little. My incessant crying isn't helping I know. Does > anyone have any ideas. Is there any hope?? This is NOT a deathwatch for your cat. I have a co-worker who went through this exact same thing, and though it has taken dozens of trips to the vet (for xrays and removal of fluid), her kitty has pulled through and is doing fine, almost a year later. Have you asked your vet about Rutin (sp)? This is an herb that you can get at GNC and isn't that expensive. I know you're having troubles pilling him, but you can put grind it and put it in food. Another important factor is his diet. Have you considered upgrading to a high-quality diet, such as Innova, Wellness, or Nature's Variety? Rene "Rene S." <rschweitzer@kalmbach.com> wrote> Have you asked your vet > about Rutin (sp)? This is an herb that you can get at GNC and isn't > that expensive. I know you're having troubles pilling him, but you can > put grind it and put it in food. > > Another important factor is his diet. Have you considered upgrading to > a high-quality diet, such as Innova, Wellness, or Nature's Variety? Rutin is part of the C-complex, a bioflavonoid, if I recall correctly. It is present in rose hips and the white stuff inside the peel of an orange. Hesperidin is another part. Hi Rene, I'll ask the homeopathic vet about Rutin, but for now I'm just sticking with the traditional meds and taurine. Maybe I'll gradually add some supplements if Omar gets his appetite back. I would love to feed Omar something like Innova, but I have so many cats (more than I'll admit ... it's in the double digits) that Iams is a real splurge. Iams also seems to be a great food. I had one cat throw up everyday for the first couple years I had him. When I switched to Iams, this stopped, so I've been happy with it. I also trap and neuter feral cats, so money is tight. Still I may look into getting some higher quality food just for Omar (the others will probably murder me in my sleep, but it's hard not to spoil the one that's sick.) Thanks, Sheri > A month ago, my 3 year old cat Omar suddenly opened his mouth and > seemed to gasp for air. He's a big cat (20 lbs and looks like a Maine [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > > Sheri can't say anything about the heart disease thing but I have an idea about the pill giving issue; I got form my vets a small plastic device which is supposed to help with administering pills to my cat (hyperthyroid, pills twice a day, used to be a battle royale but now I have it down to a fine art), I don't knwo what it's commercial name is but it is liek a large hyperdermic needle type thing, you put the pill ni one end hold it just inside the cats mouth, squeeze the other end and the pill shoudl shoot down kitties throat with little fuss at all. i say 'should' because jessie was much more freaked out at the sight of me coming towards her with this enormous great contraption in my hand than she was by the usual method of giving a pill, so i abandoned it after a while and just got used to surprising her with a pill when she had just woken up inthe morning and when she was snoozing inthe evening. Ask you vet about these devices, pill givers? i dontl know what they are called, cost me about ?2 so hardly goign to break the bank really. another thingI found quite useful was to give her (and my other cat previously who was also hyperthyroid) a treat of something afterwards, whatever it si they like best, with jasper it was a few prawns, jessie likes whiskas 'temptations' crunchy treats (whichis odd as she has no teeth and can't really crunch them but she likes them so much she will purr when she hears the box being rattled) this kind of 'conditions' them into learning that after they have had the pill they will always great a treat but you have to consistent and ALWAYS give a treat afterwards, not fair and won't work otherwise. in fact, with jasper i used to push the small pills into the cooked and peeled prawns and he woudl eat them happily not knowing he had just been given his medication. buy a few prawns if you cat likes them abnd try that, cooked and peeled prawns, they are liek little fishy pockets when the heads are off and you can hide a small pill inside easily. The strong prawn smell seemed to hide the pill and jasper didn;t suspect a thing (or else he just thought 'who cares? i am getting prawns for breakfast again, hoorah!'). I would NOT crush the pills up at any cost, pills are usually made in such a way that the absorption of the medication and active ingredients inthe gut is regulated by the pill covering. The fact it is in pill form helps to slow the absorption down and allow the mediaction to enter the cat's system in a smooth and controlled manner as opposed to in one big burst. Many types of piklls will say onthe side inthe smallprint not to crush them but people rarely take much notice. there are other things you can get form the vet, 'pill pockets' i think they arecalled, something edible you can put the pill in and give to your cat as a treat. I think they work with dogs but not sure if they work with cats (who are not as stupid as dogs, lets face it) or whether they even make them for cats. All the ones i have seen have been huge great lumps which i reckon would choke a cat. best of luck with it all, it is hard when such a beautiful and innocent creature is suffering and possibly at deaths doors when there are so many individuals in the world living who don't deserve it and who create suffering and pain for others instead of relieving it and causing no harm to anyone like your puss does. so many things in this world are not fair. jessie my calico has just come in to the room and sends your omar all her purrs and head butts and hopes he gets better soon love Bookie > A month ago, my 3 year old cat Omar suddenly opened his mouth and > seemed to gasp for air. He's a big cat (20 lbs and looks like a Maine [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > > Sheri found a company in berkshire who sells it online (but i expect you are inthe US of A) it is the Catac PIll Giver, costs ?3.81, aso dirt cheap, must be a pet shop or something on your side of the pond who sells it or try the Catac website, best fo luck finding it, bookie > A month ago, my 3 year old cat Omar suddenly opened his mouth and > seemed to gasp for air. He's a big cat (20 lbs and looks like a Maine [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > > Sheri finally foudn a link to somewhere which sells the pill giver thing I was on about, it is a company is sudbury in suffolk but they may ship it out to you if you ask nicely. I reckon postage will probably cost more than the thing itself in fact here is the link http://www.furrypharm.com/shop/category.asp?catid=121 hopefully that will work. bookie Thanks so much for all the info. I actually have a little gadget for pilling a cat, though it may be different than the one you describe. The problem is Omar acts like he's swallowed the pill, then I find it lying on the couch the next day. I also have two old hyperthyroid cats. My vet gave me methimazole pills that she's says are okay to crush up (under a glass) and then mix in wet food. They don't have a hard coating or a warning on the bottle, so I guess it's safe to administer like this. The nice thing about hyperthyroid cats is that they'll eat anything that doesn't crawl away. Other sick cats are just the opposite. At least Omar's expressing a little interest in food ... I'm praying I don't have to force feed him. Thanks for all your well wishes. Sheri > The veterinary > specilaist said a taurine deficiency is unlikely (as this is probably > genetic), but I should add 500 mgs a day anyway. Sheri, He may have a genetic inability to properly absorb taurine, so adding the extra taurine is a very good idea. Can you add it to his canned food instead of to tuna--would he eat it all? I'm only concerned because, as you know, the tuna doesn't have any taurine and he could probably use as much of it as possible. When he recovers (and I sincerely hope he will), discuss continuing to supplement taurine for his entire life. I forgot to note that in my earlier post. With all the tests and medications you have paid for, I'm sure money must be very tight--especially with all the kitties you care for. Maybe you can just give him extra servings of Fancy Feast instead of going to anything more expensive? I'm under the impression it's a good food, and I'd be concerned about changing his diet. Any changes may risk putting him off his eating, and he's already not eating enough from the sound of things. You're a gem, and my heart really goes out to you and Omar. Please let us know how he fares. SignatureLynne HI Lynne, I'm not actually putting the taurine in canned tuna. My local compounding pharmacy uses a tuna solution for all the cat meds and supplements, just so it's more palatable to them. In this case, there is 250 mg of taurine per ml. I just draw some up into the dropper and squirt it down his throat. I did try to mix powdered taurine in his food and he wouldn't touch it. That was right after his emergency. I may try this again ... it would be much cheaper than having taurine compounded into that tuna juice. I'm trying anything and everything to get him to eat. He did like some Friskies (the cuts of meat in gravy) that I had bought tried before. He's also still eating a little Fancy Feast, but he now seems a bit more interested in some of the other brands. I think cats get tired of the same old smells and flavors. I've noticed that if I've been feeding them Iams dry food for months, and I put some Purina One or a different flavor of Iams out, they go nuts. Thanks for your advice and words of encouragement. Sheri > > The veterinary > > specilaist said a taurine deficiency is unlikely (as this is probably [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > You're a gem, and my heart really goes out to you and Omar. Please let > us know how he fares. Sheri, You probably know you have to watch what you do to the food of a cat not eating well. Cats tend to blame their food for making them sick. We had a mess with a cat with pancreatitus -- every time he didn't feel well, he'd stop eating whatever kind of food he was eating but would eat something else. They are pretty good at food aversions. I don't think I'd try putting medicine or taurine in his regular food right now. Did you think about trying the tuna juice idea that I mentioned in the other post? Good luck, Rhonda > HI Lynne, > [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] >>You're a gem, and my heart really goes out to you and Omar. Please let >>us know how he fares. Rhonda, I'll try the tuna juice idea. The only thing is that it probably contains a lot of sodium, which is bad for cats with heart disease. Still I know it's much worse for him to not eat and not get medication. Thanks so much, Sheri Sheri, you could try feeding Omar baby food with his meds mixed in - I think turkey flavored is the best, nutrition wise. Most cats love it, thank God. I read that you said money was tight, but baby food is relatively inexpensive and it's a great alternative. Whenever Maxx wouldn't eat, I would force fed him baby food in a syringe to get him eating again. I would also hide all of his water pills and heart medications & assorted sundry other meds in the baby food syringe. Luckily, he was used to getting a lot of liquid antibiotics over his lifetime, so he tolerated the force feeding, barely. You can buy larger syrings in the baby food aisle at the grocery store, so you can measure his caloric intake. And don't worry if you don't get a lot into him at one sitting. You can always try giving him more in another hour or 2. Just make sure you find out exactly how much food Omar needs from your veterinarian so you make sure he's getting enough. I'm not sure if you posted this or not, but you are going to a cardiologist, right? As far as cost goes, I found that their charges were almost the same as my regular vets prices and Omar really needs a specialist. When you go to his appointments, take a notebook and write down the things the specialist says. I know we try to maintain eye contact when people speak to us, but when I do that, it goes in one ear and out the other. Just write down what he says, as he says it and it'll help you understand and remember things better. One thing that my regular vet did do to help; to help Maxx's appetite he gave me a powder that could be sprinkled on his food... for the life of me, I wish I could remember the name of it. But it came in a spice-sized plastic jar, was a golden-colored powder, and smelled good to me, just like a mild spice that we would use on our food... and boy howdy... when I used that on his food, he'd lap it up like it was gravy. Might want to ask your vet about it. If you have trouble getting the name or a sample from your vet, email me and I'll call my vet to see if he remembers the name of it. His office used it for cats that were reluctant to eat. About Omar being lethargic and sleeping a lot... Maxx would do the same thing, almost like he would space out with his eyes open. We have an old futon in our basement that he would escape to. At first I thought he was trying to keep cool because the basement is unheated, but then I realized he was trying to hide because of his illness... so I'd go down and spend a lot time with him. Then, to try to keep Maxx out of the basement, I made him a little nest type thingey so he could hide in upstairs where I could check on him often. Take your sofa pillows and make a little house out of them by resting one flat in the air, against the arm of the sofa, and the other standing straight up, supporting the one in the air. Maxx loved his little hidey-hole and it's simple to make. If you'd like to see a picture of Maxx, he's in my PictureTail account link in my sig. Sheri, my very best and most heartfelt wishes go out to you. I hope you can spend as much time with Omar as possible - that will also help his stress level. I know it made a difference with Maxx because after he died, his cardiologist told me that I had had an extra month with him. He didn't think Maxx would last 3 months, but I had 4 months with him. I understand what you're going through and I care. If you ever want to talk more off the group, I would be honored. hugs, Linda Tucker-cat photos: http://www.picturetrail.com/bluemaxx Cat Surgery Fund eBay auctions: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZtwolegs : Rhonda, : [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] : : Sheri I'm glad you caught the sodium part -- it probably does have a lot of salt. Hope you run that past the vet before you try it. Good luck, Rhonda > Rhonda, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Sheri Shari, I have a cat like that -- knows every time there is a pill in food. We have a horrible time giving him pills, he's a former feral and he panics. We got a suggestion from the vet that worked last time. He told us to pour some water from a can of tuna (the kind with water, not oil) and let the pill dissolve in it. We'd let the pill soften for an hour or so, stir it up and he would drink it right down! It worked every time and we had to do it for 2 weeks. I was so skeptical when the vet suggested it, but he said he has never had a cat that wouldn't take it. Actually, he said to let the pill dissolve in a syringe of tuna water and then squirt it in and the cats don't mind, but we tried it in a bowl and he lapped it up. Rhonda > When given pills, he starts breathing real hard and acts panicky, so I > asked the vet at the emergency clinic for alternatives (since he will > not eat his food with any medicine in it). Back in November, one of our cats had an URI so bad, he sounded like Darth Vader breathing under water, and he had to have stronger antibiotics, which came in pill form. He was so stuffed up, he couldn't smell anything else but tuna, so that's all he would eat, poor boy. Was murder trying to get him to swallow it (seems that, even though everyone says cats can't spit - ours sure can - pills will end up on the other side of the room!), so we hid it in a pile of tuna, and he gobbled it up, never noticing the pill! And did it twice a day for five days in a row. He's all better now! > Shari, > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >> I asked the vet at the emergency clinic for alternatives (since he >> will not eat his food with any medicine in it). That's great! I feel like we've discovered a great secret that will make life so much easier. Rhonda > so we hid > it in a pile of tuna, and he gobbled it up, never noticing the pill! And > did it twice a day for five days in a row. |
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