Last night, my young son informed me that it seemed like Bullwinkle was
having trouble breathing. We took him to the emergency vet and apparently he
has cardiac hypertrophy (enlarged heart) - his heart looked fine on his
echocardiogram in 2006. His chest was now full of fluid. The doctor tapped
the fluid, and he is breathing more comfortably, and his chest hasn't filled
up again. But he was completely stressed out. He spent the night at the
emergency vet for observation.

Ironically, he just had a complete checkup last week and was pronounced to
be in good health. The truth is that there is no way our regular vet could
have caught this without an echocardiogram, and since Bullwinkle doesn't
have a heart murmur, there was no reason for her to think he needed an
echocardiogram, particularly since the one in 2006 was fine. Most cats with
cardiomyopathy exhibit a heart murmur as a tipoff.

He is supposed to come home today and then see the cardiologist on Wednesday
for a definitive diagnosis, treatment plan, and prognosis. They tell me that
the best case scenario (which is unlikely) is that this was caused by
taurine deficiency (even though he eat regular cat food). Apparently, a cat
can develop taurine deficiency even if he's consuming an appropriate amount
of taurine on a daily basis. It wouldn't affect the vision in this scenario.
If so, he can be cured with a taurine supplement. But the vet said this
scenario is rare. This is most likely severe cardiomyopathy.

The likely scenario (as the emergency doctor sees it) is that he will be
stabilized on medications, and we may need to bring him in (to our regular
vet) periodically to have his chest tapped if we see that he is starting to
go into respiratory distress again. Unless he has taurine deficiency (which
can be cured), he will in all likelihood be with us for only a few more
months (and that's assuming he can be stabilized on meds). We were at the
vet most of the night. I am numb. My 11-year-old son in particular is
distraught and unconsolable. Bullwinkle is the kind of cat who senses when
you're distressed and will come running to comfort you. Of all my cats, he
is easily the most patient, the most laid back, and the most gentle. He and
my younger son are inseparable.

Assuming Bullwinkle has remained stable overnight (and I assume he has,
since he was stable at 4:00 a.m. and we haven't heard anything to the
contrary - I will be phoning shortly for an update on his condition), the
plan is to bring him home, and then bring him to see the cardiologist on
Wednesday as an outpatient.

I will post updates as things develop. What a sad way to start the new year.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.