Greetings,

Well, I took Louie to the vet today instead of this coming Wednesday
because he had a full-blown seizure over the weekend, which was very
scary to see. The vet did a full workup including ultrasound (Louie
also had an episode right in front of the vet) and diagnosed Louie with
cardio myopathy, which is a congenital heart problem. Apparently, Louie
was crying and collapsing because he wasn't getting enough oxygen
because his heart couldn't pump enough for him. He has a very bad heart
murmur, and the heart is enlarged. The vet assures me that there was no
way to prevent this, and that no one knows these problems exist until
there are symptoms.

Louie is on a bunch of medication now and needs to be kept quiet this
week while the medication takes effect. I've isolated him in a room
away from the other cats, and he seems to be resting comfortably.
Prognosis is difficult to ascertain, as it depends wholly on his
responsiveness to the meds. This week is very touch and go, as there is
a 10 - 20% chance that he could die or be paralyzed this week. If he
makes it through this week, and the fainting spells stop, the prognosis
is definitely better, but he will never really be cured.

Louie has had a host of health problems throughout his little life, so
I think he just got a bad batch of genes. I don't want him to suffer,
and he seems like he is comfortable now. It's just scary to think that
I could come home one day and he could be gone. He is very good about
taking medication, though, so if he responds well, I'm not too worried
about having to give him several pills a day forever. He's used to
taking pills, and is pretty patient about it.

Thanks to everyone who gave advice. Hopefully Louie will bounce back
and happily live a few more years. If he doesn't, I'll be very sad, but
I'll be glad I knew him and I'll know that he had a nice life full of
love and cuddles.

Best, Amy :)