Cats and Panting.

mews2much

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I know a lot about asthma and can help if he has asthma.
My Coco had a inhaler and used to get Depro Medrol shots for the asthma sometimes.
You would hear her wheeze when it got bad.
She also had pred pills sometimes.
 
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vertigho

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Originally Posted by mews2much

I know a lot about asthma and can help if he has asthma.
My Coco had a inhaler and used to get Depro Medrol shots for the asthma sometimes.
You would hear her wheeze when it got bad.
She also had pred pills sometimes.
If he does have asthma, I'll definitely let you guys know.

Just out of curiosity, who were these people that you knew that had cats die from HCM without any symptoms? Were they breeders? People online that you known? etc etc?
 

carolina

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IMHO the heart slightly enlarged is worrisome too... I am not sure why the vet is ruling out heart disease so quickly with the panting, snoring and now the enlarged heart? For what is worth, I would question that, and perhaps ask him to show that x-ray to a cardiologist... You definitely want to be on the safe side there. Enlarged heart on the x-ray is an indication of heart disease - that's the sign they are looking for... Enlarged heart can be a sign of HCM...
 

mews2much

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Some are breeders and others were people that had dsh cats they adopted.
In fact one was my mentors sphynx.
One minute fine the next dead from HCM and she never had a murmur or anything.
We were on the phone when it happened.
 

brooklet425

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Originally Posted by vertigho

If he does have asthma, I'll definitely let you guys know.

Just out of curiosity, who were these people that you knew that had cats die from HCM without any symptoms? Were they breeders? People online that you known? etc etc?
I'm one who had a cat with no heart murmur and no irregular heartbeat and he died from HCM. From what my vets have told me and from what I've researched, its not that uncommon at all. Also, MANY non-purebred cats have HCM. From what I understand, there is just more research done for certain breeds - like the Maine Coon.

I sincerely hope that your cat doesn't have anything wrong with his heart. Its something that I hope i'll never have to deal with again. With that being said - I have a cat who was just diagnosed with asthma and we went through quite a scare. The vet and radiologist confirmed asthma, but also what appeared to be an enlarged heart. After a lot of panicking and a visit to the cardiologist it turns out that nothing is wrong with his heart, but he definitely has asthma. So I hope this is whats wrong with your kitty too! Obviously, I'm not thrilled that he has asthma, but I'll take asthma over heart disease any day! I really hope your situation turns out like mine did. Just make sure to definitely have the heart checked. I'd go to a cardiologist if I were you. It concerns me that the vet is so unconcerned about the enlarged heart.

Sending vibes to you for asthma and not heart disease!
 

mews2much

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Want to learn more about HCM and related cardiomyopathies? Dr. Sonya Gordon has done an online tutorial (gauged for those of us in the medical field). I recommend that anyone who is interested in learning more about cardiomyopathies watch this video. She takes a full hour, but it's worth your time. It's broken down into understandable portions in layman's terms. She even goes over how ultrasounds are performed and what they look for on HCM scans to determine normal/abnormal heart conditions. She also shows a video of what a clot looks like in the heart and shows WHY it's so important to scan EARLY. As you'll see on the video, once clinical onset of symptoms occur...there are rarely more than a few months before death occurs. And a pet may appear normal for years without any symptoms at all, although they're positive for a type of cardiomyopathy.

Turn your volume up, she's quiet.

https://admin.na3.acrobat.com/_a7575294 ... ode=normal

ETA: She also addresses how upset, as a cardiologist, that she is with the ability to tell what is going on in the chest with a stethoscope. Make no mistakes, people, this should scream loud and clear to everyone: LISTENING TO THE HEART IS A POOR INDICATOR OF HEART DISEASE! Scan your cats!!
 
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vertigho

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Bruce got a echocardiogram today with a certified heart specialist (gold standard for detecting heart disease, and it essentially supersedes all other results).

The vet said that his heart is perfectly fine. We also had a heartworm test done, which he tested negative for, and we had bloodwork done, and nothing appeared out of the norm there.

Our best guess that he has damaged nasal passageways (bone structure damage, damaged turbinates, etc, etc) from the severe respiratory issues he had as a kitten. The other guess is that he may have fall allergies which could be aggravating his already damaged nasal passageways. We're not sure what's causing it, but he's acting perfectly fine aside from the panting, his bloodwork looks good, he doesn't have heartworms, and his heart's perfectly fine. Needless to say, I'm no longer concerned about him. I'll keep my eye on him for any changes in behavior, but as of right now, he's perfectly healthy.

Thanks for all of your help guys.

(BTW, he doesn't have asthma.)
 
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vertigho

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I just wanted to thank you guys for all of your help. Hearing about HCM from you guys frightened me, but I'm glad I got an echocardiogram, and I'm glad that I now have peace of mind.

I send my thanks, and I send my Bruce's thanks. You guys really helped!
 
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vertigho

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I may post some videos and/or pics of Mr. Bruce. He's absolutely adorable.
 

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No expert but our cat has just returned from the vet after a week after he suffered a swollen kidney.

He pants and the kidney problems caused him to be very thirsty (before lethargy and near death set in).

If your cat has a monster thirst it could be that. A blood test/x-ray combo should show it up.
 
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vertigho

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Originally Posted by NeilBangkok

No expert but our cat has just returned from the vet after a week after he suffered a swollen kidney.

He pants and the kidney problems caused him to be very thirsty (before lethargy and near death set in).

If your cat has a monster thirst it could be that. A blood test/x-ray combo should show it up.
We had blood-work done, and everything appeared to be fine.

We aren't quite sure what's going on, but he's acting perfectly normal, and we've ruled out any kind of serious issue.

Assuming that he continues to act fine, then we've been told not to worry about him.
 

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I have read this thread because this is quite similar to my cat Fleur's initial symptoms. She was 14.5 years old and she passed away last night. What I want to say is that I'm glad your cat seems to be fine, but just please continue to keep an eye on him. I am talking from the experience I just had with Fleur for the past 2 months... The reasons I initially took her to the vet 2months ago was some (slight) panting (she was breathing in by mouth and out through her nose) when she was going up/down the stairs between floors, and a weird snorring sound she was making every now and then, randomly, even when she was just laying down. These 2 seemed weird to me so I took her to the vet. He felt her, did the consultation, and we left his office with the diagnose of constipation (she also suffered from megacolon). The bloodwork was perfect (except for the thyroid and she got a px for that), heart was perfect, same were the lungs. Long story short, at my insistance, 2 weeks later she got diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. What I'm trying to say is that vets miss a lot of things. Swithched vets, the other ones took X-rays and again, concentrated on her constipation! Other than the cancer, they said she was fine! All her bloodwork and other tests came out perfect, they said her heart was still fine, even the lungs were not affected by the cancer. Now, 2 weeks later, she's dead. Of a heart attack! She had started breathing harder and harder for the past 3 days, especially when taking her medication, and last night, her little heart gave in

So please ask as many doctors as you can, ask for opinions, as the panting and that snorring are NOT good news, and not all doctors are able to pick up on everything.
 
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vertigho

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Originally Posted by soraya69

I have read this thread because this is quite similar to my cat Fleur's initial symptoms. She was 14.5 years old and she passed away last night. What I want to say is that I'm glad your cat seems to be fine, but just please continue to keep an eye on him. I am talking from the experience I just had with Fleur for the past 2 months... The reasons I initially took her to the vet 2months ago was some (slight) panting (she was breathing in by mouth and out through her nose) when she was going up/down the stairs between floors, and a weird snorring sound she was making every now and then, randomly, even when she was just laying down. These 2 seemed weird to me so I took her to the vet. He felt her, did the consultation, and we left his office with the diagnose of constipation (she also suffered from megacolon). The bloodwork was perfect (except for the thyroid and she got a px for that), heart was perfect, same were the lungs. Long story short, at my insistance, 2 weeks later she got diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. What I'm trying to say is that vets miss a lot of things. Swithched vets, the other ones took X-rays and again, concentrated on her constipation! Other than the cancer, they said she was fine! All her bloodwork and other tests came out perfect, they said her heart was still fine, even the lungs were not affected by the cancer. Now, 2 weeks later, she's dead. Of a heart attack! She had started breathing harder and harder for the past 3 days, especially when taking her medication, and last night, her little heart gave in

So please ask as many doctors as you can, ask for opinions, as the panting and that snorring are NOT good news, and not all doctors are able to pick up on everything.
I'm no expert, but I'd think that the heartattack was the result of some kind of underlying heart disease, and not the breast cancer.

If your cat had severe breast cancer, there would be close to a 100% chance that her blood-work would be off, and the masses would show up to the naked eye, and on x-ray.

My boy is young, not a Siamese, and he's, well, a male. His blood work was fine, the x-ray showed nothing, and there's no lumps apparent on his abdomen.

As I said, I'll keep an eye on him, but I'm 99.9% sure that he's perfectly fine. As I said, if your cat had severe breast cancer, I'm nearly positive that her blood work would show that something was wrong - this happens nearly everytime an animal gets an invasion tumor. As for the heartattack - that was likely caused by an underlying heart issue.
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by vertigho

As for the heartattack - that was likely caused by an underlying heart issue.
That was exactly her point - she also wanted to make the point that several vets never caught anything heart related, through blood work, x-ray,etc. And that the symptoms, like yours, were also panting and snoring. While the doctors were concerned only about constipation and cancer, they NEVER got what ended up killing her, and what the biggest problem (and the reason she went to the vet on the first place) really was.
 

soraya69

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Originally Posted by Carolina

That was exactly her point - she also wanted to make the point that several vets never caught anything heart related, through blood work, x-ray,etc. And that the symptoms, like yours, were also panting and snoring. While the doctors were concerned only about constipation and cancer, they NEVER got what ended up killing her, and what the biggest problem (and the reason she went to the vet on the first place) really was.
Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to say... Even though Fleur was terminally ill with metastatic cancer, her full-panel bloodwork showed a perfectly healthy cat, the only thing wrong on the bloodwork was her hyperthyroidism (which she got a prescription for 2 months ago). This is #1. #2, the doctor felt her belly at the first visit, because he was palpating her for constipation; he NEVER raised the question - why are those many large lumps there? I had to go back to him a week later to point them out, which is when he did the biopsy. #3 - two different doctors listened to her heart, one of them took 2 x-rays a week apart; both doctors said her heart was fine! Yet, she died of heart failure! I am REALLY mad and I just wanted to point out that these things happen, vets make huge mistakes and lots of major illnesses go untreated. But I hope with all my heart that, like you said, your baby is fine and healthy, I wish both of you all the best
 
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vertigho

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Sora - I'm incredibly sorry to hear about your loss, but I have no reason to believe that my cat isn't healthy. We've had everything done to ensure that he's fine, and he's acting like a normal cat.

Again, I will keep an eye on him, but I have no reason to think he's having any kind of serious issues. We've had him listened to and examined multiple times, we've gotten him an echocardiogram, we've gotten him a chest x-ray, and we've had blood work done - all of these indicated that he's perfectly healthy. As I said, he's also acting perfectly normal (aside from the brief panting on exertion).

I'll absolutely keep an eye on him, but there's nothing more I can do. If I brought him to the vet, they couldn't do any more tests. I'm pretty positive that he's fine.
 
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