Congestive heart failure advice welcomed and needed

[FrankieTheCat]

I am so sorry to hear about your cat. My cat Daisy has congestive heart failure treated with Lasix. When she was diagnosed, she was obese (the vet pointed at a wall chart of cat sizes and said she wasn't even on it) and said that she could fall over dead at any time. I am not sure if those were his exact words, but they were close. He is blunt. I would like to say that we did all the right things and put her on a diet. We did not. We made the decision to let her live out her days happy, eating as much as she wanted, since we thought we would have to have her PTS soon. It has been years since her diagnosis. She does cough worse sometimes than others and has lost weight as part of the aging process, but she is still going strong. We occasionally have to take her to the vet when she develops problems with her mouth, but I don't think the two issues are related.

I am not saying this to give you false hope. I just want you to know that CHF is not always a death sentence. If I had it to do over again, I would try to improve Daisy's diet and there would be no treats. Daisy may be a rare case, but she has outlived many of my healthy cats. I should note that we don't have a specialist near, so we are only going by our regular vet's advice. If you are able, I would recommend doing as the others recommended and get a cardiology opinion.

Thank you I appreciate that. Today actually has been one of her best days as far as overall well being. I'm taking her to a different vet tomorrow for second opinion.

 

[iPappy]

Thank you I appreciate that. Today actually has been one of her best days as far as overall well being. I'm taking her to a different vet tomorrow for second opinion.

A second opinion never hurts anything. I hope you get some (positive) information tomorrow!

 

[Aileen666]

Hello I'm new here. About 2 months ago I noticed my 16 year old girl Frankie with a cough. Took her to the vet for her blood work and completely forgot to mention her cough. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago. I finally took her back and the vet listened to her lungs there was a lot of wheezing. He thought it was asthma so gave her a steroid and antibiotic shot. 4 days later no improvement so he prescribed her prednisone. 8 days later no improvement so I took her back. Yesterday she got xrays done and blood work. Blood work came back good. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 2018 and ckd last year but her numbers were great. Her xrays not so much. The vet uses the word "nasty" to describe the shape of her lungs and heart. There is a lot of fluid in them. Essentially he diagnosed her with advanced congestive heart failure. He said he couldn't tell me if she'd live a month or less or longer. He said if her new meds don't make an improvement by Monday or Tuesday to take her back. He prescribed her Veraflox liquid oral form. Furosemide pill form and pimobendan pill form as well. Frankie is mildly active. She's never been the crazy kind always calm and loves to sleep a lot. She is still coughing a bit and has some labored breathing. About 32 to 40 breath pm. Frankie is my soulmate and I am heart broken she is going through this. She is still eating, drinking and using the litter box. She joins us in the kitchen when we cook or sits or lays by the doorway when we're in our kitchen or living room.View attachment 432338 It's a horrible feeling to not know whe she will pass or what signs to look for. For any of you who are familiar with CHF in cats any advice? When will I know it's time? When should the meds begin to work and notice improvement? What worsening signs should I look for? The internet tells me life expectancy after being diagnosed is 6 to 12 months if the meds work. I just need some advice, support. I didn't sleep last night. I'm worried to death, exhausted from crying. I just need some advice, help, anything to try and figure this out. Thank you. Photo of my Frankie yesterday.

I know exactly what you are going through. My 14 year old cat was diagnosed with a very bad heart condition April of this year. About two weeks from that bad terminal diagnosis he went into heart failure . He is currently on 3 medications. I was told the same thing , he has 6 months to a year. He will be miracle cat if he makes it longer. It has been 6 months since his initial diagnosis. He has to get blood work , X-rays and BP taken so often anx see his cardiologist about every 3- 4 months for US , BP , ecg. It’s been extremely expensive. I was told to count his breaths per min when he is in deep sleep. However , he is awake when I’m awake so I rarely can watch and count his breathing bc I work so much. I travel a lot for work and he comes with me. He Also has a lot of urinary issues and Is on urinary prescription food. I was told to let him be. If he wants to run and play let him. If he wants to sleep. Let him. I was also warned that his condition is so bad that he could go into sudden cardiac arrest where I could even come home and find him dead. I was told all of the bad that could happen and was told it is a matter of time with him. That badycslly they keep increasing the meds as needed until they can no longer be increased. I was told that the meds are basically buying him a little more time. So I’m trying not to think of the day ( that will most likely come soon ) to much. I’m trying ti enjoy the little time I have ieft with him. I pray all the time I get one last Xmas with him. He has cost me thousands and thousands of dollars from his numerous medical issues his entire life. Right now I can’t plan any vacations or go anywhere because he gets medications twice a day for rest of his life. Unfortunately once a cat goes into congestive heart failure ….. it’s just a bad situation. I feel your pain and my advice is spend as much time as you can with your little one because you don’t know how much time you have left with him. My cat sees a cardiologist that I drive two hours to see to complete ultrasound , ecg etc while his primary vet completes his urinary bloodwork , X-rays and BP.
i also want to mention my cat had no symptoms. All of this was discovered on his heart marker blood work . A lot of drs don’t run that complete blood panel. Well his heart marker numbers were through the roof. He didn’t have a heart murmur and no wheezing . The dr wasn’t sure what it meant. I looked for a cardiologist on my own and even when I went there and told him I was there bc his heart marker labs were through the roof , the heart dr didn’t seemed concerned until he did all this testing and ye was shocked at how bad his heart was with no symptoms. Two weeks later went into heart failure. It happened so fast !
i am sorry you are going throgh this. Maybe find a cardiologist for cats if you have one near you. It’s very expensive but i do believe it’s giving me more time with my cat