ER visit after cat collapsed

darlenam8

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Hi all. Just wondering if anyone has been through anything like this.
My healthy 10yr old male cat had a very scary incident last night. I got home from work and he was being silly, little zoomies and attention grabs to push me to put down dinner.
All of a sudden, he ran out of the room and laid down low on the ground and started bellowing. He got up, took a few steps and collapsed, sort of falling over to the right.
He was low to the ground and sort of frozen. He moved a little, and his mouth came open and I assumed he was panting. Panting didn’t last long at all but his respiration was high (about 70 respirations per minute)
raced him to the vet ER and he was already much improved within that 45min. Little bit elevated breathing and temp just a bit lower than normal. Dr found a heart murmur. Ran blood work and chest X-rays and everything came back very normal. He improved back to normal within the hour and they sent him home with me a couple hours later.
Since tests were inconclusive, they said they’re not really sure what caused the episode. She’s not set on saying the murmur caused it, especially because he rebounded so quickly.
She did mention she had some theories, and the possibility of a small stroke or clot that resolved itself, or even a seizure.
so now I have to watch him and keep him indoors at least until we get him checked further. He’s got an appt w his regular vet Monday, but he seems sooo back to normal (so much so that he’s throwing his I-want-to-go-outside tantrums)
Scary when you don’t have anything conclusive and know that it could happen again at any moment.

anyone with any experience with anything like this, would be helpful. Thanks. Very tired and nervous over here
 

FeebysOwner

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Glad to hear he is acting more normally!! I don't have any specific experience with this, because there are just too many variables that could be involved. But given your cat's age, the next step is to get a cardiologist involved, which I am guessing your regular vet will suggest. They will be able to tell you more about what might be behind the murmur, how to treat it, and whether it could have been the cause of his episode. Strokes and/or even some clots can leave damage, however minor, that a cardiologist can investigate/look for through tests like an echocardiogram and electrocardiography - which will also show other anomalies not normally detectable in an x-ray. There are also at least a couple of blood biomarkers that can be done that are not normally included in standard bloodwork that may also be recommended by a cardiologist.

You could run down many paths to all kinds of possibilities, but until you know more than you currently do, you are just chasing things that may not apply at all!
 

silent meowlook

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Don’t let him outside no matter what. He can have another episode when in an unsafe situation.

I have seen cats get a partial clot that dislodged itself but that doesn’t mean all is well.

If it was me, I wouldn’t waste money with a regular vet, I would go straight to a cardiologist for an echocardiogram. Without it, you won’t know what is going on. There may be medications to help him, but he needs a cardiologist.
 

FeebysOwner

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If it was me, I wouldn’t waste money with a regular vet, I would go straight to a cardiologist for an echocardiogram. Without it, you won’t know what is going on.
The OP's regular vet might be able to recommend, and perhaps even expedite a consult with, a cardiologist. At least in my area, most specialty vets want the regular vet involved, particularly for follow up treatments. This would even be truer if the cardiologist doesn't find a cardiac related issue, and then it may need to go to a neurologist for brain/seizure related issues.
 
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darlenam8

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This exactly. And I realize I missed adding that to my original post. The ER dr said he needs to see a cardiologist but to follow up w his regular vet so they can expedite an appt. Otherwise, it will be months before he could be seen.
I 100% am following the ER drs suggestion and also common sense. He’s not going outside. I was lucky enough he was inside when this happened and he called out to me for help. There’s no telling what could happen if he has an episode while outside. Even though we slept 2hrs last night because he was begging to go out, it’s not happening.
I was looking for more comments on if anyone Has had this happen or seen anything like it rather than getting scolded to ‘not waste my money’ on a regular vet. But thank you, regardless, S silent meowlook
If you have a suggestion on how to get a cardiologist to see a cat immediately, that would be helpful, too 😊
 

silent meowlook

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Wow, you took that totally wrong. You ask your emergency vet to refer you. They can. When I worked emergency we did it all the time and got cats in quicker than waiting for one appointment and then another.

I was trying to offer suggestions so you could get your cat seen quicker.

I don’t know who you think I am but you don’t get to be rude to me when I am trying to help you.
 
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darlenam8

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The emergency vet doesn’t do the referral, at least not here they don’t. They told me to consult w my vet to get that expedited.
I apologize if I offended, but your comment came across a bit abrasive and seemed to suggest I wasn’t following through expeditiously enough. I’d do anything for my furbabies. And this has been an absolutely terrifying experience, and the uncertainty doesn’t help, knowing there are no real answers yet, and anything could happen and go wrong.
Thank you for your comments. Just as you thought I was being rude, your comments came across that way as well. I think we should all be aware of these things
 

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My mother's cat ended up in the ER with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and another time the vet thought they heard a possible heart murmur in my cat. Both cats were going to the same vet. In my area there is a "travelling" cardiologist that goes vet to vet with his ultrasound machine. He goes to my vet every other week but goes weekly to bigger practices. In both cases the timing was right for the cat to see the cardiologist at our vet's office. The vet did say if it was going to take too long they would send us to the ER vet to have it done as he visits there more frequently.

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. Please keep us posted!
 
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darlenam8

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My mother's cat ended up in the ER with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and another time the vet thought they heard a possible heart murmur in my cat. Both cats were going to the same vet. In my area there is a "travelling" cardiologist that goes vet to vet with his ultrasound machine. He goes to my vet every other week but goes weekly to bigger practices. In both cases the timing was right for the cat to see the cardiologist at our vet's office. The vet did say if it was going to take too long they would send us to the ER vet to have it done as he visits there more frequently.

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. Please keep us posted!
Thanks. We’re off to his regular vet at 5pm today and I’m going to make sure we exhaust all options at the office that we can; any other tests etc. and hope they can get us into a cardiologist sooner than later. My worry is that it’s something that might be harder to find or even something neurological.
He had his last regular checkup in October and not one time in his history did they find a murmur. We’ll see.
Also, if anyone has any ideas to keep him calmer and not throw temper tantrums while being locked indoors now, I’d love it. He’s a wild child and loves the outdoors. He’s been throwing temper tantrums and also pouting under the bed the past few days. I took him outside supervised yesterday and he was soooo happy and rolled all over and tried to take a nap in the sun. Then started to walk off and ignored me, so I pulled him back in. So of course, he had another temper tantrum and cried for about an hour.
I’ve tried the calming pheromone plugins and they don’t work for him.
Also, it’s sooooo hard to lock him in at night: I’ve got 2 cats, and they have grown to hate each other over the years. Locking them in together results. In fights, but I hate to lock him in the bedroom alone.
Anyway, I’m sure this seems long winded. Just trying to be positive and find some answers (and some sleep for us both)

thank you
 
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darlenam8

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Update:
We had our visit with our regular vet and after listening to his heart for several minutes, she detected no heart murmur. She said the traumatic incident could have caused that to happen at the ER.
In light of that and everything I explained about his incident, leading up to and the actual collapse, she believes it was a vascular incident. Most likely a seizure. She said unfortunately with things like this, they can’t treat after one episode, and it’s sort of a wait and see and document anything else as it happens to confirm. She just put him on blood pressure meds as she said he does have high blood pressure, which also might have caused it.
So for now, Michaleto is chillin, and we’re hoping it never happens again, but are trying to be prepared if it does
 

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I’ll just use this opportunity to also do my pitch for pet insurance. I got it when he was a kitten and the bills were nearly $15,000-$17,000 by the time he passed. My premium was $10-$20 over the years with $1,000 deductible. I never had to make a decision based on cost. (Though granted, $1,000 is a lot, but you can usually save that up or put it on a credit card.)
 
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darlenam8

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I’ll just use this opportunity to also do my pitch for pet insurance. I got it when he was a kitten and the bills were nearly $15,000-$17,000 by the time he passed. My premium was $10-$20 over the years with $1,000 deductible. I never had to make a decision based on cost. (Though granted, $1,000 is a lot, but you can usually save that up or put it on a credit card.)
I 100% agree on pet insurance. I have it for both my kitties and it’s a huge money saver in these circumstances. Very much worth the yearly premium to know that if something big happens, you’re not dishing out all that money yourself. And I would also add, be sure to get it when they’re young or before they’re diagnosed with something, because they won’t cover pre-existing conditions when you sign up. (At least, I don’t know if any that do)
 
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