we discovered piglet was in mid-stage kidney failure about a year and a half ago - she needed dental work done and her blood work showed horrible kidney levels. during a consult for dental surgery, it was discovered she had feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions and all four canines needed to be removed. after two days in hospital, lots of fluids, and help from a wonderful staff, piglet was home with no canines and a new outlook on life. her kidney levels improved after the tooth removal - there was an infection that was making everything worse. after a couple of months of careful diet and lots of love, piglet's BUN, creatinine, and phosphorus levels evened out and she seemed pretty stable.
so now we found another tooth with an issue - looks like another resorption (she's already lost two molars prior to surgery). with her kidney issues, dh and i were really concerned about putting her through surgery again... the vet recommended that we remove *all* of piglet's teeth from canine back, so she'd only have those few teensy front teeth. the vet decided to do blood work to see how her kidneys were doing and, almost as an afterthought, advised the tech to run a test about cardiac enzymes (i'm guessing proBNP).
today the vet called back. piglet's kidney levels are pretty good - better than they were about 13 months ago. however, the cardiac test shows elevated enzymes which means there is something wrong with the heart muscle. vet said it could be thickening of the walls, issues with the valves, tons of different things. we were able to schedule an echocardiogram for tomorrow and a veterinary cardiologist will read the scans within hours. the vet also mentioned a potential surgery issue - piglet needs extra IV fluids for her kidneys and that will be detrimental to her heart... ugh. blood work also ruled out any thyroid issues or diabetes. piglet's weight has increased .3lbs - a few ounces but for a 9.3lb CKF cat, that's good.
has anyone had a CKF cat with heart issues? any advice, something i should look for, things to consider?
so now we found another tooth with an issue - looks like another resorption (she's already lost two molars prior to surgery). with her kidney issues, dh and i were really concerned about putting her through surgery again... the vet recommended that we remove *all* of piglet's teeth from canine back, so she'd only have those few teensy front teeth. the vet decided to do blood work to see how her kidneys were doing and, almost as an afterthought, advised the tech to run a test about cardiac enzymes (i'm guessing proBNP).
today the vet called back. piglet's kidney levels are pretty good - better than they were about 13 months ago. however, the cardiac test shows elevated enzymes which means there is something wrong with the heart muscle. vet said it could be thickening of the walls, issues with the valves, tons of different things. we were able to schedule an echocardiogram for tomorrow and a veterinary cardiologist will read the scans within hours. the vet also mentioned a potential surgery issue - piglet needs extra IV fluids for her kidneys and that will be detrimental to her heart... ugh. blood work also ruled out any thyroid issues or diabetes. piglet's weight has increased .3lbs - a few ounces but for a 9.3lb CKF cat, that's good.
has anyone had a CKF cat with heart issues? any advice, something i should look for, things to consider?