Kaylee is going on three years old, but last May she was diagnosed with HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) (http://www.thecatsite.com/t/297133/...ic-cardiomyopathy-hcm-paranoid-mom-needs-help)
She was put on Enalapril. I found a cardiologist, and she switched Kaylee to Atenolol twice a day, and she's been doing great since then! (Let's just say like 1 out of 10, Kaylee was an 8 (very bad) but now she's around a 4 (not quite normal heart, but a lot better)). She still sees her normal vet for shots and stuff, and her cardiologist said the visits can now become a once a year thing.
This morning, I woke up at six to give Kaylee her pill, then went back to bed. I know I woke up a few time and she was sleeping beside me. When I finally woke up around 10, Kaylee came over and demanded attention like normal. She then jumped off the bed and went into the other room. I got up to start my morning rituals when I found her hunched on the floor crying, which turned into yowling (like in pain), which turned into one long yowl before she stiffened up and fell to her side. She started shaking, but not very hard, like she was shivering. It lasted maybe two seconds, if that. Then she got up and hid under the table. I reached over to pet her, and while she didn't want to move, she responded to me. I called the vet and rushed her over. The whole time in the car she acted like she normally would during a car ride (meowing, rubbing against my fingers through the carrier). At the vet, she acted like she normally would at the vet.
The vet listened to her heart and while of course she had the murmur, her heart rate and pulse were completely within normal range. Blood work also came back normal. They said that HCM cats can sometimes pass out when their heart rate suddenly drops (like how humans can sometimes get dizzy if they sit up too fast).
My cardiologist isn't in on Saturdays, however the hospital where she is located said that if it happened again to bring her up and they will page her, but because they are located over an hour away they don't want to stress her out (and I agree).
I've watched videos of cats having seizures and they look really violent, and Kaylee's didn't look like that, but I just worry. Do HCM cats really do the weird seizure-look-alike fainting thing?
She was put on Enalapril. I found a cardiologist, and she switched Kaylee to Atenolol twice a day, and she's been doing great since then! (Let's just say like 1 out of 10, Kaylee was an 8 (very bad) but now she's around a 4 (not quite normal heart, but a lot better)). She still sees her normal vet for shots and stuff, and her cardiologist said the visits can now become a once a year thing.
This morning, I woke up at six to give Kaylee her pill, then went back to bed. I know I woke up a few time and she was sleeping beside me. When I finally woke up around 10, Kaylee came over and demanded attention like normal. She then jumped off the bed and went into the other room. I got up to start my morning rituals when I found her hunched on the floor crying, which turned into yowling (like in pain), which turned into one long yowl before she stiffened up and fell to her side. She started shaking, but not very hard, like she was shivering. It lasted maybe two seconds, if that. Then she got up and hid under the table. I reached over to pet her, and while she didn't want to move, she responded to me. I called the vet and rushed her over. The whole time in the car she acted like she normally would during a car ride (meowing, rubbing against my fingers through the carrier). At the vet, she acted like she normally would at the vet.
The vet listened to her heart and while of course she had the murmur, her heart rate and pulse were completely within normal range. Blood work also came back normal. They said that HCM cats can sometimes pass out when their heart rate suddenly drops (like how humans can sometimes get dizzy if they sit up too fast).
My cardiologist isn't in on Saturdays, however the hospital where she is located said that if it happened again to bring her up and they will page her, but because they are located over an hour away they don't want to stress her out (and I agree).
I've watched videos of cats having seizures and they look really violent, and Kaylee's didn't look like that, but I just worry. Do HCM cats really do the weird seizure-look-alike fainting thing?