I'm at the beginning of my cat's hypertrophic cardiomyopathy journey

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nartyteek

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So, we've got a few updates for the sake of posterity, mostly. I like the idea of documenting this for all the times I went searching and found answers in old forum posts, but is any of this particularly mind-blowing? Eh, not really. He went a touch diabetic again, and is now is heading into remission AGAIN three weeks later. The head doctor at the clinic is giving the offical thumbs-down for dental surgery. Like, ever. She said they just wouldn't do it since it would be as good as euthenasia in her opinion, and now his jaw looks pretty good, anyway. As a side effect of his meds, he's got bladder crystals. That was a little scary, but not unprecedented, so we went and got a urinalysis, and while I was in there, we checked his blood pressure, and it's normal. And it was high before he started his medications! So that is pretty cool, especially as he heads towards 17 years old. What a tough little guy. He's in great spirits, too, but nothing gets him down.
 

all4mom2

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I've always wondered how they perform a urinalysis on a cat... It's not like you can ask them to pee into a little cup! And are you saying "in remission" for HCM? I didn't realize that was possible! Is your kitty on insulin for diabetes? Do you test his blood at home?
 
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nartyteek

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I've always wondered how they perform a urinalysis on a cat... It's not like you can ask them to pee into a little cup! And are you saying "in remission" for HCM? I didn't realize that was possible! Is your kitty on insulin for diabetes? Do you test his blood at home?
Nah, I wish. He's in remission for the diabetes, which is pretty common if you stay on top of it. He's still on HCM meds. He is largely asymptomatic, though, but that's just the drugs doing their work. As for the pee sample, well... It has to be very fresh. Sometimes they can just pee into an empty box, but for something like this, you need FRESH pee, so they go in there with a needle, unfortunately.
 

fionasmom

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My dog's vet uses an ultrasound guided cystocentesis to collect urine from him. It is more and more common and I have never had an issue with it regarding the dog.

Thank you for the update! You are doing a wonderful job of helping your friend and I am glad that the efforts are paying off.
 
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nartyteek

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Another boring update: He turned 17 officially, and he just went to the vet. He seems to be in fine condition and is practically asymptomatic. So that's 18 months well spent, and 18 months I assumed we might not get. Steady as she goes.
 
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