Ziggy went to the ER for not acting right and breathing fast. Turned out to be CHF and HCM undiagnosed. His left chamber is 2x normal and his lungs were full of fluid. He spent the night in the Hospital on meds and in Oxygen. Next day his X-ray showed his lungs were much, much better so they sent him home. In my opinion, he's not better and is worse. Last night was first night home so I am not sure if he's just tired or what. When we got home, he walked all over the house like he forgot his home. He would get tired and lay down on his side. He eventually went out on the screened porch and watched critters and birds but after that he came in the family room and slept flat in his side. I see dark black discharge coming from his eyes. He keeps going to his water bowl and drinking but is not eating. I woke up to him this morning in the basement (where his litter pans are) sleeping. He's not really sleeping by laying there and seemed spaced out. He looks at me but doesn't come or look "happy". Vet said to track his breathing for our recheck next week. His respiration was very high at the hospital and they were curious to see what it would do at home. I counted and if I did it right it's about 50/per minute which is BAD! I don't know what to do. He hasn't been home 24 hours yet and I'm scared but know the only thing they can do for him is to put him to sleep. I know I need to give the meds a chance to work but they just don't seem to be working like others report. Does it take time?
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Need Help. My Cat Was Diagnosed With Chf (congestive Heart Failure) And It's A Shock. Need Advice.
- Thread starter Amyziggy
- Start Date
I am a medical doctor, not a vet, however CHM and cardiac failure are illnesses that also occur in humans. You have not mentioned Ziggy's age, these illnesses are worse in older cats and in older humans. You also have not mentioned what treatment Ziggy is having. Regardless of the answers, I agree that Ziggy is not well but it will take a few days for the medications to work. A good sign would be if Ziggy were to pass large amounts of urine so give him free access to water - and to his cat litter.
Ziggy could have stayed in the animal hospital longer but an Emergency hospital is always short of beds/ cages. I think that you should take Ziggy to your usual vet and seek his/her advice. He/she will not be so likely to send Ziggy prematurely home and you should tell him/her just what the Emergency vet told you about Ziggy. (He usually sends a report to your usual vet if he know who he/she is).
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a condition where the heart muscles become enlarged (hypertrophic) but the hypertrophic muscles are weak; Cardiomyopathy means a disease of the heart muscle. Because of the weakness of the heart muscles, the blood is not able to be pumped properly around the body and it accumulates in the lungs as fluid and there is also fluid increase in the limbs known as oedema. Ziggy's liver and stomach and intestines will also be congested, causing problems in digesting his food, so he may well be off his food for a few days.
There are a number of heart medications which can relieve heart failure so don't feel that the only thing your vet can do is put Ziggy down. My human patients usually respond to treatment, depending on how severe is the heart disease and whether they have other illnesses. Ziggy is not yet dying, or I am sure that the hospital vet would not have sent him out of the hospital!
See what your usual vet says and be guided by him /her. From what you have written, it seems that Ziggy should respond to his treatment, the majority of heart failure cases do.
Please keep us posted about him,
With all best wishes,
Geoffrey
Ziggy could have stayed in the animal hospital longer but an Emergency hospital is always short of beds/ cages. I think that you should take Ziggy to your usual vet and seek his/her advice. He/she will not be so likely to send Ziggy prematurely home and you should tell him/her just what the Emergency vet told you about Ziggy. (He usually sends a report to your usual vet if he know who he/she is).
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a condition where the heart muscles become enlarged (hypertrophic) but the hypertrophic muscles are weak; Cardiomyopathy means a disease of the heart muscle. Because of the weakness of the heart muscles, the blood is not able to be pumped properly around the body and it accumulates in the lungs as fluid and there is also fluid increase in the limbs known as oedema. Ziggy's liver and stomach and intestines will also be congested, causing problems in digesting his food, so he may well be off his food for a few days.
There are a number of heart medications which can relieve heart failure so don't feel that the only thing your vet can do is put Ziggy down. My human patients usually respond to treatment, depending on how severe is the heart disease and whether they have other illnesses. Ziggy is not yet dying, or I am sure that the hospital vet would not have sent him out of the hospital!
See what your usual vet says and be guided by him /her. From what you have written, it seems that Ziggy should respond to his treatment, the majority of heart failure cases do.
Please keep us posted about him,
With all best wishes,
Geoffrey
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I just went through this with my buddy. He's an 8 year old Manx. My guy was in an O2 cage from Saturday afternoon until Monday morning. They didn't want to try and get him off the oxygen until his breathing rate was low 40s to high 30s. The hospital I went to has cardiologists, so he actually saw a cardiologist Monday morning and got an echocardiogram. Similar to what you reported - enlarged heart, left atrium in trouble, etc. But they sent him home to me with good breathing. I keep checking it and it's around 18 to 24 when he's asleep.
Even with that great breathing rate, he's not 100%. He's now on a few meds, and I think he's just recovering from the trauma of the weekend and his regular vet said he just needs some time. As long as his breathing stays good I'll take whatever time I get.
Even with that great breathing rate, he's not 100%. He's now on a few meds, and I think he's just recovering from the trauma of the weekend and his regular vet said he just needs some time. As long as his breathing stays good I'll take whatever time I get.
My cat was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (an illness that can cause HCM), and my vet had me give my cat atenolol to help slow down my cat's fast heart beat. I think giving Ziggy this medication will reduce the strain on his heart, so please keep giving him the meds. It might take some time for Ziggy's body to adjust to the medication. My cat took about a week before his hyperthyroid/heart meds looked like they were working.
As for the food, he needs to eat something--anything! Give him his favorite food, maybe even some tuna. If his nose doesn't perk up to any of this, you can try feeding him with a syringe feeder.
When my cat was at his worst (skinny, sad, not very responsive), I spent a week by his side petting/brushing/talking to him. I also very frequently tried to get him to eat and slept every night by his side to let him know I was there for him. The best advice I could give you is give him TONS of TLC, continue giving him meds, and try your hardest to get him to eat.
As for the food, he needs to eat something--anything! Give him his favorite food, maybe even some tuna. If his nose doesn't perk up to any of this, you can try feeding him with a syringe feeder.
When my cat was at his worst (skinny, sad, not very responsive), I spent a week by his side petting/brushing/talking to him. I also very frequently tried to get him to eat and slept every night by his side to let him know I was there for him. The best advice I could give you is give him TONS of TLC, continue giving him meds, and try your hardest to get him to eat.
50 breaths per minute is way too fast. The fastest acting best treatment in my opinion (I had a cat with both HCM and CHF) is a diuretic like Lasix, which can be given orally or sub q. It should drain the fluids from the lungs and can keep the HCM at bay for a time, if they can't clear his lungs with Lasix its possible he needs to be put to sleep. I'm so sorry.
