Wanting to hear from anyone who has a cat with heart disease

Georgina887

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Hey everyone. For anyone who has a cat with heart disease or has knowledge about it...

How bad has it been?
What have your experiences been with any medications given?
Have the medications or supportive care helped stop the progression of the disease or help prolong the life of the cat?

thanks in advance
 

Boris Diamond

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Which heart disease are you curious about? I have had two cats with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. One did not respond to medicine and had to be put down 10 hours after I took him to the emergency vet. That was the first time he showed symptoms. The second one responded well to the medicine they gave him at the emergency vet and seems to be doing very well with the medicines he gets daily. I give him Vetmedin, Furosimide and Enalapril. The last time I had him at the specialist, she said he might be one that makes it a long time. He was about 4 years old when he first showed symptoms, and about 8 1/2 now. I notice no symptoms in him at this time.
 
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Georgina887

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Which heart disease are you curious about? I have had two cats with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. One did not respond to medicine and had to be put down 10 hours after I took him to the emergency vet. That was the first time he showed symptoms. The second one responded well to the medicine they gave him at the emergency vet and seems to be doing very well with the medicines he gets daily. I give him Vetmedin, Furosimide and Enalapril. The last time I had him at the specialist, she said he might be one that makes it a long time. He was about 4 years old when he first showed symptoms, and about 8 1/2 now. I notice no symptoms in him at this time.

Either kind. My cat currently has no symptoms but is having a heart scan tomorrow to determine how bad it is. Just wanting some people’s experiences with medication and if it helps or not.
Thanks for your reply
 

amandag1

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Either kind. My cat currently has no symptoms but is having a heart scan tomorrow to determine how bad it is. Just wanting some people’s experiences with medication and if it helps or not.
Thanks for your reply
Hi My boy has severe heart disease, but he has been happy and living well for 1.5 years on medications after heart failure. Unfortunately just recently he has had a downfall but is starting to perk back up.
My vets told me he probably wont make it the first time but he did.... for way longer than they thought!
Every cat is different but diligence with the medicine is key! The cat must take those meds!
 
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Georgina887

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Hi My boy has severe heart disease, but he has been happy and living well for 1.5 years on medications after heart failure. Unfortunately just recently he has had a downfall but is starting to perk back up.
My vets told me he probably wont make it the first time but he did.... for way longer than they thought!
Every cat is different but diligence with the medicine is key! The cat must take those meds!
I’m happy to hear that. How old is he?
 
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Georgina887

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I’m hoping that given she currently has no symptoms, it might be a little while before she has any kind of serious episodes. She’s 9 at the moment
 

amandag1

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I’m happy to hear that. How old is he?
He is very young, only 3, his HCM was brought on by genetics. Its usually very rapid and deadly when they are young and afflicted so badly. Ive done alot of reading on cardiac disease in cats, as it was all new to me when I learned Louie had it.
In my own opinion and experience, I'd always give the cat a chance.
Louie was hospitalized for 4 days came home and had some rough bumps over 1.5 years ago, he has fallen into a rough patch again, but we are changing some medications and watching. He sadly will not have a long life, maybe not even much longer, but he was so resilient my poor baby
 

gilmargl

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One of my cats has a heart problem - a hole in the heart, as we used to say! She was a stray and, since being with me, has had 2 scans (each time an ECG and sonogram). Her blood pressure is not causing problems so, up to now she has not needed medication. Every vet who's examined her has recognized her heart condition immediately but I only notice that after playing she will suddenly fall asleep just anywhere. She is perhaps 5 or 6 years old. I don't encourage play - just let her do what she likes chasing the other cats about the house. Although at first she was scheduled for scans every 6 months, her condition has not worsened so it will now be 12 months between visits to the heart specialist.
Good luck with your cat.
 
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Georgina887

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An update on the heart disease.
She had an Echo done and she’s in the very early stages. There has not yet been a thickening of the heart so we are on watch a wait with yearly echos to monitor the progression. So they are calling it asymptomatic at the moment. I will be keeping a firm eye on her though, counting her heart rate etc. Probably the best outcome given I knew she had heart disease. I am relieved it is not advanced.
 

MultiCatJu

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I have a cat with Tetrology of Fallot ("TOF"), a rare 4-part heart condition.
  1. A hole in the wall between the two lower chambers―or ventricles―of the heart. This condition also is called a ventricular septal defect.
  2. A narrowing of the pulmonary valve and main pulmonary artery. This condition also is called pulmonary stenosis.
  3. The aortic valve, which opens to the aorta, is enlarged and seems to open from both ventricles, rather than from the left ventricle only, as in a normal heart. In this defect, the aortic valve sits directly on top of the ventricular septal defect.
  4. The muscular wall of the lower right chamber of the heart (right ventricle) is thicker than normal. This also is called ventricular hypertrophy.
Her Cardiologist told me that she probably wouldn't live more than three years, but she's 5 now and doing well, other than exercise intolerance. She takes Sildenafil for her TOF. It opens the thinning arteries, making it easier for her to breathe. I monitor her heart with an app her Cardiologist gave me called "Cardalis." It monitors, gives a graph, you can make notes and e-mail your Cardiologist with it.

He said that if she starts coughing or hanging her head lower than her body, then she'll need a surgery to put in a stent and be put on an ace inhibitor and possibly oxygen.

She also has Radial Hypoplasia, the twisty arms, which is a birth defect.
She is my loooOOOOooove girl! <3
 

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