Very well explained video (the best ) on U-tube one of my cats was in Vet. care four days having the best treatment Ultra sound Xrays blood tests but all to late he ten & half years of age HCM was noted I had him home twenty-three days on medications one morning at the lower part of my home heard a scream went to assist back legs ect paralised (saddle thrombous) & got him to Vet. it is a terrible & stressful experience for a cat & myself to have this.I have learnt heaps on the internet about cat problems since his death & the only one thing i wish is the Vet would have told me of all what you said about heart disease as i can,t stop re-living his pain & stress & confusion.My cat was put to sleep two hours after i had heard his first scream.I have been seeing this same Vet.doctor at one of their special clinics for 10.2 years my cats have never had any blood tests only when i admitted him this last visit the blood tests were all fine but i feel he should have had tests don at 7 years on.I believe it is not of a professional standard to not inform me of the circumstances or outcome of a HCM at my cats discharge when i took him home after his treatment.My cat had to go back for three check ups after his discharge then one week later he was put down 3/6/24. i still get some type of PTSD from his suffering.
My cat died very unexpectedly and devastatingly yesterday morning from what I now think I understand to be heart failure. In hindsight I had noticed she was sleeping for longer periods, her sleep had become much deeper, and she had even developed a snore. Are those obvious signs of HCM? She would’ve been 13 in October. She was also a very anxious cat, something I tried to manage as best I could her whole life. Thank you for this video, content like this helps me come to terms with the loss 💔
Hi Emma, I am so sorry about your cat. Losing our cats so suddenly and so young is devastating. Cats are frustratingly subtle and are good at hiding illness. Sleeping for longer periods could be a sign of HCM if she was more tired. Cats with HCM and fluid on their chest will breath deeper, but usually not sleep deeper. Snoring isn't a sign of HCM, some cats just snore - I find it adorable! I am glad this video could help you. Stay strong, there is a whole community of cat lovers who understand how you are feeling right now, we are here for you.
I was also told to monitor his breathing. It was hard bc of my work hours. Sometimes I worked 12-14 hours a day so even just trying to give his medications every 12 hours was hard on some days. Also , there was one medication they wanted me to give him every 6 hours which was impossible for me to do bc of work. I was told if it couldn’t be given every 6 hours it wass pretty much ineffective. For anyone dealing with this I am sorry. It was hard for me to do everything I needed bc of the timing of the meds , how far a cardiologist was from my home ( over 2 hours ) and the cost ! The cost isn’t cheap. His first work up at cardiology with labs , US, ECG, xray , BP I think was around 750.00 . Then there are the follow up with primary dr that can run kidney labs and BP and xray that is needed periodically, then the f/ u with cardiology and cost of medications. I also travel quite a bit for work so I had to pay pet sitters or take him with me and remember to change address where all his medications were being shipped or find a compounding pharmacy and that wasn’t always easy. I didn’t know anyone who had to deal with this so I had no help except my own research and recommendations from his cardiologist and primary. On top of his heart issues he had urinary issues and was on urinary diet ( royal cannon ) which has more sodium that isn’t good for heart issues so I was given the one with least sodium but drs didn’t want to take him completely off urinary diet bc if he had another blockage his heart wouldn’t take the fluid needed ri help kidneys. So that was another thing he had against him was his past blockage and a few UTIs he kept getting
My cat passed oct 16, 2022 from this. He had no symptoms that I noticed. It was found on a heart marker lab at age 13. I took him over 2 hours to see cardiology and he had 3 parts of his heart that was very very bad. He never had a heart murmur. He was put on 3 medications and taurine supplements and I was giving it by liquid bc giving him pills was to hard. I was unable to give him the one that is suppose to help with blood clot bc the fluid medication was very bitter and he would vomit it foam it out so I was told to try baby aspirin and that gave him bloody stool. It was just one thing after another . He lived 6 months after diagnosis and he passed away while I was at work. Weird bc he was eating fine and followed me downstairs before I left for work . He seemed fine before I left for work. He was 13 years old when he passed . The one thing the cardiologist ( 2 diff ones told me ) was three areas of his heart was just very very bad. One of his reports said he was unlike to live 6 months. I miss him
I lost my boy Mika 3 days ago and he was almost 9 years old. We took him to see the vets twice before and they thought it was only an arthritis on the back legs or spine as his back legs were very weak (at the beginning) and had muscle loss. Within a week, it suddenly deteriorated so fast that he was almost motionless and difficult breathing. His eyes didn't seem to respond and lied on the floor. We took him again urgently to the emergency hospital and another vet suspected he may had heart disease and blood clots on the back legs since he was a Maine coon and they prone to have it. The vet said he may need to have CPR as he was very weak. We decided to put him to sleep in the end and no more suffer for him. I am so devastated with a broken heart and feel so empty. Do you think he had heart failure in the end that caused him difficulty in breathing? Does HCM progress very fast? Thank you for the video and wish I knew it when he was a kitten. I am so heart broken.
I am so sorry for your loss, it really is the loss of a family member. If your cat had difficulty breathing it is certainly possible he had fluid in his chest to cause this. Disease in cats often appears to happen very quickly because they are so good at hiding symptoms. With HCM there is nothing you could have done. You put an end to his suffering, you did the right thing
After the neutering surgery, symptoms such as loss of appetite and weakness in the hind legs started in my cat, and we quickly took him to the vet. A diagnosis of hcm was made. At first, the probnp value was 1500. While we were waiting for him to die, we reduced this value to 847 in 3 weeks by using regular drugs. We continue to use drugs at the moment, but I do not know what will happen next. Can we fully recover? she looks healthy now: she has a good appetite, goes to the toilet, drinks water. we even play games inside the house and it's almost the same as before the surgery. but is my cat really okay even though he looks good? Should we expect bad news all the time? i am so scared. I would be very happy if I could get an answer from you.
Hi, I am afraid I cannot answer your question based solely on this information. ProBNP is not a reliable way to diagnose or monitor HCM. You would need more information, including ultrasound scans of her heart, to get information about her prognosis.
I had a kitten 7 months old took her to emergency they told me she had this i took her to specialist they said the test took a couple days to get back they gave me vetmedin and diuretic to give to her she passed 2 hours ago today I dont understand... is this uncurable that it does not matter what you give them I guess Ill hear the results today since its monday a week day I am devastated
My cat was diagnosed with Hyperthyriodism a few months ago and is using medicine to control it. however, recently we changed to another vet, and the new vet told me I need to reduce his doesage for the hyperthyroidism (as they believe the current doesage made him not eating enough) and at the same time my cat might already have HCM - he has heart murmur and heart beat rate is at 220 / min at vet (I checked at home when he is relaxed, and that was around 180 - 200)... Really don't know what to do....
The medication should be dosed to keep the thyroid in the normal range. An untreated overactive thyroid is the most common cause of heart disease in cats, but you cannot tell from the heart rate. An ultrasound scan of the heart is the only way to find out if your cat has HCM.
Is faster breathing a guarantee of HCM? My sphinx appears to be healthy and active, but he has always had fast breathing rates. His breathing while sleeping and lounging is below 30 breaths per minute, but his breathing while being awake is a bit faster, even if he isn't moving. He has a "strong sounding heart," according to my vet. I've always been paranoid of him having potential heart failure as a hairless cat. I understand that it is difficult to translate understanding through a RU-vid comment, but any tips would be appreciated.
Hi Ian, fast breathing is not a guarantee of HCM. Cats start to fast breath when they start to get fluid on their chest, this usually happens over a short period of time, maybe weeks but more like days. Unfortunately, Sphinx do have a genetic predisposition to HCM. HCM or heart disease cannot be diagnosed by listening to the heart, many cats have normal sounding hearts and heart disease. The only way to diagnose HCM is using ultrasound to see the heart. If you are worried (and I can tell you are), ask your vet to do an ultrasound of your cat's heart. This can often be done while they are awake, or with minimal sedation. That way you will know for sure and know if you need to worry or not 🙂
I raised a kitten from a couple days old to 9 weeks. She passed away real suddenly. One day she was fine and the next not. I don't understand it. Most people are saying heart failure. I don't know.
Hi William, I am very sorry to hear this - how heartbreaking for you. I wonder if your little kitten had a heart defect from birth that caused her death. This does not happen often, but it can occur. Sudden death in cats is often due to a heart condition and in such a young little cat it is likely to have been congenital (i.e. from birth). There is nothing you could have done differently, and you gave this little one a lovely life, even if it was short. I am so sorry for your loss. Eleanor
My nearly 2 year old cat was diagnosed with HCM a few weeks back, it seems to be in the very first stage. Is it guaranteed that this will progress rapidly? What is the average life expectancy for cats diagnosed at this age?
There are no guarantees. It sometimes progresses slowly, sometimes more quickly. The younger your cat is diagnosed the more likely it is to be aggressive and progress more quickly.
