Cat with a large heart - update

katiewhompus

I'm clueless on this one and wondering if anyone else has experience with this.
Mom called me at work today frantic because her cat was drooling, sneezing, and couldn't breathe well. Picked up dad (we carpool) and drove home asap. We took her to the emergency vet where we found out the good news and the bad news.
The good news is she tested negative for pnuemonia, FIP, Feline Leukemia and a host of other nasty things. Pretty surprising considering she is an outdoor cat who hasn't gone to the vet in 12 years.

She does however have a very substantial heart murmur (3 out of 6 on the vets scale) as well as a physically huge heart, about three times the normal size. She is staying at the vets overnight and my parents have two treatment options.

Option 1 ) She goes to a cardiologist for more testing, gets massive meds, and lives the rest of her life inside on drugs. She's an outdoor cat and I think she would physically harm herself if she could only stay inside. You guys know I'm a strict advocate for indoor cats, but after 13 years I don't think she can change.

Option 2) She comes home and gets medicine for the antiobiotic and one day will have heart failure. She's already 13 years old and dad's opinion is "she would rather go out chasing a rabbit than drugged out on the chair" and I'm inclined to agree.

Thoughts? Advice?

september's bride

I'm with you on letting her die someday doing the things that she wants to do. It's a sad thought, but probably kinder in the long run.

DH's grandpa is a prime example of this. He's 89 years old but wants to go outside and rake leaves or shovel snow, because he truly enjoys working around the house. MIL is freaking out that her dad is going to drop dead from shovelling, but seriously - if that's what the man wants to do, better he dies while enjoying himself than sitting like a lump in the living room and wasting away.

[Deleted User]

I agree about option 2. She would be miserable inside and drugged up all day, so let her do what makes her happy.

I had an outdoor cat for 13 years, she was raised outside before we got her and would also harm herself if brought indoors. She had arthritis and sight problems by the end of her life, but the medicine we gave her made her stumble and walk into things because she was so groggy. She just laid there all day in the sun. But when we stopped she actually played again and wanted attention. She seemed happier to me, so I hope we made the right choice.

jasmineh7777

Considering the cat's age, and the probable side effects of the medication, I would go with option 2. It's still sad though. Poor kitty.

aggiebug

ok, first of all from the sounds of it the cat is already in heart failure.  Staying at the vet on lasix and other drugs can pull her out of acute failure and give her many years acting totally normal- if she is on the drugs.

The drugs should not make her feel sick or drugged, they should actually make her feel like a young cat again. But  you would have to pill a cat. an outdoor cat. probably at least twice a day.  That alone will probably make your kitty insane let alone your parents.  And I totally agree with you changing her environment will not make her happy in the slightest

That being said, I don't think I would let her go without medications.  When she dies of heart failure she will be basically drowning.  She will feel fine other than the fact that she will be gasping for air and cant do anything to make it better.  It is a very uncomfortable, miserable and slow death. 

I am sorry for the tough decisions you are having to make.  If you have any questions about the drugs or the information the vet tells you feel free to PM me and I will try my best to help.  I am pretty busy durning the day, but I do get on for at least a little bit every evening. 

edit to add: I don't think I could let her suffer through failure.  you could probably bring her home for a few days to say your goodbyes, and watch her closely for the same signs she was showing today.

aggiebug

I hope she feels better tomorrow Katie.

and one question. you mentioned antibiotics? do they think she has a respiratory infection?  or just the heart stuff?

jasmineh7777

It's a great thing that she doesn't have FIV, or anything else.
This might be a stupid question but is there a shot form of teh medication which would make her have to take it less often? Probably not, I'm guessing.

Could a pill be crushed up and put in her food, so she could still be an outside cat?

aggiebug

jas- unfortunately heart drugs are pretty intense. It is very important to give the medications 1-2 times a day (and some hear drugs even more) and the dosing is very specific.  Giving injections is actually pretty imprecise, and when it comes to the heart that is a very bad thing.  So in short there really arent any long acting heart medications, or else we would have many more cats living happily with heart disease!

Heart disease in cats is always troublesome, purely because getting the cat its medicines is almost as bad as the heart disease for the cat. 

jasmineh7777

That is not the answer I wanted aggie.

Can you invent some easier meds please?

aggiebug

I imagine she was given lasix as soon as she was taken to the back.  They can make her feel better in less than 15minutes- they basically make her pee out all the extra fluid that her heart can't handle and is backing up into her lungs.

Being an outside cat an upper respiratory infection is possible, and antibiotics are probably not going to hurt her right now. Unfortunately I doubt the antibiotics will do much to make her comfortable at home

If they can get her out of acute failure she can go home and be fine for several weeks without any drugs, or she could go back into failure in 12hrs.  Its hard to tell until it happens. 

Heart disease in cats in one of those things we absolutely hate to see.  Its not fixable, can be hard to manage, and the treatment seems to make the cats as grumpy as the disease.  

I hope she stays sweet when she is feeling her self.  I always described the outdoor cats as the cantankerous old men in the hospital.  When they are feeling better- they will do anything to get home!

katiewhompus

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_cat-large-heart?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:66878177-cc25-401e-92ff-b126fcca55b2Post:04179196-fb77-4e63-b631-c27e7876a6ad">Re: Cat with a large heart</a>:
[QUOTE]That is not the answer I wanted aggie. :( Can you invent some easier meds please?
Posted by jasmineh7777[/QUOTE]

Mouse flavored please :) She would eat those!

It was touching too when we got home. The entire car ride home today dad was trying to get me prepared for putting her down (she was born when I was 14ish) and very much the stoic father figure. Then we got home and the first thing he did was go "Ewok, we're home" and pour out some food before he remembered she was still at the vets.

katiewhompus

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_cat-large-heart?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:66878177-cc25-401e-92ff-b126fcca55b2Post:5dd1f038-e692-4f55-9152-8260d28249f5">Re: Cat with a large heart</a>:
[QUOTE]aww katie your last post made me tear up :(. I will pass on the mouse flavored pills to the cardiologists.  All I know is the first person to make easier heart meds for cats (and dogs to some extent) are going to be rich. 
Posted by aggiebug[/QUOTE]

That's for sure. When Demon was sick I was giving her a suspended liquid (is that the correct term?) solution for her antibiotic and got more of it on me than in her.

aggiebug

haha was it clavamox?  the suspensions tend to be better than the pills for kitties but its just a lesser of 2 evils I feel.  There is a new injectable long acting antibiotic for cats that is supposed to be working quite well.  Of course it doesnt get everything but sure is a step in the right direction!

SarahSmile23

i say screen in the porch and do option 1. but i'm obviously outnumbered!

katiewhompus

Update - The heart medicine did nothing, but the vet said it's still possible that she just has an abnormally large heart (and parents don't want to send her to the cardiologist). For a bit they thought she had a polyp or other obstruction in her throat but further tests (xrays? I don't know, this is all via email with dad) revealed nothing. They started her on antibiotics and she started feeling better so the final diagnoses was very severe upper respiratory. She's staying at the vets for another 24 hours but can come home tomorrow.

Anysunrise

=(

At least she gets to come home. I hope everything works out for the best.

katiewhompus

And update to update :

3rd vet to come on shift is a heart specialist. She listened to Ewie's heart and heard no murmur and thinks what the first vet heard was just a result of Ewie having a respiratory and being stressed (and seeing a worst case scenario). She also took more images of her heart and thinks that while it is larger than usual, it's showing no signs of distress or malfunctioning and might not be a big deal at all.

So her heart might be ok after all

Anysunrise

Yay!

aggiebug

Wow thats good news!  Although boo that they still don't know whats going on :-/

But that leaves a host of treatable diseases she could have vs one very hard to manage disease.  I hope the anitbiotics and other diagnostics give you an answer/ and make her feel better.

Thanks for the update Katie- I was coming on here to see if you had found out anything.