My sister has a 16 yo cat who has developed an arrhythmia. Cat is doing well otherwise except for some arthritis. (Cat does not as readily jump onto the bed as she used to.) The choices seems to be whether they do surgery or put the cat on meds. So, has anyone done this surgery on a cat this old? If so, how long did it extend the cats life and what was the cats quality of life? TIA!
I wasn’t aware there was a surgery for that. Unless it were something obvious like a tumor, I would opt to try the non invasive treatment for anything first regardless of age.
No, no, no - please no cardiac surgery on a 16 yr old. Start with meds and take it from there. 16 is elderly for a cat and the survival rate (from what I’ve observed) is quite low. This is a bad risk. Even though she may look and act healthy and relatively frisky as they age the risk factor increases, especially where the heart is concerned. If it was my cat - no.
I agree with others ~ meds Yes / surgery NO! ~ Jingles & AO ~
I agree with others …
Yes for meds!
NO SURGERY - due to age.
JINGLES & AO for your sister’s cat ~
Yup. If it were me, such invasive surgery would not be an option for a 16 year old. Go with the meds.
At this point, quality over quantity of life is what’s important, IMO. Unless the cat absolutely panics about meds I’d go that route. Come to think of it, there will be meds one way or another, so start with the least invasive and see how it goes.
I have a 16 year old, and an 18 year old. If it were my cats, they would get meds, not surgery.
I agree with everyone else - meds, not surgery.
[QUOTE=Holly Jeanne;8061177]
My sister has a 16 yo cat who has developed an arrhythmia. Cat is doing well otherwise except for some arthritis. (Cat does not as readily jump onto the bed as she used to.) The choices seems to be whether they do surgery or put the cat on meds. So, has anyone done this surgery on a cat this old? If so, how long did it extend the cats life and what was the cats quality of life? TIA![/QUOTE]
What’s the surgery for? That makes all the difference, in my mind. They don’t do much cardiac surgery in cats, so I presume you’re concerned about the arrythmia in terms of anesthetic risk. Has the arrythmia ever been worked up with an echo & EKG?
I can’t imagine that you can do a cardiac catheterization of a cat, so that’s cracking the chest for open heart surgery to do an ablation?
I don’t think I’d do that in a YOUNG, HEALTHY cat, never mind a 16 yo old one.
What surgery are they suggesting for an arrhythmia? If the surgery is not to address the arrhythmia but rather an anesthetic concern than have it worked up by a cardiologist and go from there.
Age isn’t a disease.
But saying that…surgery for what? Pacemaker?
For those saying “no way” - don’t give advice when you have next to zero information!
I assumed we were talking about something like this:
http://www.sts.org/patient-information/arrhythmia-surgery/atrial-fibrillation-surgery
Which…no. I would not. I would not in a young, healthy animal. I would definitely not in a 16 yo cat.
I would not. I opted for surgery on a 14 year old cat and it ended horribly. I just rere-read the thread after I found it and broke down like a baby sobbing in guilt.
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?383703-cat-not-doing-so-great-after-surgery
I’ve known many animals in my life and belly button was the best of all of them. If I knew what the end entailed for her I would have never asked her to do it. She was such a lovely animal.
Has the arrythmia ever been worked up with an echo & EKG?
That’s a good question and part of her decision. It’s very expensive and according to her vet would be done to determine whether surgery is likely to be an option. Since she is questioning doing surgery on a 16 yo cat anyway, why do a very expensive test to find out if surgery could be done. I haven’t dealt with this issue before and was hoping someone else had experience to share. Thank you all for your thoughtful responses! It helps me when she calls to talk about it.
What surgery?
[QUOTE=Holly Jeanne;8061177]
My sister has a 16 yo cat who has developed an arrhythmia. Cat is doing well otherwise except for some arthritis. (Cat does not as readily jump onto the bed as she used to.) The choices seems to be whether they do surgery or put the cat on meds. So, has anyone done this surgery on a cat this old? If so, how long did it extend the cats life and what was the cats quality of life? TIA![/QUOTE]
We had a family cat who developed a tooth abcess when she was 18 yrs old. She had lost alot of weight because of it. The vet recommended that my mom have the cat put down because at her age, it was unlikely the cat would survive surgery.
But my Mom (who actually HATED that cat, but like moms everywhere, got stuck with it when all the kids left home), said she didn’t want to be “put down” just because she was old and had a bad tooth…so bless her heart, she told the vet to do the surgery.
Cat survived just fine and lived till she was 21 yrs old when cancer finally took her. Adding 2-4 yrs to a cat’s life is a pretty large chunk of Time for them.
However this was not a cardiac issue and there was no alternative.
If the medication works and is (fairly) easily administered, then I would try that first. Surgery is tough on the system.
I’m not aware of any kind of surgery for an arrhythmia for a cat other than a pacemaker…
Which surgery are you talking about?
