He has had a couple of seizures, and been somewhat subdued the last couple of days. New vet said murmur and enlarged heart. She did x rays. Does anyone here have any advice for me? So far the vet and I are going slowly. She has suggested some kind of medicine for life.
No advice just a hug. Sorry you and kitty have to go thru this. ((()))
Like Shiloh, no advice - but maybe you need a referral out to a vet that has an echocardiogram? You might have to take your kitty to a teaching hospital for that, or at least a bigger vet hospital. They might be able to tell you more, though. When my kitty Angel had heart issues, we couldn’t tell anything via x-rays; we only knew during her necropsy. The vet said an EKG would have told us much more, but we just had no idea it was her heart, and w/o driving her 3 hours, no access to one, either.
Hugs and more hugs!
I was referred to an echocardigram, but it cost over $500. I simply cannot afford that. She took x rays, and I am just waiting around. She is new to me, (old vet no longer viable.)
Bug and I thank you for your concern. I googled it and it doesn’t look very promising.
This is tough. Yes, it is not very promising.
I do have one thing for you to consider: what are you feeding him, and maybe consider switching to one of the science diet products. Some of the “grain free” foods were creating cardiac problems in dogs. This has not been reported in cats… but I had a young cat that had a murmur and a possibly enlarged heart cat that coincidentally resolved when I changed the household to a prescription cat food to address another cat’s issue.
I had another cat with this issue who seemed to get better with hospice/TLC and then had an emergency a few months later. I’m not sorry for the three months he got but it probably would have been better if I’d better understood what was happening when he had the second emergency.
Talk to your vet, give your cat the love and care you can afford, but if there are seizures (seizures or a saddle thrombus or ?) that it might be best to plan an exit rather than have one happen unexpectedly. Here’s hoping for the best for you and your cat.
Is your cat a hunter? I have a cat that catches the occasional mouse in the house and when he started having seizures and also had an enlarged heart, eventually it was traced to encephalitis as a result of toxoplasmosis. He was so bad off by then he needed a feeding tube, but treatment for the toxoplasmosis was straight forward - clindamycin high dose for two months. He was able to come off the anti-seizure meds starting a year after he was seizure free and we had weaned him off prednisolone, but have found he still needs it, even three years later. His enlarged heart (did have an echo at time of diagnosis via radiograph and 6 months later), went back to a normal size after toxoplasmosis treatment. Find a good internal medicine veterinarian if you can, but at the least maybe you can ask your vet to run a toxoplasmosis test (which is a bit spendy, but less than an echocardiogram).
Wishing your kitty to be better and all the best of luck!
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I’m so sorry for you and Bug. 
Thinking good thoughts for you and I hope you can get more information soon. Not knowing how to help them is the worst feeling. Does the vet think the seizures are related to the heart issues?
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yes, the vet thinks they are related. Yes, he hunts mice and moles, snakes and birds, sadly. I am taking the old dog in tomorrow for a get to know you with the new vet. She, (dog,) is incontinent, and I am no longer happy with my old vet. I will mention this stuff to the new vet. Thanks guys, I know coth would have some ideas.
The x-ray was $200 and I spent $150 at the old vet for NOTHING, but I will ask about toxoplasmosis.
Larksmom, how old is your cat? If he’s middle aged or older, he might be hyperthyroid. Hyperthyroidism can cause cardiomyopathy in cats, but the good news is that it often resolves with treatment. If he hasn’t already been tested for hyperthyroidism, it wouldn’t cost very much to at least rule this out.
I’m sorry you and your cat are going through this. I’ve had two cats with heart issues, and both were hyperthyroid. One cat completely recovered after treatment and her heart became normal again. The other cat died. I’ve always suspected the cat that died had an underlying heart condition independent of the hyperthyroidism, because he just didn’t respond to treatment as everyone expected.
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Bugaboo is about 3 or 4. I have had him since he was quite small, but I lose track of time. I am taking the dog in today and will ask if they want to see Bug. Waiting to hear from vet. Appt at 3 today. I will ask about all these things.
I’m very sorry. The only thing I know about it is what poltroon talked about, the taurine deficiency.
If you wanted to add taurine, it’s a powder and it’s cheap. I hope you get some answers soon!
Best wishes to Bugaboo!
OK, got him back today, The new vet gave him a shot of Lasix and kept him all day. She also kept Toffee whom they wanted to get a urine sample from. It took all day, but she finally did her thing. She DOES have a UTI and I am angry that the old vet couldn’t find that out. Everyone seems no worse for wear, and I will keep you guys apprised of Bug’s condition.
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I’m glad you got some answers for Toffee, but it is a shame the other vet didn’t find the UTI. It’s good someone else is going to look over Bugs too - they may have missed something else.
