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cocontom_gw

Cat with cardiomyopathy

17 years ago

My much beloved 10 year old Sphynx has an enlarged heart. I'm going to make an appointment with a vet cardiologist on Monday, but I was hoping for some information before that appointment (no idea what kind of lead time they have).

Here's a book of background:

Diamonds is a retired show cat/queen. She was three when I got her 7 years ago. She was leased from the cattery where she was born to another cattery for one litter; she was fed the BARF diet while at that cattery. I do not know how much or whether that was supplemented. She was also fed mostly cooked chicken at the main cattery where she was born (and where I bought her), again, I'm not sure how much that was supplemented (it's been long enough ago that I doubt I would get good info from the breeder at this point). She's been on Science Diet Light roughly since I've had her. She's now a svelte 10.5 pounds, but it's taken years to get her weight down.

She appears to have an allergy to fish products- she gets sniffly for about two weeks after eating fish.

She had a bit of a sniffle last week after getting into the other kitties' food, but was getting better. She does occasionally have a cough, but it sounds like a wet cough and is usually connected to the cold/allergy.

She was breathing really hard today, so we took her in. They did an x-ray and it shows that her heart is enlarged. She does not have any fluid in her lungs and does not appear to have congestive heart failure yet. (The x-ray was to check for pneumonia.) The vet said that it looked like her aorta was enlarged on the x-ray, and while very sweet, he told us that he'd studied it, but didn't have real world treatment experience.

He prescribed Enalapril until we can get in to see the cardiologist, and let us know that they may change meds.

If it was caused by a taurine deficiency, would it have healed, or would the progression just stop? Has anyone had any experience with this?

Thanks in advance for any advice or words of wisdom about this!

Comments (4)

  • 17 years ago

    Damage to the heart tends to be permanent. Also it is possible for the cat to be unable to absorb taurine efficiently, and even with "normal" levels supplemented in the food, still be taurine deficient. I would measure the taurine in Diamond. If it is low, then her prognosis is much better. It would not hurt to supplement with taurine after the blood level is drawn while waiting for results. Often cats with taurine deficiency also have retinal degeneration. Were her eyes checked?

    Unfortunately, DCM is not uncommon especially among pure-breed cats, even those with appropriate taurine levels. Feeding BARF or raw doesn't necessarily mean she was taurine deficient, depending on if they were doing it correctly or not. And like I mentioned, some cats need more than others because they do not absorb it efficiently.

    Enalapril is a good medication for DCM of any cause. It helps control the damaging effects of hormonal influences from the kidney, possibly slowing the progression of heart failure (this is HIGHLY debatable, though my dog with valvular disease is on it). It may also help spare the kidneys in animals with heart disease. So even if Diamond does have taurine deficiency, enalapril will be beneficial.

    I hope Diamond does well.

  • 17 years ago

    I don't know if they checked her eyes or not- they took her into the back as soon as we got there, so I have no idea what they did to her. I have to call tomorrow to have them fax the info to the cardiologist after I make the appointment, so I'll ask then.

    Honestly, just about everything after "enlarged heart, I've never seen this, take her to a cardiologist" was a huge blur.

    Thanks for the info!

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  • 17 years ago

    DH talked to the vet's office (they always call to follow up). We asked if he had checked her eyes, and they said that he looked, and didn't notice any obvious retinal degeneration, but wasn't specifically looking for it.

    She does seem to be doing better today.

    I just really hope we're at the "should be good for five more years with medication" point, rather than the three to six month point.

    I really don't know what I would do without her. It's a standing joke that I love her more than Tom (DH). Neither one of us are sure that it's a joke.

  • 17 years ago

    I don't think the diet was off, Barf and Raw when done properly are about the best there is ( MUCH better then Science diet) , test her and see what becomes of it as far as turine levels go.

    Its shameful and dumb that such a cat was ever bred, I do hope the kittens don't end up with heart trouble. At 10 that's young for such issues. If nothing can be done then I'd put quality of life first.

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